The Business Idea Check’s main result is its verdict — whether the numbers work and whether there’s evidence of demand. Alongside it, a launch readiness score adds up 100 points across five areas, including your experience, competition and licensing answers. A “move forward” verdict also needs a score of 70 or more, so the two never point different ways. Questions left unanswered are scored as “not sure” and flagged as unknown in your report. The score is not a prediction of success, a credit decision or an industry benchmark.
| Label | Score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Promising | 70–100 | The evidence and numbers support taking the next steps — carefully. |
| Not ready yet | 40–69 | Worth pursuing, but important gaps need closing before you spend much. |
| Rethink before spending | 0–39 | Big gaps in demand or the numbers. Test and rework before committing money. |
Demand · 30 points
Evidence strength · up to 20 · evidence
Money changing hands is the strongest sign of demand, so payment outranks conversation by a wide margin.
| Current sales, or 1+ paying customers | 20 |
| Preorders or deposits | 16 |
| A paid trial | 14 |
| Conversations only, or named prospects | 6 |
| Not tested yet | 0 |
Breadth of commitment · up to 10 · evidence
Several customers show demand isn’t a one-off. Prospects earn about half the points of paying customers.
| 10+ paying customers | 10 |
| 3–9 paying customers | 7 |
| 1–2 paying customers | 4 |
| No paying customers; 10+ named prospects | 5 |
| No paying customers; 3–9 named prospects | 3 |
| No paying customers; 1–2 named prospects | 1 |
| None, or not sure | 0 |
Money · 35 points
Margin at your price · up to 10 · estimate
A higher margin leaves more room for error in price, cost and volume. Product businesses get their own bands: making or buying goods costs more per sale than most services.
| Services | Points |
|---|---|
| 50% or more of the price, after fees | 10 |
| 30–49.9% | 8 |
| 15–29.9% | 5 |
| Above 0%, under 15% | 2 |
| 0% or negative (caps the result) | 0 |
| Products | Points |
|---|---|
| 40% or more of the price, after fees | 10 |
| 25–39.9% | 8 |
| 12–24.9% | 5 |
| Above 0%, under 12% | 2 |
| 0% or negative (caps the result) | 0 |
Expected sales vs. sales needed to pay you · up to 15 · estimate
Whether the sales you expect would actually pay you what you need — with room to spare.
| 1.5× or more | 15 |
| 1.2–1.49× | 12 |
| 1.0–1.19× | 8 |
| 0.8–0.99× | 4 |
| Under 0.8×, or each sale loses money | 0 |
Cash for startup and ramp-up · up to 10 · estimate
Most new businesses that fail run out of cash while sales are still building.
| Covers startup, ramp-up and cushion, with 6+ months of running costs to spare | 10 |
| Covers it, with 3–5.9 months to spare | 8 |
| Covers it, with under 3 months to spare | 5 |
| A funding gap, or available cash not given | 0 |
Capacity · 15 points
Time needed to pay yourself · up to 10 · estimate
A plan that needs more hours than you have isn’t a plan. 80% leaves room for slow weeks.
| 80% or less of your productive hours | 10 |
| 80.1–100% | 7 |
| 100.1–125% (caps the result) | 3 |
| Not limited by your own hours — others make or deliver your product | 7 |
| Over 125% (caps the result), or hours not given | 0 |
Experience · up to 5 · self-assessment
Kept small: it’s self-reported, and gaps can be filled by learning, hiring or partnering.
| Extensive | 5 |
| Some | 3 |
| None yet | 1 |
| Not sure | 0 |
Competition · 10 points
Reason to choose you · up to 10 · self-assessment
Customers always have an alternative. A clear reason to switch makes every other number easier to reach.
| Clear, and customers agree | 10 |
| Somewhat | 6 |
| Not clear yet | 2 |
| Not sure | 0 |
Legal readiness · 10 points
Licenses, permits and insurance · up to 10 · self-assessment
An unknown is something to verify, not a penalty below someone who has identified their requirements.
| Checked and in place, or checked and none required | 10 |
| Identified, not yet obtained | 6 |
| Not sure what’s required (becomes a plan task) | 6 |
Rules on top of the points
- Missing essentials. Without your costs per sale, monthly costs, expected sales (or your hours), your pay target and some demand evidence, there is no total and no label.
- Three things cap the label at Not ready yet, whatever the total: losing money on each sale; a funding gap (not enough cash for startup, the ramp-up and a two-month cushion); or needing more than all of your available hours to pay yourself.
- Never scored: your idea description and other free text, interest in GHL services, business structure, business type, location and anything about who you are.
- The same answers always give the same score.