---
name: sales-startup-ai
description: "startup.ai platform help — an AI startup builder / no-code app builder that turns a plain-language idea into a working app and deploys it live: an AI Builder that generates a first app version, a Live Preview, an Idea Evaluation score (Market / Problem / Revenue), a browsable Idea Browser of AI-evaluated ideas, and one-click Publish to a public URL with a custom domain. Priced as a free prototype tier and a credit-metered Pro plan that unlocks public deploy and private ideas; UI-only, no public API. Use when building an app or MVP from an idea on startup.ai, reading its Market/Problem/Revenue idea score, browsing the Idea Browser, deploying to a custom domain, understanding the free vs Pro credits, or asking whether it has an API. Note: an AI idea score and a shipped app are not validated demand. Do NOT use for the validate-before-building method or comparing idea-validation tools (use /sales-idea-validation), or a general smoke-test landing page (use /sales-funnel)."
argument-hint: "[describe what you need help with in startup.ai]"
license: MIT
version: 1.0.0
tags: [sales, pre-launch, platform]
---

# startup.ai Platform Help

startup.ai (**startup.ai**) is an **AI startup builder / no-code app builder** — *"turn your idea into
reality."* You describe an idea in plain language and it **builds a working first version of the app**
(with a **Live Preview** that updates as you edit), scores the concept in an **Idea Evaluation** (an
overall score plus **Market / Problem / Revenue** sub-scores), lets you browse a directory of
AI-evaluated ideas (the **Idea Browser**), and **one-click Publishes** the app to a public URL with a
**custom domain** (Vercel-hosted, HTTPS). It is the rare tool in this space that spans *evaluate +
discover + actually build & deploy* in one product — but a generated score and a shipped app are **not
validated demand**, and it has **no documented public API** (a UI tool).

> ⚠️ **Name disambiguation.** This is **startup.ai** (the AI builder). Several similarly named tools
> exist — **stratup.ai** is a separate AI idea *generator*, **startupadeasai.com** ("Startup Ideas AI")
> is another. If the user means an idea-*generator*/discovery tool, that's an `/sales-idea-validation`
> question, not this skill.

## Step 1 — Gather context

If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask only what you can't infer:

1. **What do you want from startup.ai?**
   - A) Build an app / MVP from an idea (AI Builder, Live Preview, editing)
   - B) Read the Idea Evaluation score (overall + Market / Problem / Revenue) and what to do with it
   - C) Browse the Idea Browser to find an idea worth building
   - D) Publish / deploy to a public URL or custom domain (and what the free vs Pro plan gates)
   - E) Get more useful output, or ask whether it has an API to automate/export
2. **Do you already have a clear idea description?** Build and score quality track the detail you give it.
3. **Are you trying to *decide whether to build*, or to *build*?** If it's the go/no-go, that's a
   `/sales-idea-validation` question — route in Step 2.

Skip-ahead: if the user's prompt already contains enough context, go straight to Step 3.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

| If the user's question is about… | Route to |
|---|---|
| The validate-before-building **method**, or comparing idea-validation/builder tools across the market | `/sales-idea-validation {question}` |
| Building the actual **smoke-test / landing page** the demand test runs on (as a general strategy) | `/sales-funnel {question}` |
| Growing a pre-launch **waitlist** / capturing real demand once you test | `/sales-audience-growth {question}` |
| Content / marketing **strategy** for the launched app | `/sales-content {question}` |
| A different similarly named tool (stratup.ai, Startup Ideas AI, an idea *generator*) | `/sales-idea-validation {question}` |

When routing, give the exact command: "This is a {domain} question — run: `/sales-idea-validation {original question}`"

Otherwise, answer startup.ai-specific questions using Step 3.

## Step 3 — startup.ai platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full reference — the module lineup (AI Builder, Live
Preview, Idea Evaluation, Idea Browser, Publish) and what each produces, how the Idea Evaluation score
is structured, the **free-vs-Pro** plan split and best-effort **credit** economics, the
custom-domain/Vercel deploy path, how to frame the idea input for better build + score output, and the
no-public-API automation reality.

Answer using only the relevant section — don't dump the full reference.

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

- **Read the Idea Evaluation as a directional AI opinion, not demand.** The overall score and its
  **Market / Problem / Revenue** sub-scores are an LLM's read of the concept — a high score is **not**
  proof anyone will pay. Keep the structured parts (which sub-score is weak, the market framing) to
  sharpen the pitch, and take the go/no-go from a **real behavior test** — route it to
  `/sales-idea-validation` (smoke test / pre-sale).
- **Name the build-first trap explicitly.** startup.ai makes building + deploying so frictionless that
  the founder can skip demand testing entirely — the exact anti-pattern. Tell the user a **shipped app
  is not a validated app** (building is cheap now; demand evidence is the scarce thing). The upside:
  the app it deploys **can double as the smoke-test page** — publish it, drive a little targeted
  traffic, and read the conversion; *that* is the proof.
- **Frame a rich idea input — build and score quality track input depth.** A one-line prompt yields a
  generic app and a generic score; feed it a specific customer, the exact problem, and how it's
  different, then re-run and compare. Treat the generated app as an **editable first draft**.
- **Model pricing as free-vs-Pro with a monthly credit budget, and flag it as best-effort.** Whenever
  pricing or "is it worth it" comes up, name the split: a **free** tier (prototype/build in the editor)
  vs a **Pro** monthly plan (best-effort ~a set number of **credits/mo**) that unlocks **public deploy**
  and **private ideas**. Credits meter generations/builds, so iterating on the same app draws them down —
  tell the user to confirm current tiers, credit counts, and what each build costs at startup.ai.
- **There's no public API — don't plan an integration around it.** If asked to automate or export,
  say plainly there's **no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP**; it's a UI tool.
  The deployed app has its own public URL, but the builder itself can't be scripted — copy outputs
  manually, or use a tool built for programmatic generation, and automate real signals (deployed-page
  analytics), not generated assets.
- **Disambiguate the name before answering.** startup.ai (this builder) is easily confused with
  stratup.ai and "Startup Ideas AI" (idea *generators*) — if the user means a discovery/generator tool,
  route to `/sales-idea-validation`.

If you discover a gotcha or tip not in `references/learnings.md`, append it there with today's date.

## Gotchas

*Best-effort from research (2026-07) — the module lineup, credits, and pricing move; verify at startup.ai.*

- **An Idea Evaluation score is not validated demand.** Market / Problem / Revenue sub-scores are an AI
  opinion; pair them with a real demand test (`/sales-idea-validation`).
- **A shipped app is not a validated app.** startup.ai's whole pitch — build + deploy in minutes — makes
  it easy to skip validation. Use the deployed page *as* the smoke test; measure the committed action.
- **Public deploy and private ideas are Pro-gated.** The free tier builds a prototype; publishing to a
  public URL / custom domain and keeping ideas private need the paid Pro plan (best-effort — confirm).
- **Builds/generations burn credits.** Pro includes a monthly credit budget; iterating on the same app
  consumes it, so re-runs aren't free — budget accordingly.
- **Name collisions.** startup.ai (this builder) ≠ stratup.ai (idea generator) ≠ startupadeasai.com
  ("Startup Ideas AI"). Route generator/discovery questions to `/sales-idea-validation`.
- **No documented public API.** It's a web tool; don't plan integrations around the builder.

## Related skills

- `/sales-idea-validation` — The tool-agnostic validate-before-building method + the full validator/builder landscape (use this to actually decide build-or-not)
- `/sales-funnel` — Build the smoke-test / landing page the demand test runs on (startup.ai's deployed app can serve as one)
- `/sales-frederick` — Frederick AI — a sibling AI co-founder whose agents also *build & ship* apps and landing pages (credit-metered)
- `/sales-sololaunch` — SoloLaunch — a sibling AI startup builder that generates a name/logo/brand/timeline asset kit (no app build)
- `/sales-ideabrowser` — IdeaBrowser — the paid idea-discovery catalog (startup.ai's Idea Browser is a lighter, bundled version)
- `/sales-audience-growth` — Grow a pre-launch waitlist and capture real demand
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code`

## Examples

### Example 1: "startup.ai scored my idea 7.8/10 — should I build it?"
**User says**: "startup.ai gave my shift-scheduling idea an overall 7.8 with Market 8, Problem 7, Revenue 6. Good to build?"
**Skill does**: Reframes the score as a directional AI opinion, not demand — keeps the useful signal (Revenue is the
weakest sub-score, so willingness-to-pay is the open question) and prescribes a real test: build the app,
publish it as a smoke-test page, drive a little targeted traffic to a pre-set conversion threshold, then
attempt a pre-sale. Routes the go/no-go to `/sales-idea-validation`.
**Result**: The founder gets a decision from stranger behavior, using the score only to sharpen where to probe.

### Example 2: Build and deploy an MVP, then know it's worth it
**User says**: "I want to build my MVP on startup.ai and ship it to a custom domain — is that validation?"
**Skill does**: Explains the AI Builder + Live Preview + one-click Publish flow and that public deploy /
custom domain is Pro-gated, then separates *shipped* from *validated* — startup.ai will happily deploy an
app nobody wants. Recommends using the deployed page **as** the smoke test (measure a committed action),
and routes the demand decision to `/sales-idea-validation` and the traffic capture to `/sales-audience-growth`.
**Result**: The user ships fast but gates the "is it worth it" verdict on real conversion, not the deploy.

### Example 3: Can I automate startup.ai via API? (developer/automation)
**User says**: "I want to generate and score 20 ideas from a script — what's startup.ai's API?"
**Skill does**: States plainly there's **no documented public API, no webhooks, no Zapier/Make, no MCP** —
it's a UI tool, so there's no supported way to batch builds or pull scores. Suggests copying outputs
manually or calling an LLM API directly for bulk scoring, and notes the thing worth automating is a real
demand signal (deployed-page analytics), not generated apps — pointing to `/sales-idea-validation`.
**Result**: The user avoids building on a non-existent API and picks a workable path.

## Troubleshooting

### The generated app or score feels generic
**Symptom**: The built app is barebones or the Idea Evaluation reads like it could fit any product.
**Cause**: The idea input was thin — startup.ai's build and scoring need detail to beat a generic model.
**Solution**: Re-run with a rich description — specific customer, the exact problem, how the solution
differs, current stage — and compare variants. Treat the app as an editable first draft, not a finished MVP.

### Can't publish / no custom domain / hit a limit
**Symptom**: The Publish/deploy option is locked, the custom domain won't attach, or generations stopped.
**Cause**: **Public deploy and private ideas are Pro-gated**, and builds/generations consume a monthly
**credit** budget — the free tier builds a prototype but reserves publishing and private ideas for Pro.
**Solution**: If you'll actively build and ship, weigh the monthly Pro fee and its credit budget against
how much you'll iterate; confirm the current tiers, credit counts, and per-build cost at startup.ai.

### "Is there an API?" / wrong startup.ai
**Symptom**: Looking for API docs to automate builds/scores, or confused between startup.ai and stratup.ai.
**Cause**: startup.ai has **no documented public API** (it's a UI tool); stratup.ai and "Startup Ideas AI"
are *different* products — idea generators, not this builder.
**Solution**: Don't build an integration around the builder — copy outputs manually or call an LLM API
directly. If the task is *generating/discovering* an idea, that's `/sales-idea-validation`. Automate real
demand signals (deployed-page analytics) instead.