Ten questions that find the single highest-leverage fix in your product economics.
Products rarely fail because the idea was bad. They fail because the margin was dead on arrival. This diagnostic scores ten points to surface the two highest-leverage moves you can make right now, the ones that lift your margin the most for the least work.
Set your price ceiling.
Decide how high the price is allowed to go before you ever talk about cost.
Point 1
Find an Open Market Gap
Can you own a clear position no competitor holds?
What you score
- 5: Owns a clear quadrant no one else is in
- 3: Shares the shelf with one or two rivals
- 1: Walking into a crowded category, fighting on price
Low score and next plan
- Map the top 5 competitors on a 2x2 and find an empty corner
- Pick a niche use case the big players ignore
- Rewrite the one-liner around that gap
Notes
Point 2
Solve One Problem for One Person
Is it built for one buyer, one problem, one moment?
What you score
- 5: A stranger gets it in 3 seconds, one job, one user, one moment
- 3: Clear product, fuzzy on who or when
- 1: Tries to be everything for everyone
Low score and next plan
- Pick one buyer and one moment, cut every other use case from the pitch
- Write the headline as: For [who], when [moment], this does [job]
- Drop features that don't serve that one job
Notes
Point 3
Price at 5x or More Above Cost
Is your price at least 5x your landed cost?
What you score
- 5: Sell price is 5x+ a rough cost estimate
- 3: Roughly 2-3x, workable but tight
- 1: Less than 2x, no room for ads or retail
Low score and next plan
- Anchor price to the outcome, not the parts
- If the gap is tight, raise price before cutting cost
- Add perceived value (bundle, guarantee, ritual) to justify the higher number
Notes
Find the product cost.
Cost is more than the bill of materials. Find what's actually inflating the number.
Point 4
Identify What Inflates Your Cost
What beyond materials is inflating your real cost?
What you score
- 5: Low part count, off-the-shelf components, no custom tooling
- 3: One or two cost drivers, fixable
- 1: Custom tooling, exotic material, or high part count
Low score and next plan
- List every part, circle the one that drives the most cost
- Swap custom tooling for sourced components where possible
- Reduce part count by combining or removing pieces
Notes
Point 5
Approximate Product Dimensions When Packaged
Does it pack and ship efficiently, or waste space?
What you score
- 5: Small, flat, stackable, nests well
- 3: Average box, some dead air
- 1: Big, boxy, full of empty space
Low score and next plan
- Measure the packed box (L x W x H) and look for dead air
- Redesign so units nest, stack flat, or fold down
- Shrink the longest dimension first, that's where freight is lost
Notes
Protect your margin.
If a competitor can steal your customer with a discount, you don't have a real margin. Lock in a reason they pay full price.
Point 6
One Demonstrable Edge Over Every Rival
Can you prove your edge in seconds, not slogans?
What you score
- 5: One thing you can show on camera that no competitor can
- 3: A real difference, but hard to demonstrate
- 1: A slogan, not a proof point
Low score and next plan
- Find the one feature you can show in a 10-second video
- Test it against the top competitor on camera
- Lead every ad and page with that demo
Notes
Earn more per customer.
One sale is a transaction. A flywheel is a business. Make each buyer worth more.
Point 7
Unique Mechanism
Is there a built-in moment people want to share?
What you score
- 5: A signature gesture, reveal, or transformation worth filming
- 3: Nice product, no built-in moment
- 1: Nothing memorable happens when you use it
Low score and next plan
- Find the 5-second moment a buyer would post without being asked
- Design the packaging or first-use around that moment
- Seed it with 10 creators and watch what gets reshared
Notes
Point 8
Increase Average Order Value (AOV)
Can you turn one sale into a repeat or bigger purchase?
What you score
- 5: Built-in bundle, upsell, or refill that lifts AOV 30%+
- 3: One add-on, no real ladder
- 1: Single SKU, no path to a bigger basket
Low score and next plan
- Add one high-margin attachment (70%+ margin)
- Build a 2-pack or starter bundle as the default option
- Add a consumable, refill, or subscription path
Notes
Make it survive the market.
Profit you can't fund or defend doesn't count. Make sure the margin actually lands in your account and stays there.
Point 9
Reach First Revenue Without Burning Cash
How much do you spend before the first paid order?
What you score
- 5: Demand proven before tooling, low MOQ, fast to first dollar
- 3: Some pre-orders, moderate spend ahead of revenue
- 1: Big tooling and inventory spend before anyone has paid
Low score and next plan
- Run a reservation page or Kickstarter before cutting tooling
- Negotiate a lower MOQ on the first run
- Define the exact $ to first paid order and shrink it
Notes
Point 10
Build a Defense Against Copycats
What stops a copycat from cloning you next quarter?
What you score
- 5: Patent, brand pull, locked supply, or community no one can copy fast
- 3: A head start, but copyable in 6 months
- 1: Anyone could clone it next quarter
Low score and next plan
- File a utility patent on the one defensible mechanism
- Lock an exclusive supply or manufacturing relationship
- Build a named community or owned audience around the brand
Notes
Step 3, the walkaway
Generate their custom report.
Pulls every score, every note, every fix into a one-page plan addressed to them. Send it the moment the call ends.