Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, that's actually the idea. If we & the client think at any point that it's not worth pursuing it, we stop the process (hence the "under $10,000", not "exactly $10,000").

I absolutely feel that the initial part (taking apart the idea, probing it, trying to see if it makes sense, trying to prove it via experiments/testing/user interviews) brings more value than the implementation part.

If we spend, say $2,000 out of the whole budget proving that, say, the market isn't there, we've just saved $8,000 to the client which they can use for other ideas (or to modify/pivot the original one).

I had the same reaction as bruceb. Maybe offer the initial evaluation as a separate service?

I thought about having it as a separate service, but I believe there are a lot of consultancies that do that (basically, everyone peddling Lean Startup), but are often ignored (client goes through the motions, but then does a 180 when it's time to implement things).

By guiding them on every step of the way, we ensure that they keep the discipline and the focus. (That's the idea, at least).

Thanks for the feedback!