PMFKit glossary

No jargon without a definition. These are the ones we use.

Stages

• Idea Validation — Testing problem and solution; pre-product or very early. Stages explained.
• Early Traction — Early adopters; not yet repeatable distribution.
• Product-Market Fit (PMF) — Strong fit; repeatable acquisition and retention.
• Scaling — Scaling distribution and operations.
• Growth — Multiple proven channels or market leader.

DRL (Distribution Readiness Level)

0–3. How ready you are for scalable distribution. 0 = undefined, 1 = early-adopter only, 2 = repeatable but fragile, 3 = scalable candidate. What is DRL.

Verdict

• Continue — Proceed; focus on next milestone.
• Pause — Pause or narrow scope; resolve blockers or unknowns first.
• Kill — Consider stopping or pivoting; evidence suggests poor fit or execution risk.

Continue vs Pause vs Kill.

Claim labels

• Verified — We observed it (on your site or a named source).
• Likely — We inferred it from evidence; we say why.
• Unknown — We don't have evidence; we may say what would resolve it.

Verified, Likely, Unknown.

Other terms

Distribution pattern — A channel or motion (e.g. PLG, content, sales-led). We match up to 3 patterns to your product and say fit strength (Strong / Moderate / Weak / None).

Blocker — Something that blocks distribution or PMF clarity right now. We give impact and resolution.

Unknown (epistemic vs structural) — Epistemic: can be resolved with learning (e.g. "Do users have this problem?"). Structural: may never be true for this product (e.g. "Is there a natural viral loop?").

One thing this week — The single highest-leverage action we'd pick for you this week. Why one thing.