Data Validation Recipes

Validate and filter data based on ICP criteria

Data Validation

Common patterns for validating data quality and filtering based on business rules.

Validate Company Against ICP

Use Case: Check if a company matches your Ideal Customer Profile using AI.

const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");

if (!website) {
   ctx.halt("No website to validate");
   return false;
}

// Scrape the website
const scraped = await services.scrape.website({
   url: website,
   params: { limit: 1 },
});

// Use AI to validate against ICP
const result = await services.ai.generateObject({
   prompt: `Analyze this website and determine if the company matches our ICP.

Our ICP:
- B2B SaaS companies
- 50-500 employees
- Selling to enterprises
- Based in North America

Website content:
${scraped.markdown.substring(0, 10000)}

Determine if they match.`,

   schema: z.object({
      matches: z.boolean(),
      companyType: z.string(),
      employeeEstimate: z.string().optional(),
      confidence: z.enum(["high", "medium", "low"]),
      reasoning: z.string(),
   }),

   model: "gpt-5-mini",
});

if (!result.object.matches) {
   ctx.halt(`Not ICP: ${result.object.reasoning}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Job Title

Use Case: Check if a person’s job title matches your target persona.

const jobTitle = await ctx.thisRow.get("Job Title");

if (!jobTitle) {
   ctx.halt("No job title");
   return false;
}

const result = await services.ai.generateObject({
   prompt: `Does this job title match our target persona?

Job Title: "${jobTitle}"

Target: C-level executives (CEO, CTO, CFO, CMO, COO), VPs, and Directors.

Return true if they match, false otherwise.`,

   schema: z.object({
      matches: z.boolean(),
      seniority: z.enum(["c-level", "vp", "director", "manager", "individual-contributor", "other"]),
      reasoning: z.string(),
   }),

   model: "gpt-5-mini",
});

if (!result.object.matches) {
   ctx.halt(`Job title doesn't match: ${result.object.reasoning}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Email Quality

Use Case: Check if an email address is valid and not a generic/role-based email.

const email = await ctx.thisRow.get("Email");

if (!email) {
   ctx.halt("No email");
   return false;
}

// Basic validation
if (!email.includes("@") || email.length < 5) {
   ctx.halt("Invalid email format");
   return false;
}

// Check for generic/role-based emails
const genericPrefixes = [
   "info@",
   "contact@",
   "sales@",
   "support@",
   "hello@",
   "admin@",
   "noreply@",
   "no-reply@",
   "team@",
];

const isGeneric = genericPrefixes.some((prefix) => email.toLowerCase().startsWith(prefix));

if (isGeneric) {
   ctx.halt("Generic email address");
   return false;
}

// Check for free email providers (optional - depends on use case)
const freeProviders = ["gmail.com", "yahoo.com", "hotmail.com", "outlook.com", "aol.com", "icloud.com"];

const domain = email.split("@")[1]?.toLowerCase();
const isFreeEmail = freeProviders.includes(domain);

return true;

---

Validate Company Size

Use Case: Filter companies by employee count range.

const linkedinUrl = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company LinkedIn URL");

if (!linkedinUrl) {
   ctx.halt("No LinkedIn URL");
   return false;
}

// Enrich to get employee count
const companyData = await services.company.linkedin.enrich({
   url: linkedinUrl,
});

const employeeCount = companyData.size_employees_count;

// Check if within target range (50-500 employees)
if (employeeCount < 50 || employeeCount > 500) {
   ctx.halt(`Company size ${employeeCount} is outside target range (50-500)`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Website Quality

Use Case: Check if a website is valid and not a social media profile.

const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");

if (!website) {
   ctx.halt("No website");
   return false;
}

// Check if it's a social media profile (not a real website)
const socialDomains = ["facebook.com", "instagram.com", "linkedin.com", "twitter.com", "x.com", "tiktok.com"];

const isSocialProfile = socialDomains.some((domain) => website.toLowerCase().includes(domain));

if (isSocialProfile) {
   ctx.halt("Website is a social media profile");
   return false;
}

// Try to scrape to validate it's accessible
try {
   const scraped = await services.scrape.website({
      url: website,
      params: { limit: 1 },
   });

   if (!scraped.markdown || scraped.markdown.length < 100) {
      ctx.halt("Website has insufficient content");
      return false;
   }

   return true;
} catch (error) {
   ctx.halt("Website is not accessible");
   return false;
}

---

Validate Location

Use Case: Filter companies by geographic location.

const state = await ctx.thisRow.get("State");

const targetStates = ["California", "New York", "Texas", "Florida", "Illinois", "Massachusetts", "Washington"];

const isInTargetState = targetStates.includes(state);

if (!isInTargetState) {
   ctx.halt(`State ${state} is not in target list`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Data Completeness

Use Case: Ensure a lead has all required fields before proceeding.

const requiredFields = {
   "First Name": await ctx.thisRow.get("First Name"),
   "Last Name": await ctx.thisRow.get("Last Name"),
   Email: await ctx.thisRow.get("Email"),
   Company: await ctx.thisRow.get("Company"),
   "Job Title": await ctx.thisRow.get("Job Title"),
};

const missingFields = Object.entries(requiredFields)
   .filter(([field, value]) => !value)
   .map(([field]) => field);

if (missingFields.length > 0) {
   ctx.halt(`Missing required fields: ${missingFields.join(", ")}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Score and Filter Leads

Use Case: Score leads based on multiple criteria and filter low scores.

const companySize = await ctx.thisRow.get("Employee Count");
const industry = await ctx.thisRow.get("Industry");
const jobTitle = await ctx.thisRow.get("Job Title");
const hasEmail = await ctx.thisRow.get("Email");

let score = 0;

// Company size scoring
if (companySize >= 100 && companySize <= 1000) score += 30;
else if (companySize >= 50) score += 20;
else if (companySize >= 20) score += 10;

// Industry scoring
const targetIndustries = ["Software", "Technology", "SaaS"];
if (targetIndustries.some((ind) => industry?.includes(ind))) score += 25;

// Job title scoring
if (jobTitle?.match(/(CEO|CTO|CFO|VP)/i)) score += 30;
else if (jobTitle?.match(/(Director|Head of)/i)) score += 20;
else if (jobTitle?.match(/(Manager)/i)) score += 10;

// Contact info scoring
if (hasEmail) score += 15;

// Filter out low scores
if (score < 50) {
   ctx.halt(`Lead score ${score} is below threshold (50)`);
   return false;
}

// Determine grade
let grade;
if (score >= 80) grade = "A";
else if (score >= 65) grade = "B";
else grade = "C";

return true;

---

Validate Against Exclusion List

Use Case: Check if a company or person is on an exclusion list.

const companyName = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company");
const email = await ctx.thisRow.get("Email");

// Get exclusion list from another sheet
const exclusionSheet = await ctx.sheet("Exclusion List");
const exclusions = await exclusionSheet.getRows();

// Check if company is excluded
const isCompanyExcluded = exclusions.some(
   (row) => row.get("Company Name")?.toLowerCase() === companyName?.toLowerCase()
);

if (isCompanyExcluded) {
   ctx.halt("Company is on exclusion list");
   return false;
}

// Check if email domain is excluded
const emailDomain = email?.split("@")[1]?.toLowerCase();
const isDomainExcluded = exclusions.some((row) => row.get("Domain")?.toLowerCase() === emailDomain);

if (isDomainExcluded) {
   ctx.halt("Email domain is on exclusion list");
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Hiring Signals

Use Case: Check if a company has relevant hiring signals.

const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");
const domain = website
   ?.replace(/^https?:\/\//, "")
   .replace(/^www\./, "")
   .split("/")[0];

if (!domain) {
   return false;
}

// Find careers page
const careerPage = await services.company.careers.findPage({
   domain: domain,
});

if (!careerPage?.url) {
   ctx.halt("No careers page found");
   return false;
}

// Scrape job postings
const jobs = await services.company.careers.scrapeJobs({
   url: careerPage.url,
   recent: "month",
});

// Check for relevant roles
const relevantRoles = jobs.filter((job) => job.title?.match(/(Sales|Revenue|Business Development|Account Executive)/i));

if (relevantRoles.length === 0) {
   ctx.halt("No relevant hiring signals");
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Technology Fit

Use Case: Check if a company uses compatible or competing technology.

const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");

// Scrape website
const scraped = await services.scrape.website({
   url: website,
   params: { limit: 1 },
});

// Check for technology signals
const allText = (scraped.markdown + " " + scraped.data[0].links.join(" ")).toLowerCase();

// Competing products (exclude)
const competitors = ["competitor-a.com", "competitor-b.com"];
const hasCompetitor = competitors.some((comp) => allText.includes(comp));

if (hasCompetitor) {
   ctx.halt("Already using competitor solution");
   return false;
}

// Compatible technologies (good signal)
const compatibleTech = {
   Salesforce: allText.includes("salesforce.com"),
   HubSpot: allText.includes("hubspot.com"),
   Slack: allText.includes("slack.com"),
};

const foundCompatible = Object.entries(compatibleTech)
   .filter(([tech, found]) => found)
   .map(([tech]) => tech);

if (foundCompatible.length === 0) {
   ctx.halt("No compatible technology stack detected");
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Deduplicate Records

Use Case: Check if a record already exists in your sheet.

const email = await ctx.thisRow.get("Email");
const currentRowId = ctx.thisRow.id;

// Get all rows from current sheet
const sheet = await ctx.sheet(ctx.thisRow.sheetName);
const allRows = await sheet.getRows();

// Check for duplicates (excluding current row)
const duplicate = allRows.find(
   (row) => row.id !== currentRowId && row.get("Email")?.toLowerCase() === email?.toLowerCase()
);

if (duplicate) {
   ctx.halt(`Duplicate email found in row ${duplicate.index + 1}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Contact Info Quality

Use Case: Ensure contact information meets quality standards.

const linkedinUrl = await ctx.thisRow.get("LinkedIn URL");
const firstName = await ctx.thisRow.get("First Name");
const lastName = await ctx.thisRow.get("Last Name");
const company = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company");

// Get contact info
const contactInfo = await services.person.contact.get({
   firstName,
   lastName,
   company,
   linkedinUrl,
   required: ["email"],
});

// Validate we got work email (best for B2B)
const hasWorkEmail = contactInfo.work_emails?.length > 0;

if (!hasWorkEmail) {
   ctx.halt("No work email found");
   return false;
}

// Check if we have phone too (bonus)
const hasPhone = (contactInfo.work_phones?.length || 0) > 0;

return contactInfo.work_emails[0];

---

Multi-Criteria Validation

Use Case: Validate against multiple criteria before proceeding.

const companyName = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company");
const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");
const jobTitle = await ctx.thisRow.get("Job Title");
const email = await ctx.thisRow.get("Email");

// Validation checks
const validations = {
   hasCompany: !!companyName,
   hasWebsite: !!website && !website.includes("facebook.com") && !website.includes("linkedin.com"),
   hasSeniorTitle: jobTitle?.match(/(CEO|CTO|CFO|VP|Director)/i),
   hasValidEmail: email?.includes("@") && !email.startsWith("info@") && !email.startsWith("contact@"),
};

// Count passed validations
const passedCount = Object.values(validations).filter(Boolean).length;
const totalChecks = Object.keys(validations).length;

// Require at least 3 out of 4 validations to pass
if (passedCount < 3) {
   const failedChecks = Object.entries(validations)
      .filter(([check, passed]) => !passed)
      .map(([check]) => check);

   ctx.halt(`Failed validations: ${failedChecks.join(", ")}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Company Growth Signals

Use Case: Check for signals that indicate a company is growing.

const linkedinUrl = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company LinkedIn URL");

if (!linkedinUrl) {
   return false;
}

// Get extended company data
const companyData = await services.company.linkedin.enrich({
   url: linkedinUrl,
   enrichLevel: "extended",
});

// Check growth signals
const growthSignals = {
   activeHiring: (companyData.active_job_postings_count || 0) > 5,
   recentFunding: companyData.funding_rounds?.some((round) => {
      const roundDate = new Date(round.date);
      const oneYearAgo = new Date();
      oneYearAgo.setFullYear(oneYearAgo.getFullYear() - 1);
      return roundDate > oneYearAgo;
   }),
   employeeGrowth: (companyData.size_employees_count || 0) > 50,
};

const signalCount = Object.values(growthSignals).filter(Boolean).length;

// Require at least 2 growth signals
if (signalCount < 2) {
   ctx.halt(`Only ${signalCount} growth signals detected (need 2+)`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate Industry Match

Use Case: Check if a company is in your target industries.

const linkedinUrl = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company LinkedIn URL");

if (!linkedinUrl) {
   ctx.halt("No LinkedIn URL");
   return false;
}

const companyData = await services.company.linkedin.enrich({
   url: linkedinUrl,
});

const industry = companyData.industry || "";

// Target industries
const targetIndustries = ["Software Development", "Information Technology", "Computer Software", "Internet", "SaaS"];

const isTargetIndustry = targetIndustries.some((target) => industry.toLowerCase().includes(target.toLowerCase()));

if (!isTargetIndustry) {
   ctx.halt(`Industry "${industry}" is not in target list`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Validate with AI Classification

Use Case: Use AI to classify and validate complex criteria.

const website = await ctx.thisRow.get("Website");
const companyName = await ctx.thisRow.get("Company");

// Scrape website
const scraped = await services.scrape.website({
   url: website,
   params: { limit: 2 },
});

// Use AI to classify and validate
const classification = await services.ai.generateObject({
   prompt: `Classify this company and determine if they match our criteria.

Company: ${companyName}
Website content: ${scraped.markdown.substring(0, 10000)}

Our criteria:
- Must be a B2B company (not B2C)
- Must sell software or technology services
- Must have enterprise customers
- Must NOT be: agencies, consultancies, or service providers

Classify the company and determine if they match.`,

   schema: z.object({
      businessModel: z.enum(["b2b", "b2c", "b2b2c", "marketplace", "other"]),
      companyType: z.string(),
      hasEnterpriseCustomers: z.boolean(),
      matchesICP: z.boolean(),
      confidence: z.number().min(0).max(1),
      reasoning: z.string(),
   }),

   model: "gpt-5-mini",
});

if (!classification.object.matchesICP) {
   ctx.halt(`Not ICP: ${classification.object.reasoning}`);
   return false;
}

return true;

---

Best Practices

Use ctx.halt() for Early Exit

When validation fails, use ctx.halt() to stop the workflow and provide a clear reason. This saves credits on downstream operations.

Validate Early in Workflow

Run validation checks as early as possible in your workflow to avoid wasting resources on bad data.

Provide Clear Failure Reasons

Always include a descriptive message in ctx.halt() so you understand why records were filtered out.

Use AI for Complex Validation

For nuanced criteria, use AI classification rather than rigid rules. It handles edge cases better.

Track Validation Metrics

Store validation results and scores so you can analyze your filtering effectiveness.

Combine Multiple Checks

Use multiple validation criteria together for more accurate filtering.

Handle Missing Data Gracefully

Check for null/undefined values before validating to avoid errors.