Proof of Usefulness Report

The Shelf

Analysis completed on 1/31/2026

+348
Proof of Usefulness Score
Certified Problem Solver

The Shelf is a legitimate, established influencer marketing platform with significant market presence, likely exceeding the team size and revenue of the calibration reference (HackerNoon). However, the submission itself was of very low quality, containing hyperbolic claims ('most people have used my product') and missing financial data. While the project fundamentals (utility, traction, market fit) are strong and verified externally, the PoU score is dampened by the lack of verifiable evidence provided directly in the input and the poor response quality.

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Score Breakdown

Real World Utility+22.50
Audience Reach Impact+12.00
Technical Innovation+9.75
Evidence Of Traction+17.00
Market Timing Relevance+8.00
Functional Completeness+0.50
Subtotal+348.75
Usefulness Multiplierx0.99
Final Score+348

Project Details

Project URL
theshelf.com
Description
The Shelf brings big-data and machine-learning to the world of influencer/word-of-mouth marketing.\n\nOur paying customers include startups, agencies, and big brands. They utilize our platform to: \na) Discover relevant influencers from our database of 200K and growing influencers\nb) Setup campaigns, invite influencers to those campaigns, and manage everything using our built-in emailing system\nc) Additionally, customers are able to analyze and engage with influencer mentions directly from Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs through our platform.\n\nOur technology platform is orders of magnitude superior to existing agency-style solutions. Specifically, we achieve :\n-significantly more coverage\n-high scalability\n-and powerful relevance-based search functionality.\n

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