Why 20 questions?
The philosophy
Most products fail not because of bad execution, but because the builder never pressure-tested the basic product logic before building. ShipCheck is a forcing function. It makes the uncomfortable questions unavoidable - in 10 minutes.
The 20 questions are opinionated. They do not ask whether you built the feature correctly. They ask whether you thought clearly about who it is for, whether the problem is real, and whether anyone will find it. Those are harder questions.
How scoring works
| Section | Weight | What we look for |
|---|---|---|
| Your User | 20% | Who specifically is this for? |
| The Problem | 25% | What pain are you solving? |
| Your Solution | 25% | What you built and why it works |
| Getting Users | 20% | How the first 100 users find you |
| Measuring Success | 10% | How you know it worked |
Not Ready
Major gaps in your thinking. Do not ship yet. Address the RED sections first.
Getting There
The foundation is there but real holes remain. Work through the RED feedback before shipping.
Almost Ready
Strong product thinking with a few gaps. Fix the RED items - you are close.
Ship It
Exceptional product thinking. You have done the work. Ship it - and keep watching your Novus data.
What Novus tells us
After launching ShipCheck, Novus showed us where builders actually struggle. 43% of users dropped off at question 12 - the one that asks what underlying belief makes your product obviously valuable. We rewrote the subtext twice. Drop-off fell from 43% to 21%. The product that measures readiness had to measure its own readiness. That is the point.
Byline
Built by Samfresh, Abuja, Nigeria. Built for the Mind the Product World Product Day 2026 hackathon.
GitHub link · Hackathon submission link