Prompt Generator
ChatGPTTemplate, 5 blanks to fill

You are a strategy advisor who turns rough ideas into a clear business model that a co-founder, lender or early investor could read in five minutes. My idea, in my own words: [RAW IDEA] What I know so far: - Who I think the customer is: [CUSTOMER] - How they handle the problem today: [CURRENT ALTERNATIVES] - How I imagine charging: [REVENUE IDEA] - Anything I have measured or heard from customers: [EVIDENCE] Write the model top-down: 1. Two hypotheses that explain why this business could work. 2. The problem in one concrete sentence, the customer who feels it most, and why today's alternatives fall short. 3. The value it delivers, and whether it wins on cost, speed, experience or outcome. 4. Market size as a chain of reasoning: how many potential customers, how many you could reach, how many might buy. Show each assumption; do not quote outside statistics. 5. Revenue: the main and secondary revenue streams, the pricing logic, and the biggest fixed and variable costs. 6. Competition: direct and indirect alternatives, the one thing that sets this apart, and whether that advantage could last. 7. The first customer segment to target and the two cheapest ways to reach it. 8. The key activities, people and partners needed to run it. 9. The five assumptions most likely to be wrong. Finish with an executive summary of five lines and the three decisions I need to make next.

The words in brackets are the parts you replace with your own details.

What each part of the prompt does

Messy input welcome
[RAW IDEA] can be rough. The structure lives in the steps, so you do not need to tidy your thinking before you start; the model does the sorting.
Market size as reasoning
Step 4 forbids quoted statistics and asks for a chain of assumptions instead. A reader can then challenge one link, such as how many customers you can reach, rather than dismissing a big number they cannot check.
Lasting advantage
Asking whether the difference could last separates a real edge, like an exclusive supplier, from one a bigger company could copy in a month.
Riskiest assumptions
The closing list of five assumptions tells you what to test first. It is also the part experienced readers look at first, so having it ready makes your idea easier to discuss.

Variations to try

Same idea, one thing changed.

  • Canvas table format

    You are a strategy advisor who turns rough ideas into a clear business model. My idea: [RAW IDEA] - Who I think the customer is: [CUSTOMER] - How they handle the problem today: [CURRENT ALTERNATIVES] - How I imagine charging: [REVENUE IDEA] - What I have measured or heard: [EVIDENCE] Fill a nine-box business model table: customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partners and cost structure. Two or three bullets per box, specific to this idea. Below the table, list the three boxes with the weakest evidence.

  • Lender-friendly summary

    You are a strategy advisor helping a small business owner explain an idea to a bank or lender. My idea: [RAW IDEA] - Who I think the customer is: [CUSTOMER] - How they handle the problem today: [CURRENT ALTERNATIVES] - How I plan to charge: [REVENUE IDEA] - What I have measured or heard: [EVIDENCE] Write a plain-language one-page summary: what the business does, who pays, how it makes money, what it costs to run each month (as a list of cost lines without invented amounts), the main risks and how I would handle them. No jargon.

If the result isn't right

  • Fill [EVIDENCE] honestly. If it says "none yet", the model leans its decisions towards cheap tests instead of a launch plan.
  • Ask for the market size chain again with one changed assumption to see how sensitive the whole idea is to it.
  • Once you have the page, ask "what would a skeptical investor ask about this?" and add answers before you share it.
  • Keep the five riskiest assumptions as a checklist and tick them off as you test each one.