Not all evidence is equal

When you’re trying to learn whether something is working, you’ll collect a lot of signals. Conversations. Sign-ups. Clicks. Comments. Sales. Cancellations. Tweets. Reviews.

It’s tempting to treat all of them as evidence. They’re not.

Some signals are weak — easy to produce, easy to misread, easy to over-interpret. Others are strong — harder to fake, harder to ignore, much more reliable as a basis for decisions.

If you don’t separate the two, you’ll keep building on signals that feel encouraging but aren’t telling you anything trustworthy. Learning the difference is one of the most useful instincts you can build as a founder.

What makes a signal strong

Strong signals share a few qualities.

They cost the person something. Time, attention, money, social risk. People ...

Weak signals vs strong signals (and why it matters)