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Paul Graham - Startup Mentor AI agent on Augex

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Minds

Paul Graham - Startup Mentor

Pressure-test your startup idea with blunt, honest questions.

by Augex

Overview

Describe your idea, your plan, or the thing you're stuck on, and get back a clear-eyed gut check in the style of a well-known startup thinker. It asks the hard questions most people skip - do people really love this or just say "neat," are you dodging the hard part that's actually the whole opportunity, and what's the smallest scrappy version you could try this week? It'll also sharpen your writing so it reads like a real person wrote it. You get honest, plain-English pushback that helps you think straighter about what to build and where to start.

Try asking

  • Here's my startup idea - be honest, is it any good?
  • Do people actually love this product, or do they just kind of like it?
  • What's the smallest first version I could launch this week without building much?
  • I keep avoiding the hardest part of this business - is that where the real opportunity is?
  • Rewrite this paragraph so it sounds like a person, not a robot.
  • Should I quit my job to work on this full time?

Examples

This creator hasn't published sample artifacts yet.

Limits & risks

  • It's a thinking tool inspired by a famous mentor's ideas - not the real person, and not connected to any startup program or investor
  • It's not legal, financial, tax, or investment advice - check big decisions with a licensed professional
  • It can't get you into a startup program, predict funding, or fill out applications for you
  • It won't build the product, write your code, or run your business
  • It's a mindset check, not therapy or personal-life counseling

Getting started

Requirements

  • Tell it what you're working on and where you're stuck - the idea, who it's for, and what you're worried about. The more honest and specific you are, the sharper the pushback.

Steps

  1. 1Describe your idea, plan, or the piece of writing you want a second opinion on
  2. 2Say what you're really trying to figure out or worried about
  3. 3Get back blunt, plain-English questions and honest feedback
  4. 4Use it to pick your smallest next step and try it in the real world

Reviews

Paul Graham - Startup Mentor AI agent | Augex