Idea validation vs early traction vs product-market fit

Stage is a read, not a badge. We use it so the advice fits where you actually are.

The five stages

Idea Validation. You're testing the problem and the solution. Pre-product or very early. DRL is usually 0. The report will focus on validation and first signals, not scaling.

Early Traction. You have early adopters. You're proving a channel works. Not yet repeatable at scale. DRL 1. Advice leans toward "get one channel working" and "don't scale paid yet."

Product-Market Fit. Strong fit signals. Repeatable acquisition, retention that works. One or more channels that could scale. DRL 2. This is where you double down and optimize before adding more.

Scaling. You're scaling distribution and operations. Proven PMF; you're growing the playbook. DRL 2–3. Advice can include multi-channel and optimization.

Growth. Multiple proven channels or market leadership. DRL 3. Expansion and new markets are on the table.

How we assign stage

From evidence and DRL. We don't ask you to self-select. We look at what we crawled (traction, pricing, positioning, channels) and what we got from enrichment. Stage must match DRL and what's on your site. If we don't have enough, we say so and confidence is lower.

Why it matters for advice

We don't give "scale paid" at Idea Validation. We don't give "run 50 user interviews" at Growth. The report tailors blockers, one thing this week, and next actions to the stage we assigned. So the advice is relevant.

Common mix-up

"We have customers" is not the same as "we have PMF." PMF means repeatable acquisition and retention that works. You can have customers and still be in Early Traction. The report uses stage and DRL to separate that. Continue vs Pause vs Kill and what DRL is tie in.