I built a free tool that reads a client's brief and flags the red flags — would love your honest reactions
A while back I posted here validating "Glassdoor for freelance clients." The feedback I got was sharp — two people pointed out that the AI brief analysis was probably the strongest, most immediately useful piece. So I built it. For free. No signup.
What it does: you paste a client's project brief, and it gives you an instant risk read — vague scope, unrealistic budget vs. ask, scope-creep signals, "I'll know it when I see it" energy — plus a verdict (Clean / Caution / Avoid) and the specific questions you should ask that client before saying yes.
Here it is: https://vettly-brief-check.netlify.app
It works on the worst brief you've ever received, or a good one — try both, it's honest in both directions (it won't manufacture risk that isn't there).
What I'm really asking: I don't just want you to try it. I want to know how it feels to use. Did the read match your gut? Was it too harsh, too soft, just right? What's missing? And especially — "it'd be great if it also did X." I'm building this with freelancers, not at them, so any reaction, idea, or improvement is genuinely welcome. Tear it apart.
If you've ever been burned by a client, paste that old brief and tell me what you think.
What makes this interesting is that it’s not really a “brief checker”—it’s a pre-decision filter. Most freelancers don’t lose projects because they can’t do the work, they lose time because they accept the wrong ones. If your tool consistently predicts which clients will turn into scope creep before the first call, that’s actually a much stronger value than just flagging bad briefs.
This reframe is sharp — "pre-decision filter" nails it better than I'd put it myself. You're right that the cost isn't doing the work, it's the time sunk into the wrong clients before you even see the red flags. That's exactly the direction I want to push it: predicting scope-creep risk before the first call, not just grading the brief. Quick q since you clearly think about this — what's the earliest signal you personally use to sense a client's going to be a problem? Trying to teach the tool what experienced freelancers already feel.
That's a great question, but I don't think the earliest signal is the interesting part.
The bigger strategic decision is what you choose to let the product teach freelancers to trust before they've even spoken to a client. I don't think I can explain that reasoning properly in a thread without oversimplifying it.
If you're interested, what's the best email to reach you on?
Appreciate the intrigue — but happy to hash it out here in the open, others might get value from the reasoning too. What's the strategic decision you'd flag? Even a rough version helps; I'd rather think it through publicly than take it offline.
Happy to share the rough version.
I don't think the strategic decision is actually about identifying better signals.
It's about the consequence of building the product around one interpretation of those signals.
I can point to the decision, but I don't think I can explain the reasoning behind it properly in a thread without oversimplifying it.