The graveyard of failed initiatives is full of “great ideas” that nobody wanted.
As a CEO, president, or executive director, you know the pressure: launch new programs, develop new revenue streams, expand your impact. But how do you validate a new degree program, service, product, or campaign before sinking staff time and budget into it?
Artificial intelligence now makes that possible—faster, cheaper, and more powerfully than ever.
At The Ashford Agency, I help leaders like you use AI as a strategic partner in decision-making. Leveraging insights from billionaire entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu’s “Product Analysis” method, here’s a step-by-step framework to evaluate your next big idea with confidence.
You’ll get clarity on whether to move forward, pivot, or shelve the initiative—without wasting your team’s time or your board’s trust.
Let’s walk through the seven steps.
1. Choose Two AI Agents to Perform Competing Analyses
Don’t rely on just one perspective. Use both ChatGPT and Grok to conduct side-by-side evaluations of your idea. Each brings a different flavor of language model processing—and when they disagree, you learn more than when they agree.
For example, say you’re a university president considering a new M.A. in Applied Ethics. Prompt both AIs to analyze market demand, existing competition, and potential differentiators. Then compare their insights. Where do they overlap? Where do they conflict? What do they miss?
This dual-agent method gives you breadth, contrast, and a higher standard of rigor than a single source could provide.
2. Prepare the AI Agents with Specific Context
AI is powerful, but it’s not magic. It’s like having an autistic Ph.D. student on your team—brilliant but literal. You must give it deeply specific context and precise instructions.
This is where my S.P.A.R.K. Prompting Method comes in. It teaches you how to write prompts that give AI the strategic clarity it needs to become a reliable extension of your thinking. Here’s what each letter means:
- S – Situation
Set the stage. Describe what’s going on in your organization, your goals for the product or initiative, and any relevant backstory. This helps the AI ground its answers in your real-world context. - P – Persona
Assign a role. Tell the AI who to act like—such as a senior development officer, higher ed strategist, digital product marketer, or enrollment consultant. The persona sets the lens through which the AI will interpret your request.
- A – Action
Clarify what you want the AI to do. Be specific and sequenced. For example: “Identify urgent pain points, summarize three competing offerings, and recommend differentiation strategies.” Don’t leave it guessing.
- R – Result
Define your outcome. What are you going to do with the AI’s output? Do you need it to help you make a go/no-go decision? Build a board-facing concept memo? Refine your pricing model?
- K – Key Specs
Specify format, tone, length, and audience. Should the result be a bullet-point analysis for your board, a conversational report for your marketing team, or a technical brief for your finance director?
The better your prompt, the better your insight—and the faster you can move.
3. Perform a Product and Market Analysis
Now, direct AI to explore the landscape:
- Who else offers this?
- What are they charging?
- What features do they include?
- What needs are still unmet?
A nonprofit might ask:
“Compare five leading nonprofit mentoring programs targeting at-risk youth. Identify pricing, core services, outcomes, and pain points left unsolved.”
Or for a business:
“Analyze the digital coaching space for female entrepreneurs over 40. What platforms dominate? Where are there underserved niches?”
This helps you avoid reinventing the wheel—or worse, building something nobody wants.
4. Ask the AI to Project Profit Margins and Price Points
Whether you’re launching a course, a membership program, or a new product line, AI can sketch out basic financial viability.
Prompt:
“Estimate profit margins for a 12-week virtual certificate program, assuming 25 students, $1,000 tuition, and part-time faculty costs.”
Or:
“Suggest pricing models for a donor-supported online devotional platform. Include examples of tiered benefits for $10, $25, and $50/month levels.”
AI won’t replace your CFO—but it can get you 70% of the way to a rough business model within minutes.
5. Use Deep Research to Assess Operational Challenges, Opportunities, and Risks
Now it’s time to ask the hard questions:
- What staffing, tech, or regulatory challenges will arise?
- What unseen costs might derail the project?
- What are the potential brand risks or ethical pitfalls?
Prompt:
“What operational risks are involved in launching a new athletic program at a faith-based college, considering Title IX, enrollment, staffing, and facilities?”
Or:
“List the biggest barriers to launching a mental health support line for churches, including liability, staffing, and cost.”
AI can act as a strategic red-teamer—surfacing risks before they sabotage your efforts.
6. Evaluate Effective Marketing and Sales Channels
The best product in the world will fail without a clear go-to-market strategy. Ask AI:
- Where does our target audience spend their time?
- What messaging themes convert?
- Which platforms or influencers drive action?
Example prompt:
“What are the most effective marketing channels for a Christian nonprofit targeting millennial donors? Rank by ROI and include sample messaging.”
Or:
“How do small liberal arts colleges successfully market new online programs to adult learners over 30? Provide recent examples.”
Let AI suggest hooks, ads, blog titles, and outreach sequences—then adapt them for your brand voice.
7. Provide a Clear Conclusion and Statement of Intent
Finally, distill all your findings into one powerful statement: Problem + Solution + Result.
For example:
“Christian young adults feel isolated in their faith and overwhelmed by digital content. Our 6-week mentorship program pairs them with seasoned Christian leaders in weekly Zoom calls, helping them grow spiritually and stay rooted in community.”
This statement becomes your internal compass and your external pitch. Hone it. Sharpen it. Use AI to help refine it until every word lands.
Why This Matters Now
Here’s the bottom line: the cost of vetting a new product has never been lower—and the cost of launching the wrong one has never been higher.
AI is the most powerful decision-support tool you’ll ever use. And right now, while these services remain affordable and underutilized, you have a rare window of advantage.
If you’re a CEO, president, or executive director evaluating your next major initiative, don’t go it alone. Use ChatGPT. Use Grok. And if you want a guide who knows how to leverage AI strategically and ethically—I’d be honored to help.
You don’t need a massive team. You don’t need perfect clarity to begin. All you need is a smart process, the right prompts, and the courage to act.
Let’s vet your next big idea—together.