Ten experts use your product. Then they tell you the truth.
Ten startup operators — paid for their time, matched to your target user — sign up, dig in for 30 to 45 minutes each, and write up exactly what they found. You get all ten verdicts plus one report that turns them into priorities.
- From $1,000 · applying is free
- Testers are paid experts, not organic users
- Never a path into the directory
What you get
Three deliverables. No dashboards, no calls to schedule — written feedback you can act on the day it arrives.
Ten Experts, Hands-On
Ten startup operators sign up for your product and use it the way your target user would — roughly 30 to 45 minutes each of real, hands-on use. Every tester is paid for their time.
Ten Written Verdicts
Each tester writes up their own structured feedback: where they got stuck, what confused them, what convinced them, what didn't. You get all ten, individually, unedited.
One Synthesized Report
We pull the ten write-ups into a single report: the themes that kept surfacing, ranked by how much they matter, so you know what to fix first.
The scope, stated plainly: 30–45 minutes of hands-on use per tester plus structured written feedback. Not a security review, not a technical audit, not ongoing usage. That precision is what makes the price — and the word “expert” — honest.
Who the testers are
Founders and startup operators from our network — the same kind of people who read this directory. They evaluate software with an operator's eye because choosing and abandoning tools is part of their job.
Every tester is paid for their time. They are professional evaluators doing focused work — not volunteers, not fans, and not organic users who discovered your product on their own. That's a feature: paid experts owe you honesty, not enthusiasm.
We match each panel to your target user by role and stage, and you see each tester's role and stage descriptor alongside their feedback.
Keep your metrics clean
Ten tester accounts will appear in your analytics as new signups. Tag or segment them before kickoff so your activation and retention numbers stay honest — they're evaluators on the clock, not users you earned.
Bound by a tester agreement
Every tester commits to honest, unedited feedback, to disclosing the paid relationship if they ever mention your product publicly, and to never posting fake reviews or ratings anywhere. Their word to you is the whole product.
How it works
Application-first, payment-second. Nobody pays before a human has said yes.
You apply — free
Tell us what you built, who it's for, and what you want tested. Applying costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
We qualify it
A human checks that your product is testable and that the scope fits the service. You hear back within 2 business days.
You pay by Stripe link
If it's a fit, we email you a Stripe payment link. No payment happens on this site, and you never pay before we've said yes.
Kickoff starts the clock
We assign your ten testers and send a kickoff email. Your turnaround window runs from kickoff — not from payment.
Feedback lands
Ten individual write-ups plus the synthesized report arrive in your inbox within your turnaround window.
Turnaround and pricing
Same ten testers, same deliverables at every tier — you're only choosing how fast the report lands. The clock starts at kickoff, not at payment.
Standard
2 weeks from kickoff
$1,000
The default. Ten experts, individual feedback, one synthesized report — delivered two weeks from kickoff.
- 10 expert testers, hands-on
- 10 individual written write-ups
- 1 synthesized report
Rush
7 days from kickoff
$1,250
The same ten testers and the same deliverables, compressed into one week from kickoff.
- 10 expert testers, hands-on
- 10 individual written write-ups
- 1 synthesized report
Priority
24 hours from kickoff
$1,600
Feedback in your inbox one day after kickoff. Subject to tester availability — we confirm before you pay.
- 10 expert testers, hands-on
- 10 individual written write-ups
- 1 synthesized report
Full refund until testers are assigned. After the kickoff email the engagement is non-refundable, because tester compensation is committed at that point — if fewer than ten deliver, you get a pro-rata refund for the shortfall. Details in the Terms of Service.
What this is not
A paid service next to a free directory only works if the line between them is unmissable. Here's the line.
Not advertising or promotion
Nobody hears about your product because of this service. The only output is feedback, delivered privately to you.
Not user acquisition
The ten signups are paid evaluators doing a job. They are not prospects, they will not convert, and they should never be counted as traction.
Not a way to inflate your metrics
Tester accounts will appear in your analytics — as noise, not growth. We tell you to segment them out precisely because they aren't real usage.
Not a security review or technical audit
Testers evaluate your product as expert users, not as penetration testers or code reviewers. 30–45 minutes of hands-on use is the scope, stated plainly.
Not a route into the directory
Buying testing does not get you listed on /startups and does not influence our editorial coverage in any way. Those decisions stay free and stay separate.
Not guaranteed praise
Feedback is each tester's honest opinion, passed to you unedited. If the product doesn't land, you'll be told why — that's the product.
The directory is not for sale. Startup Members is free and vetted purely on merit — that vetting is why its listings mean something. Buying product testing gets you feedback, and only feedback. It buys no listing, no link, and no coverage, ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apply for a testing round
Five minutes of your time. Tell us what you built and what you want ten expert opinions on — a human reads it and replies within 2 business days.