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Founder Playbook💭 Dreamer0 XP🔥 0🏅 0
🎯 Level 1Chapter 2 of 30 · 6 min read · +50 XP

The Bullseye method: score your idea before you quit your job

A simple 6-ring scoring system to compare startup ideas honestly: pain, market, edge, money, timing and you.

You probably have more than one idea. Choosing the wrong one can cost you years. The Bullseye method is a quick way to compare ideas honestly. It won’t predict success (nothing can), but it forces you to look at each idea from six angles.

The six rings

Score each from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong):

  1. Pain. How badly do people need this solved? (Level 1, Chapter 1)
  2. Market. How many people or businesses have this problem, and can you reach them?
  3. Edge. What makes your solution clearly better: 10× cheaper, faster, simpler or more trusted?
  4. Money. Will people pay, and can you make a profit on each customer?
  5. Timing. What has changed recently that makes this possible or urgent now?
  6. You. Why are you the right person? Skills, network, experience, obsession.

Hit the centre (high on all six) and you have a bullseye. Most ideas hit the outer rings on a few. That’s fine, as long as you know where the gaps are.

How to score honestly

  • Use evidence, not hope. A 5 on Pain means you’ve heard people describe the pain unprompted. A 5 on Money means someone has already offered to pay.
  • Score the business, not the product. A brilliant product with no way to reach customers scores low on Market.
  • Ask a sceptic. Your friends will be kind. Ask someone who will be blunt.

Reading your score

  • Below 15: probably a hobby, not a business. Keep looking.
  • 15–22: promising but with clear risks. Your next step is to test the weakest rings.
  • 23–30: worth serious validation. Move to Level 2.

Worked example

Imagine “affordable JEE coaching videos” in 2016:

  • Pain 5: coaching was expensive and out of reach for many students.
  • Market 5: millions of aspirants.
  • Edge 4: a teacher students already loved.
  • Money 3: unproven, since students had little money.
  • Timing 5: cheap data had just arrived.
  • You 5: a gifted, trusted teacher.

That’s 27 out of 30, a near-bullseye. PhysicsWallah turned exactly that into a unicorn.

Your takeaway

Use the Bullseye Idea Scorer to score your ideas. Pick the one with the best score and the clearest way to test its weakest ring. Then move to validation.

🎯 Your missions

Tick them off as you go — saved on this device.

🧠 Quick quiz +30 XP

1. Why score several ideas instead of one?
2. An idea scores high on everything except 'Why you'. What should you do?
3. What does a 'timing' score capture?

Level 1 progress 0/3

🛠️ Practise with

Bullseye Idea ScorerScore your startup idea on 6 rings and see if you hit the bullseye.

🦄 See it in real life

PhysicsWallahA YouTube teacher from Prayagraj built affordable test-prep for millions — and turned unicorn in his first funding round.GrowwFour ex-Flipkart colleagues made investing simple enough for first-time Indian investors.

Educational content, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change — verify with official sources or a qualified professional. Spotted an error? Tell us.