Lesson 7 · The product
The queue: 53 clusters, 17 survivors, zero padding
Every candidate is a PRODUCT_HYPOTHESIS with a persona, verbatim receipts, explicit unknowns, kill criteria and a cheapest next test. 36 clusters were rejected with named reasons — that is what zero padding looks like.
DO_NOW
No observed multi-package WTP anywhere in the corpus. The queue says so, out loud.
WATCH
Persona + pain + falsifiable next test. Run the test; the queue never says build.
Rejected
single_package_recurrence (15) · no_icp_detected (11) · no_theme_match (6) · no_pain_evidence (4)
Three survivors, as examples
| Candidate | Persona | Evidence | Cheapest next test |
|---|---|---|---|
| agentic-coding | developers / engineering teams | 8 pain signals · 4 packages · both families | 5 problem-interviews + landing page; success = ≥5/20 replies with a live problem statement |
| local-services | professional services (legal/dental/accounting) | 5 pain · 5 packages · both families | ICP interviews; kill = pain confirmed but unpaid |
| customer-support-bpo | support / BPO operations | 5 pain · 4 packages | 20 direct outreaches; failure = ≤1 reply |
What every candidate carries
persona_icp · pain counts with package spread · WTP status (honest NONE when absent) · hypothesis with falsifier · assumptions · kill criteria · proposed wedge · why_now (or UNKNOWN) · best 3 verbatim quotes with locators · explicit conflicts · unknowns and missing evidence · transparent score breakdown with formula_version · a next_test with question, action, effort, owner, metric, success and failure thresholds.