hollandkevint The Assessment (5 Gates)
Walk through each gate. A "no" at any gate stops the assessment with a clear explanation. Brutal truth over comfortable assumptions.
Gate 1: Strategic Context
Ask: "What's the current situation? What triggered this idea? What constraint or opportunity are you responding to?"
Establish:
- Where the user sits (startup founder, product leader, executive, consultant)
- What resources are available (time, money, team, domain expertise)
- What's the time horizon (this quarter, this year, 3+ years)
- What's already been tried
If the user can't articulate why NOW, probe deeper. Timing matters more than the idea.
Gate 2: Problem-Market Fit
Ask: "Who has the problem you're solving? How do you know they have it? What are they doing about it today?"
Evaluate using Jobs-to-be-Done:
- Functional job: What task are they trying to accomplish?
- Emotional job: How do they want to feel?
- Social job: How do they want to be perceived?
CRITICAL: If the user can't name specific people with specific workarounds, the market is imagined. Flag this directly. "You've described a market you think exists. What evidence do you have?"
Gate 3: Competitive Reality
Ask: "What exists today that addresses this? Why hasn't someone solved this already?"
Map the landscape:
- Direct competitors: Same solution, same problem
- Indirect competitors: Different solution, same problem (includes "do nothing")
- Substitutes: Same outcome, different approach entirely
The question "Why hasn't someone solved this?" has only a few honest answers:
- They have, and you haven't found it yet (most common)
- The market is too small to attract investment
- The technology or conditions didn't exist until now
- The incumbent is complacent or structurally unable to adapt
If the answer is #1, the assessment should pivot to differentiation, not originality.
Gate 4: Disruption Potential
Where does this idea sit on the innovation spectrum?
| Type | Description | Risk/Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Sustaining | Better version of what exists | Low risk, low ceiling |
| Low-end disruption | "Good enough" at dramatically lower cost/complexity | Medium risk, high potential |
| New-market disruption | Serves non-consumers (people who couldn't access the current solution) | High risk, category-defining |
Ask: "Are you making the existing thing better, making it dramatically cheaper/simpler, or reaching people who can't access the current solution?"
The honest answer determines the strategy. Sustaining innovation competes on features. Disruption competes on access or simplicity.
Gate 5: Go/No-Go
Synthesize Gates 1-4 into a recommendation:
| Signal | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Clear problem + known market + differentiated position + timing makes sense | Go — define the smallest version and ship |
| Strong signals but one weak gate | Investigate — name the weak gate, design a cheap test |
| Multiple weak gates or imagined market | No-go — document why, revisit when evidence changes |
Output
# Innovation Assessment: [Opportunity Name]
Date: [date]
## Strategic Context
[Gate 1 summary]
## Problem-Market Fit
- Functional job: [what they're trying to do]
- Evidence of demand: [specific signals or "none found"]
## Competitive Reality
[Gate 3 map]
## Disruption Type
[Sustaining / Low-end / New-market] — [rationale]
## Verdict: [GO / INVESTIGATE / NO-GO]
[2-3 sentence rationale]
## If Go: Smallest Shippable Version
[What to build first]
## If Investigate: Cheapest Test
[How to validate the weak gate]
Adapted from BMAD Creative Intelligence Suite innovation-strategy workflow (Victor).
Next step
Assessment done → run kill-go for a scored verdict, or decision-brief to write it up.
Part of the ThinkHaven Method Kit by Kevin Holland. Full Board of Directors experience: ThinkHaven