<p>Hey friends 👋</p><p>We’re diving into one of the most dangerous traps in early-stage startups: the say-do gap. You know the one—where 41 out of 47 customer interviews say they’d “definitely use this,” so you rush off to build... only to find crickets when you launch.</p><p>This week we break down the Four Asks framework: time, money, effort, and access. These are the commitments that separate real intent from polite interest. Because here’s the thing: feedback is free, but commitment isn’t.</p><p>We walk through three real scenarios (okay, Claude made them up, but they’re painfully realistic):</p><p>* The AI procurement tool with suspiciously perfect interview results</p><p>* The compliance reporting SaaS running “feedback pilots” instead of paid ones</p><p>* The kitchen marketplace getting feature requests from “power users”</p><p>Each one has signals mixed with noise. We show you exactly how to separate them.</p><p>Key insight: You literally cannot achieve product-market fit without charging money. If you’re not asking customers to pay, you might just be building “product freeloader fit” instead.</p><p>Whether you’re in customer discovery or running pilots, this episode gives you the tactical playbook to close that gap and validate real demand.</p><p>Also: We finally offboarded Cass (he’s on “mandatory sabbatical”), welcomed Claude as our new co-host, and Cameron mourns the end of Slow Horses season 5.</p><p>See you in your ears next week,</p><p>—Cameron and JDM</p><p><strong><em>P.S.:</em></strong><em> Join us November 19th for a live recording during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Bring your questions.</em></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://zerototraction.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">zerototraction.substack.com</a>
