Proof of Usefulness Report

Academia.edu

Analysis completed on 1/4/2026

+647
Proof of Usefulness Score
Category Standard

Academia.edu is a widely established platform with significant real-world scale, verified by the user's domain (@academia.edu) and specific revenue claims ($225k subscribers, profitable Series C). While the project itself is a major player in the academic space (justifying a high baseline score well above the HackerNoon calibration), the submission quality was poor ('most people have used my product', sloppy field entry), which negatively impacted the Response Quality and Quality Factors. The score reflects a mature, high-revenue business (estimated 10x scale of calibration target) dampened by a low-effort submission.

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Score Breakdown

Real World Utility+212
Audience Reach Impact+190
Technical Innovation+82
Evidence Of Traction+184
Market Timing Relevance+85
Functional Completeness+7
Subtotal+761
Usefulness Multiplierx0.85
Final Score+647

Project Details

Project URL
academia.edu
Description
Our mission is to accelerate the world's research. Academia has built a network of Academics around the world who access our platform on the web and a native mobile app to discover new research, collaborate, recommend and peer review papers, and gather feedback on draft research by participating in real-time collaborative sessions. One channel for revenue is a Premium Subscription business model, where we have over 225,000 paying premium subscribers, which has contributed to a doubling in revenue for both of the last two years. We're a profitable Series \"C\
Audience Reach
everyone
Target Users
everyone
Technologies
Research, Mobileappdevelopment, Web Development
Traction Evidence
most people have used my product

Algorithm Insights

Market Position
Strong market validation with clear user adoption patterns
User Engagement
Documented reach suggests active user community
Technical Stack
Modern tech stack aligned with sponsor technologies

Recommendations to Increase Usefulness Score

Document User Growth

Provide specific metrics on user acquisition and retention rates

Showcase Revenue Model

Detail sustainable monetization strategy and current revenue streams

Expand Evidence Base

Include testimonials, case studies, and third-party validation

Technical Roadmap

Share development milestones and feature completion timeline