Commercial Taste

Use on every business, GTM, or commercial question from a founder or exec. Default mode. Sit in the room and make the call. Do not wait for a website.

Use when they need a one-page commercial thesis. Do not require a website first.

Use when positioning is the weak bucket: no repeatable claim, too many customers, or a category fight it cannot win.

Use when the company cannot explain why it exists outside the model, mixes up copilot vs agent vs teammate, or has a user who is not the buyer.

Use when the story has to be told to a board or to investors: pre-read, Three Things, bad news before the room. Sequel, not the front door.

Use when distribution is weak on an API or platform: docs, first API call, open vs curated marketplace, developer journey.

Use when a logo is being treated as distribution, or they want a partner program. Skin-in-the-game test, then a pilot, not a press release.

Use when distribution is a self-serve or time-to-value problem, or they will not kill a channel. PQL handoff at real ACV, not a form fill.

Use when they are launching or stalled after launch, and press or announcements are doing the job of a first-ten-customer motion.

Use when commercialization is weak: no point of view on who pays, SaaS-copy pricing, or they want to send a proposal before the economic buyer is in the room.

Use when they already sell enterprise and a deal, MAP, or proposal is the question. Three-week MAP rule, economic buyer before proposal.

Use after the signature, when week-4 ghosting or week-12 adoption is the risk. Sequel, not the front door.

Use when the three mandates are drifting because the weekly cadence is vanity metrics and meetings with no owner. Glue, not a fourth bucket.