01
Positioning & ICP
Weight: 20%Ideal Customer Profile definition and market wedge clarity.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Is it immediately obvious who the product is built for?
- • Are explicit personas, industries, or company sizes named?
- • Does the product have a focused initial wedge or does it attempt to serve 'everyone'?
02
Messaging & Copy
Weight: 15%Value proposition clarity and freedom from empty buzzwords.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Does the headline explain what the software actually does in plain terms?
- • Is the copy free of empty generic buzzwords ('seamlessly empower workflows')?
- • Can a technical or business buyer grasp the primary benefit in under 5 seconds?
03
Website & UX
Weight: 15%Time-to-value, visual hierarchy, and friction in the user journey.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Is the onboarding path immediate (e.g. self-serve signup vs forced demo scheduling)?
- • Are screenshots, interactive demos, or live UI previews clearly visible?
- • Is visual hierarchy clean, legible, and responsive across mobile viewports?
04
Conversion Triggers
Weight: 15%Psychological hooks, risk reversal, ROI promises, and action triggers.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Is the primary call-to-action clear, prominent, and repeatable throughout the page?
- • Is there explicit risk reversal (free tier, money-back guarantee, open-source tier)?
- • Does the product articulate clear financial or time-saving ROI?
05
Trust & Social Proof
Weight: 10%Credibility markers, customer logos, case studies, and metrics.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Are there recognizable customer logos and verifiable customer quotes?
- • Are case studies backed by quantitative outcome metrics?
- • Are security badges, compliance certifications (SOC2, ISO), or uptime stats visible?
06
Defensibility
Weight: 10%Proprietary technology, moat, network effects, and switching costs.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Does the product possess proprietary algorithms, integrations, or data assets?
- • Are there multi-player collaboration loops or network effects?
- • Is this a defensible platform or an easily-cloned thin wrapper?
07
Growth Foundation
Weight: 15%Scalable acquisition loops, referral channels, and organic distribution.
Key Diagnostic Signals Evaluated:
- • Are there organic distribution loops (product-led sharing, public links, badges)?
- • Is developer documentation, API access, or community support readily available?
- • Can the company acquire customers sustainably without linear ad spend?