Signals & Why++

What is a signal?

A signal is any observable piece of evidence that informs the reliability, traction, or risk profile of a project. One signal is rarely conclusive; the strength comes from combining multiple independent signals.

Signal categories

• Founders & team: verifiable identities, prior outcomes, consistent public presence.
• Product & code: live product, public repos, release cadence, security posture.
• Traction: real users, meaningful usage metrics, credible partners.
• Finance: funding history, cap table transparency (when public), revenue hints.
• Market & regulation: target geography, licensing needs, comparable players.
• Reputation: press coverage, community feedback, incident history.

The Why++

Why++ is the short, defensible rationale that stitches your signals into a coherent conclusion. It should be clear enough for a stakeholder to act on, and specific enough to audit later.

Good Why++ statements are: (1) evidence‑anchored, (2) falsifiable, and (3) scoped to the decision at hand.

How to write a solid Why++

1. Start with the question. e.g., “Should we integrate X as a data source this quarter?”
2. List the strongest signals. Pick 3–7 independent signals with sources.
3. State the conclusion and risk. “Proceed, gated by security review,” or “Defer; traction unclear.”
4. Call out unknowns. Surface the top 1–3 gaps that could change the decision.

Examples

Proceed (guarded)

• Founding team with shipped products; public profiles consistent over 3+ years.
• Live API with uptime history; security page with responsible disclosure.
• Paying customers named; integration docs are adequate.
• Why++: Evidence supports a limited integration behind feature flags; revisit in 60 days.

Defer

• Domain registered 2 months ago; marketing claims multi‑year traction.
• Missing legal pages; no independent press or case studies.
• Why++: Insufficient proof; reassess after credible milestones.

Checklist

• Signals are independent and cited.
• Why++ references the signals directly.
• Risks and unknowns are explicit.
• Decision is actionable and time‑boxed.