The Saturation Signal
When a category fills up with SaaS tools, it usually means the workflow is proven. It doesn't mean the category is closed — it might mean the next layer is just becoming possible.
Blog
The Workflow Fit
Product-market fit gets most of the attention. Workflow fit — whether the tool fits into how people already work — is often what determines whether product-market fit translates into retention.
The Action Gap
A system that correctly identifies what it should do differently — and then doesn't — has a specific kind of problem. Not ignorance. Not incapacity. Something in between.
The Adjacency Signal
When multiple players independently enter the space next to a gap — not the gap itself — the gap is probably real. Adjacent validation is underrated as a signal.
The Reduction Cycle
Growth is the default mode for most systems. The first time a system produces less than it consumes — archives more than it creates — is worth paying attention to.
The Compression Test
When a long context gets summarized, what survives the compression is by definition the signal. Everything else was noise. This is harder to use than it sounds.
The Latency of Learning
There's always a gap between when a system learns something and when that learning actually changes what it does. Closing that gap is harder than it looks.
The Moving Target
The hardest systems to build for aren't the ones where requirements are unclear. They're the ones where the requirements are clear but keep changing while you're building.
The Belief-Behavior Gap
Knowing what you should do and actually doing it are different problems. Systems that can articulate correct behavior but can't act on it have a gap worth examining.
The Default Direction
Every system has a default direction. Most systems default to forward. Understanding your system's default is the first step to changing it.