Question 1

Why did my startup get a low score?

Accepted Answer

Low scores usually reflect weak market fit, crowded competition, unclear differentiation, or high execution risk. Our AI analyzes your idea across these dimensions and explains the main issues in the breakdown. Use the verdict and suggested pivot to refine your concept and re-roast to see improvement.

Question 2

What do the roast score tiers mean?

Accepted Answer

Ship It (85–100): Strong idea, worth validating further. Decent (70–84): Promising but has gaps to address. Needs Work (50–69): Significant issues; use feedback to iterate. Roasted (0–49): Major concerns; consider pivoting or solving the core problem before building.

Question 3

How does DontBuildThis score startup ideas?

Accepted Answer

Our AI evaluates your idea on market fit, competition, differentiation, execution risk, and clarity. It returns a score out of 100, a tier, a verdict, and a detailed breakdown so you know exactly what to improve before spending time and money building.

Question 4

Can I improve my startup idea score?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use the breakdown and verdict to address weak points, then submit an updated idea or pivot. Many founders improve their score by narrowing the problem, clarifying the target customer, or strengthening their unique angle.

Question 5

What is a good score for a startup idea?

Accepted Answer

Scores of 70+ indicate promising ideas worth exploring. 85+ suggests strong potential. Scores below 50 mean the idea likely needs significant rework or a pivot before it’s worth building.

Question 6

What score did "Project: FREE HAND — High-Performance Racing, No Hands Required
The Vision
Racing is about the thrill of the limit—the perfect apex, the last-second brake, the roar of the engine. For players with upper-limb impairments or monoplegia, these moments are often lost behind "simplified" controls or auto-pilot assists. FREE HAND changes the game. We aren’t building a "special needs" app; we are building a high-performance control system that puts the player back in the driver’s seat.

The Problem: The "Glass Ceiling" of Accessibility
Most accessible racing games treat players like passengers. By automating acceleration or simplifying steering, they remove the skill gap. If the game plays for you, you can't truly compete. Players don't want a "win" handed to them; they want the tools to earn it.

The Solution: FREE HAND’S Dual-Axis Mastery
We’ve redesigned the racing cockpit from the ground up, moving all high-stakes commands to the parts of the body with the most strength and precision:

Force-Feedback Pedals: No more "on/off" buttons. FREE HAND uses professional-grade pressure sensors. The nuance of your foot determines the exact traction of the tires, allowing for master-level throttle control and trail braking.

Intuitive Body-Tilt Steering: Steering is decoupled from the feet to prevent mental fatigue. By using a discreet wearable sensor, the player steers the car by naturally leaning their body. It is instinctive, fast, and removes the need for any hand interaction.

Pure Competitive Evolution: We’ve replaced "lives" and "easy modes" with real-world physics. If you miss a turn, you lose time, not the game. This encourages practice and rewards true mastery, allowing a FREE HAND pilot to out-lap players using traditional controllers.

Why It Wins
FREE HAND is a "Universal Design" breakthrough. It proves that accessibility doesn't mean compromise. By focusing on High-Performance Control rather than "help," we are enabling a new generation of athletes to enter the digital track—hand-free and head-first.

We are designing Free Hand to be open-source friendly. The core software can be used with off-the-shelf components, reducing R&D costs and allowing the community to build their own kits, while we focus on the high-end, 'Pro' version for competitive eSports.

We are a team of first-semester Design and Tech students with a clear, high-stakes milestone: we have 4 months to move from concept to a fully functional prototype. Our goal isn't to build a mass-manufacturing empire overnight, but to deliver a proven MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Using Arduino-based hardware and modular sensors, we are focused on rapid prototyping to demonstrate that high-performance, hand-free racing isn't just a vision—it's a functional reality that can be built and tested within a single academic term." get?

Accepted Answer

"Project: FREE HAND — High-Performance Racing, No Hands Required
The Vision
Racing is about the thrill of the limit—the perfect apex, the last-second brake, the roar of the engine. For players with upper-limb impairments or monoplegia, these moments are often lost behind "simplified" controls or auto-pilot assists. FREE HAND changes the game. We aren’t building a "special needs" app; we are building a high-performance control system that puts the player back in the driver’s seat.

The Problem: The "Glass Ceiling" of Accessibility
Most accessible racing games treat players like passengers. By automating acceleration or simplifying steering, they remove the skill gap. If the game plays for you, you can't truly compete. Players don't want a "win" handed to them; they want the tools to earn it.

The Solution: FREE HAND’S Dual-Axis Mastery
We’ve redesigned the racing cockpit from the ground up, moving all high-stakes commands to the parts of the body with the most strength and precision:

Force-Feedback Pedals: No more "on/off" buttons. FREE HAND uses professional-grade pressure sensors. The nuance of your foot determines the exact traction of the tires, allowing for master-level throttle control and trail braking.

Intuitive Body-Tilt Steering: Steering is decoupled from the feet to prevent mental fatigue. By using a discreet wearable sensor, the player steers the car by naturally leaning their body. It is instinctive, fast, and removes the need for any hand interaction.

Pure Competitive Evolution: We’ve replaced "lives" and "easy modes" with real-world physics. If you miss a turn, you lose time, not the game. This encourages practice and rewards true mastery, allowing a FREE HAND pilot to out-lap players using traditional controllers.

Why It Wins
FREE HAND is a "Universal Design" breakthrough. It proves that accessibility doesn't mean compromise. By focusing on High-Performance Control rather than "help," we are enabling a new generation of athletes to enter the digital track—hand-free and head-first.

We are designing Free Hand to be open-source friendly. The core software can be used with off-the-shelf components, reducing R&D costs and allowing the community to build their own kits, while we focus on the high-end, 'Pro' version for competitive eSports.

We are a team of first-semester Design and Tech students with a clear, high-stakes milestone: we have 4 months to move from concept to a fully functional prototype. Our goal isn't to build a mass-manufacturing empire overnight, but to deliver a proven MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Using Arduino-based hardware and modular sensors, we are focused on rapid prototyping to demonstrate that high-performance, hand-free racing isn't just a vision—it's a functional reality that can be built and tested within a single academic term." scored 77/100 (👍 Decent). Ambitious, niche, and actually useful—just don't expect to retire on it.