PMFKit: Product, Audience, Voice

Single source of truth for who we're for, what the report discovers, voice rules, and shared copy. Reference this doc from BRAND.md, output-narrative.md, distribution-plan.md, and anyone writing copy.

1. For who

Primary: Solo or tiny-team founder, pre-PMF, no dedicated GTM yet.

Job: "I need a read on where we stand and one thing to do before I hire or scale."
When they use us: Before a board or investor update. Before hiring first GTM. After a pivot. Before scaling spend. When stuck on "what's next."

Secondary:

First GTM owner (CMO / Head of Growth).
Advisor, angel, or accelerator running portfolio reviews.

2. What we discover (questions the report answers)

The report is built to answer these. Use this list for CMO report narrative and marketing so we tell one story.

#	Question the report answers	Where it shows up
1	Where do we stand?	Stage (Idea Validation → Growth)
2	Should we continue, pause, or kill?	Verdict + reasoning, basedOn, drlContext
3	What's blocking us right now?	Blockers + unknowns (epistemic vs structural)
4	What's working that we can lean on?	Advantages to leverage
5	What's the one thing to do this week?	oneThingThisWeek
6	What trap should we avoid for our stage?	avoidThisTrap
7	How ready are we for distribution?	DRL + factors + missing factors
8	How should we position?	positioningRecommendation, distributionAwareMessaging (SEO/PLG)
9	Which distribution pattern fits and how do we test it?	topDistributionWhyAndHow
10	What do companies like us do?	companiesLikeYou
11	What metrics should we watch?	metricsToWatch
12	Do our pieces align or conflict?	synthesis.componentAlignment, conflicts
13	(Stage-specific) What should we validate / optimize / expand?	validationChecklist, channelOptimizationTips, expansionOpportunities
14	(With context) What's realistic for our team/funding?	resourceAwareAdvice

When we add a new question the report answers, add it here and to report UI copy if needed.

3. Voice

Banned patterns

Contrast framing: "Not X — Y", "It's not about X. It's about Y.", "Most X don't do Y. They do Z."
Triadic phrasing: Three parallel items in a row (rule of three).
Landscaping: "In today's digital landscape", "In this modern environment", "In the face of…"
Confirmational authority: "The key is…", "The truth is…", "The reality is…", "The importance of…"
Motivational closes that restate a contrast (e.g. "The question is whether you're prepared.").
Filler: "It's important to note", "plays a crucial role", "the opportunity to", "insights into".
Soft verbs as default: "helps", "supports", "enables", "allows" — prefer specific verbs (cuts, surfaces, labels, blocks, fixes) where accurate.
Transitions: "Moreover", "Furthermore", "In addition" — use "And", "But", "So", or nothing.
Overuse of rhetorical questions.
Banned words/phrases: no fluff, leverage, unlock, robust, comprehensive, game-changer, actionable insights, clear signal, evidence-based (as a slogan).

What we do instead

State the point directly.
One idea per sentence where it matters.
Concrete over abstract (e.g. "We tag every claim Verified, Likely, or Unknown").
Short when it lands ("Your call.").
Contractions.
Asymmetric sentence length.
One clear POV.

Test: Would someone actually say this in a conversation with a client? If it sounds like a slide or a template, rewrite.

4. Shared copy (single source)

Use these everywhere: landing, meta, OG, blog CTAs, distribution docs.

Asset	Copy
Tagline	Diagnose your product. Decide what to build next.
Meta description	Paste your URL. We pull stage, distribution readiness, and one thing to do this week from your site.
Primary CTA	Run PMFKit
First-run message	Sign in to run your first analysis. 5 free per month.
Free-tier line	5 free analyses per month.

Where used: app/layout.tsx, app/page.tsx, docs/v1.9/distribution-plan.md, PH tagline/maker comment, X/Reddit/LinkedIn posts, pricing page.

5. How this ties to the CMO report

Report sections and narrative should reflect the "what we discover" list above.
Output-narrative and synthesis tone should avoid the banned patterns in user-facing strings.
When we add a new question the report answers, add it to the table in §2 and to report UI copy if needed.