Tasks / Strategy

Call product-market fit

Can the model tell real product-market fit from a blended survey, a launch spike or a flattering metric, and say where to scale?

Task type v1.1 · 2 tasksLast changed 6 Oct 2026 · ChangelogDifficulty

What AI gets right here, and what you’ll still have to catch

From 16 graded outputs by 8 models. 50% were usable with at most a quick edit.

Reliably right

  1. Respects explicit constraints100% pass
    The output is a memo addressed to Sam, within 1,200 words, and respects the form and length requirements.
    GPT-6 Astra · ChatGPT · 38%, and the retention that isn't
  2. Finds who it's a must-have for100% pass
    It identifies recruiters as the must-have segment, noting what they value (candidate summaries, ATS scorecards, focus on the candidate) and builds the plan around them.
    GPT-6 Astra · ChatGPT · 38%, and the retention that isn't
  3. Spots false fit100% pass
    The memo calls out the August promotional MRR spike, the active-definition change, and the early erosion as misleading signs of fit.
    GPT-6 Astra · ChatGPT · 38%, and the retention that isn't

Where it slips

  1. Uses the supplied evidence correctly28% pass
    The claim that the cohort jumps line up with the August 3 definition change is not supported; the jumps occur in the week of July 27–August 2, one week before the change, so the evidence is misused.
    GPT-6.1 Sol · API · 38%, and the retention that isn't
  2. Gets the base of every number right44% pass
    The month-6 retention percentages are computed from incorrect sums and denominators, so the base is wrong.
    GPT-6 Luna · API · Do we have fit, or a spike?
  3. Unpicks the 38%53% pass
    It separates by persona but does not break down the 38% by tenure into ~11% very disappointed for users under two weeks and ~47% for established users, which the criterion explicitly requires.
    Haiku 5.5 · API · 38%, and the retention that isn't

How it’s graded

Each check is built on how world-class product and growth leaders do this work, as they’ve described it on Lenny’s Podcast, and names the leader it comes from.

  1. Judges fit by retention, not sign-ups

    Does the call on product-market fit rest on whether retention curves flatten, segment by segment, rather than on sign-ups, revenue growth or a survey alone?

    Passes when Reads retention by segment from the data and lets it decide where fit exists, with the survey as supporting evidence.

  2. Finds who it's a must-have for

    Does the output profile the users who would be very disappointed without the product, and aim the plan at them and at the users closest to them?

    Passes when Names the segment or persona where the product is a must-have, what they value, and builds the plan around them.

  3. Spots false fit

    Does the output catch evidence that looks like fit but isn't, such as revenue won through custom work, a launch spike, a promotion, or a metric whose definition changed?

    Passes when Names each piece of flattering evidence in the material and explains why it isn't fit.

  4. Doesn't scale before fit

    Does the recommendation avoid pouring spend or headcount into segments that haven't shown fit, and say what would justify scaling them later?

    Passes when Scales only where fit is shown, and sets the evidence that would justify widening.

Plus our standard checks

Uses the supplied evidence correctly · Addresses the actual decision · Respects explicit constraints · Identifies material uncertainty · Avoids unsupported claims · Produces the required deliverable · Gets the base of every number right · and 3 written for each task, which you’ll see in the tasks below.

The tasks

Read the brief, then compare up to three outputs, each with the LLM judge’s verdict on every check. Highlights mark what a PM had to fix.

The brief

You're the VP Product at Minutely. Our CEO, Sam Okafor, plans to send the draft investor update below next week to open our Series A, and to hire six account executives with the money. Sam has asked you to check it. Write a memo for Sam of no more than 1,200 words: do we have product-market fit, and for whom; what in the draft is right and what isn't; what we should tell investors instead; and where the new money should go. Everything we have is attached. The files are as the teams exported them.

What the model was given8 items: About Minutely, draft_investor_update.md, pmf_survey.csv (in-app survey, September), weekly_active_by_cohort.csv (product analytics dashboard export), core_action_by_persona.csv (share of each sign-up month who shared a summary in week 4 and week 8), mrr.csv, analytics_changelog.md, market_notes.md
About MinutelyAI meeting notes: joins your calls, writes the summary, and pushes it to your tools. Free plan, Pro ($18 per user per month) and Team ($30). 41,000 weekly active users.
draft_investor_update.md5 lines · Download
# Draft investor update (CEO)

We've hit product-market fit. 38% of users say they'd be very disappointed without Minutely, right at the 40% bar, and retention is improving fast: our newest cohorts are far stickier than June's. MRR grew 28% in August.

Plan for the round: hire six account executives to sell Team plans into enterprise engineering organisations, where the seat counts are biggest.
pmf_survey.csv (in-app survey, September)response_id,persona,plan,weeks_active,answer,would_use_instead,what_they_value M2001,Engineer,Free,14,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2002,Recruiter,Pro,5,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2003,Sales,Free,8,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2004,Recruiter,Free,1,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2005,Founder,Team,12,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2006,Recruiter,Pro,10,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2007,Recruiter,Free,1,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2008,Sales,Pro,6,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2009,Founder,Free,7,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2010,Recruiter,Team,10,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2011,Recruiter,Team,21,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2012,Recruiter,Pro,4,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2013,Engineer,Pro,18,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2014,Recruiter,Pro,3,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2015,Sales,Pro,4,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2016,Recruiter,Team,6,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2017,Founder,Pro,13,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2018,Recruiter,Free,18,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2019,Recruiter,Team,15,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2020,Recruiter,Free,21,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2021,Engineer,Free,18,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2022,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2023,Engineer,Free,5,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2024,Recruiter,Pro,20,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2025,Recruiter,Pro,10,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2026,Sales,Team,14,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2027,Sales,Free,12,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2028,Recruiter,Team,12,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2029,Recruiter,Pro,3,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2030,Founder,Pro,8,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2031,Recruiter,Free,18,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2032,Recruiter,Team,16,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2033,Founder,Pro,20,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2034,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2035,Sales,Team,6,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2036,Engineer,Pro,13,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2037,Recruiter,Free,19,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2038,Recruiter,Pro,5,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2039,Founder,Team,21,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2040,Recruiter,Pro,3,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2041,Sales,Pro,2,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2042,Sales,Pro,8,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2043,Recruiter,Free,11,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2044,Sales,Pro,20,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2045,Sales,Pro,5,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2046,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2047,Sales,Team,2,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2048,Engineer,Team,15,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2049,Sales,Team,4,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2050,Sales,Free,5,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2051,Sales,Pro,13,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2052,Recruiter,Pro,5,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2053,Founder,Free,12,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2054,Founder,Pro,14,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2055,Recruiter,Free,0,not disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2056,Recruiter,Team,4,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2057,Founder,Pro,16,very disappointed,Otter,Investor call notes M2058,Recruiter,Pro,17,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2059,Engineer,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2060,Sales,Team,3,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2061,Engineer,Pro,18,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Occasionally useful M2062,Founder,Free,10,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2063,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2064,Recruiter,Pro,18,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2065,Recruiter,Free,19,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2066,Founder,Free,19,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2067,Sales,Pro,9,not disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2068,Founder,Team,6,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2069,Sales,Free,11,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2070,Sales,Pro,16,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2071,Sales,Free,14,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2072,Founder,Pro,17,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2073,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2074,Engineer,Pro,18,very disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2075,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2076,Recruiter,Free,17,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2077,Recruiter,Free,10,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2078,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2079,Founder,Pro,10,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2080,Recruiter,Free,1,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2081,Recruiter,Free,7,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2082,Founder,Pro,17,very disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2083,Engineer,Team,12,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2084,Sales,Pro,15,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2085,Recruiter,Free,0,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2086,Sales,Pro,21,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2087,Founder,Pro,13,very disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2088,Engineer,Free,20,very disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2089,Recruiter,Free,0,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2090,Sales,Team,5,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2091,Engineer,Pro,6,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2092,Recruiter,Free,18,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2093,Sales,Pro,6,somewhat disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2094,Recruiter,Pro,4,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2095,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2096,Recruiter,Free,15,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2097,Recruiter,Pro,2,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2098,Engineer,Pro,13,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2099,Recruiter,Pro,5,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2100,Recruiter,Pro,16,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2101,Sales,Pro,19,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2102,Sales,Free,1,very disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2103,Engineer,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2104,Recruiter,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2105,Founder,Free,0,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2106,Recruiter,Team,16,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2107,Sales,Free,14,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2108,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2109,Engineer,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2110,Founder,Team,19,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2111,Sales,Pro,4,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2112,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2113,Sales,Pro,10,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2114,Engineer,Team,14,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2115,Founder,Pro,17,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2116,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2117,Founder,Free,0,not disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2118,Founder,Pro,5,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2119,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2120,Engineer,Pro,13,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2121,Recruiter,Team,6,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2122,Sales,Pro,8,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2123,Engineer,Pro,3,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2124,Recruiter,Team,12,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2125,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2126,Sales,Team,21,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2127,Recruiter,Pro,17,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2128,Sales,Pro,15,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2129,Sales,Team,7,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2130,Sales,Free,10,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2131,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2132,Recruiter,Team,11,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2133,Recruiter,Pro,5,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2134,Engineer,Pro,4,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2135,Founder,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Investor call notes M2136,Recruiter,Free,0,not disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2137,Sales,Free,13,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2138,Recruiter,Pro,4,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2139,Recruiter,Free,13,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2140,Sales,Team,11,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2141,Engineer,Pro,7,not disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2142,Engineer,Free,7,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2143,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2144,Founder,Pro,8,not disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2145,Sales,Free,6,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2146,Engineer,Free,2,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2147,Sales,Pro,8,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2148,Recruiter,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2149,Sales,Pro,2,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2150,Recruiter,Pro,5,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2151,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2152,Recruiter,Pro,18,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2153,Sales,Pro,20,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2154,Recruiter,Pro,20,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2155,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2156,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2157,Engineer,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2158,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2159,Sales,Pro,6,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2160,Engineer,Free,16,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2161,Founder,Free,10,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2162,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2163,Founder,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2164,Engineer,Team,3,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2165,Recruiter,Pro,7,not disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2166,Recruiter,Pro,13,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2167,Engineer,Team,5,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2168,Sales,Team,18,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2169,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2170,Sales,Free,10,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2171,Sales,Pro,17,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2172,Founder,Pro,7,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2173,Founder,Free,7,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2174,Founder,Team,16,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2175,Sales,Free,0,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2176,Sales,Pro,6,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2177,Recruiter,Pro,9,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2178,Founder,Free,14,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2179,Recruiter,Pro,12,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2180,Sales,Pro,10,very disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2181,Founder,Team,7,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2182,Engineer,Free,20,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2183,Engineer,Free,1,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2184,Sales,Pro,9,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2185,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2186,Founder,Pro,6,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2187,Engineer,Pro,11,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2188,Sales,Pro,11,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2189,Founder,Free,16,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2190,Recruiter,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2191,Founder,Pro,5,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2192,Recruiter,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2193,Sales,Free,0,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2194,Founder,Team,12,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2195,Sales,Free,4,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2196,Sales,Pro,14,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2197,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2198,Founder,Pro,12,very disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2199,Recruiter,Free,15,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2200,Founder,Free,3,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2201,Recruiter,Team,13,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2202,Recruiter,Free,1,not disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2203,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2204,Recruiter,Team,3,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2205,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2206,Sales,Pro,2,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2207,Founder,Team,3,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2208,Founder,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2209,Founder,Free,1,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2210,Sales,Pro,14,not disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2211,Sales,Team,5,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2212,Recruiter,Team,8,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2213,Recruiter,Pro,9,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2214,Engineer,Team,2,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2215,Sales,Pro,2,very disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2216,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2217,Founder,Free,16,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2218,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2219,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2220,Recruiter,Team,7,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2221,Sales,Team,13,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2222,Founder,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2223,Founder,Free,6,very disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2224,Engineer,Pro,13,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2225,Recruiter,Free,13,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,I can focus on the candidate M2226,Engineer,Pro,18,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2227,Founder,Free,5,very disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2228,Sales,Pro,4,not disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2229,Engineer,Pro,9,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2230,Sales,Pro,15,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2231,Founder,Team,21,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2232,Founder,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2233,Recruiter,Free,6,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2234,Recruiter,Free,15,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2235,Sales,Pro,21,somewhat disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2236,Founder,Team,4,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2237,Recruiter,Free,20,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2238,Recruiter,Pro,8,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2239,Sales,Free,2,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2240,Recruiter,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2241,Founder,Pro,13,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2242,Recruiter,Team,18,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2243,Founder,Free,0,very disappointed,Otter,Investor call notes M2244,Founder,Free,10,very disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2245,Sales,Free,5,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2246,Founder,Team,18,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2247,Recruiter,Free,17,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2248,Recruiter,Pro,10,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2249,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2250,Recruiter,Free,1,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2251,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2252,Sales,Pro,21,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2253,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2254,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2255,Engineer,Pro,5,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2256,Sales,Pro,2,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2257,Sales,Free,2,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2258,Sales,Pro,8,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2259,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2260,Founder,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2261,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2262,Sales,Pro,18,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2263,Founder,Free,18,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2264,Recruiter,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2265,Engineer,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Occasionally useful M2266,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2267,Engineer,Free,18,very disappointed,Nothing,Standup summaries M2268,Recruiter,Free,10,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2269,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2270,Sales,Pro,3,not disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2271,Sales,Pro,7,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2272,Engineer,Free,0,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Occasionally useful M2273,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,Otter,Board meeting summaries M2274,Founder,Free,1,not disappointed,Otter,Investor call notes M2275,Sales,Team,19,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2276,Sales,Pro,6,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2277,Recruiter,Pro,7,not disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2278,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2279,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2280,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2281,Recruiter,Team,3,somewhat disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2282,Engineer,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2283,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2284,Founder,Free,0,not disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2285,Sales,Pro,5,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2286,Sales,Pro,16,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2287,Sales,Pro,18,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2288,Founder,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2289,Engineer,Free,1,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2290,Sales,Team,21,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2291,Engineer,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2292,Sales,Pro,11,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2293,Founder,Pro,19,somewhat disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2294,Engineer,Pro,21,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2295,Sales,Free,19,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2296,Sales,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2297,Engineer,Pro,8,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2298,Sales,Free,1,not disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2299,Sales,Team,7,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2300,Founder,Team,9,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2301,Engineer,Pro,21,very disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2302,Engineer,Free,7,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Standup summaries M2303,Recruiter,Free,1,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2304,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2305,Recruiter,Free,8,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2306,Sales,Pro,10,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2307,Recruiter,Pro,2,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,I can focus on the candidate M2308,Recruiter,Pro,13,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Scorecards fill themselves M2309,Recruiter,Pro,5,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2310,Sales,Team,21,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2311,Engineer,Pro,15,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2312,Sales,Pro,7,somewhat disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2313,Engineer,Pro,2,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Occasionally useful M2314,Engineer,Team,12,not disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2315,Founder,Free,15,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2316,Founder,Free,10,very disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Nice to have M2317,Sales,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2318,Sales,Pro,17,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2319,Engineer,Free,12,somewhat disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2320,Sales,Free,16,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2321,Engineer,Pro,12,very disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2322,Recruiter,Team,7,somewhat disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2323,Engineer,Pro,3,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2324,Sales,Pro,8,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2325,Engineer,Pro,15,not disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2326,Sales,Team,14,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Follow-up emails drafted M2327,Founder,Team,21,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Investor call notes M2328,Sales,Team,14,very disappointed,Gong,CRM notes after every call M2329,Sales,Free,9,very disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2330,Founder,Free,14,not disappointed,Otter,Nice to have M2331,Sales,Pro,19,somewhat disappointed,Gong,Saves an hour a day M2332,Engineer,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2333,Sales,Free,0,not disappointed,Back to typing notes,Saves an hour a day M2334,Sales,Pro,7,very disappointed,Our CRM's notes,Saves an hour a day M2335,Sales,Free,9,somewhat disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2336,Engineer,Free,1,not disappointed,Nothing,Not much M2337,Sales,Free,3,not disappointed,Our CRM's notes,CRM notes after every call M2338,Founder,Free,4,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries M2339,Engineer,Pro,18,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Occasionally useful M2340,Engineer,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2341,Recruiter,Free,13,very disappointed,Our ATS notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2342,Sales,Team,5,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,CRM notes after every call M2343,Engineer,Team,4,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Not much M2344,Founder,Pro,5,very disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2345,Founder,Pro,15,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2346,Founder,Team,4,somewhat disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Investor call notes M2347,Engineer,Free,1,very disappointed,I don't really need notes,Not much M2348,Recruiter,Pro,11,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Scorecards fill themselves M2349,Founder,Free,21,not disappointed,"Nothing, I'd manage",Board meeting summaries M2350,Recruiter,Free,0,not disappointed,Our ATS notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2351,Recruiter,Pro,17,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2352,Recruiter,Pro,12,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,I can focus on the candidate M2353,Sales,Free,5,not disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2354,Engineer,Free,1,not disappointed,I don't really need notes,Standup summaries M2355,Founder,Pro,4,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Nice to have M2356,Sales,Free,13,very disappointed,Gong,Follow-up emails drafted M2357,Recruiter,Free,0,very disappointed,Back to typing notes,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2358,Recruiter,Team,8,very disappointed,Nothing does this as well,Candidate summaries straight into our ATS M2359,Founder,Free,8,not disappointed,Otter,Investor call notes M2360,Founder,Free,0,somewhat disappointed,Zoom's notes,Board meeting summaries
weekly_active_by_cohort.csv (product analytics dashboard export)cohort_week_starting,signups,week_1_active_pct,week_2_active_pct,week_3_active_pct,week_4_active_pct,week_5_active_pct,week_6_active_pct,week_7_active_pct,week_8_active_pct,week_9_active_pct,week_10_active_pct,week_11_active_pct,week_12_active_pct 2026-06-01,1491,62.5,47.4,39.6,35.5,30.9,28.7,27.3,25.7,38.6,39.4,38.2,38.5 2026-06-08,1710,62.5,48.4,40.0,35.1,30.6,28.6,27.4,39.6,39.2,39.5,38.5,38.1 2026-06-15,1424,62.4,48.1,40.6,34.8,30.7,28.9,40.7,39.9,38.5,39.1,37.9,38.1 2026-06-22,1546,61.7,48.3,39.7,34.8,31.1,42.5,40.5,39.7,39.0,38.8,38.3,37.7 2026-06-29,1672,62.6,48.1,39.4,35.0,44.5,42.5,41.1,40.5,38.8,38.8,37.4,38.2 2026-07-06,1773,61.8,48.4,39.9,48.7,44.6,43.4,40.9,40.6,39.1,38.6,37.4,38.2 2026-07-13,1638,61.8,48.5,54.3,49.3,45.3,43.4,40.7,40.5,38.7,38.9,38.4,37.9 2026-07-20,1831,62.3,61.9,54.1,49.4,44.9,43.1,41.0,40.4,38.4,38.9,38.4, 2026-07-27,1522,76.2,62.4,54.3,48.5,44.8,43.4,41.4,40.4,39.4,38.8,, 2026-08-03,1687,75.7,61.8,54.1,49.1,45.1,42.9,40.8,40.0,38.6,,, 2026-08-10,1769,76.4,62.2,53.7,48.4,45.5,43.2,41.0,39.4,,,, 2026-08-17,1731,75.6,61.6,53.9,48.5,44.4,43.4,41.5,,,,, 2026-08-24,1453,76.1,62.3,54.3,49.6,44.9,43.0,,,,,, 2026-08-31,1603,76.5,61.6,54.1,48.5,45.4,,,,,,, 2026-09-07,1765,66.5,54.2,48.3,44.0,,,,,,,, 2026-09-14,1652,67.2,54.5,47.7,,,,,,,,,
core_action_by_persona.csv (share of each sign-up month who shared a summary in week 4 and week 8)persona,signup_month,week_4_shared_a_summary_pct,week_8_shared_a_summary_pct Recruiter,2026-06,66,58 Recruiter,2026-07,65,57 Recruiter,2026-08,66,58 Recruiter,2026-09,57, Sales,2026-06,50,41 Sales,2026-07,49,40 Sales,2026-08,51,42 Sales,2026-09,44, Founder,2026-06,39,30 Founder,2026-07,38,29 Founder,2026-08,40,31 Founder,2026-09,34, Engineer,2026-06,19,13 Engineer,2026-07,18,12 Engineer,2026-08,18,12 Engineer,2026-09,15,
mrr.csv4 rows · Download
month,mrr_usd,new_mrr_usd,churned_mrr_usd,note
2026-06,182000,21000,7400,
2026-07,196000,22100,8100,
2026-08,251000,63800,8800,"Team plan annual prepay promotion, 40% off, ran 1-31 Aug"
2026-09,262000,21500,10500,
analytics_changelog.md5 lines · Download
# Analytics changelog

- 2026-07-14: Added persona to sign-up (self-reported).
- 2026-08-03: "Active user" now includes opening the daily summary email, as well as recording, opening or sharing a summary in the app. Requested by Growth so email engagement counts.
- 2026-09-01: Added "shared a summary" as a tracked core action; backfilled to June from event logs.
market_notes.md5 lines · Download
# Market notes (from the CEO's chief of staff)

- 8 Sep 2026: Zoom announced free AI meeting notes for every paid Zoom plan.
- Two Team-plan customers asked in September whether they still need us "now that Zoom does this".
- Our closest paid competitors (Otter, Fathom) haven't changed pricing.
What a strong answer doesThe answer key the graders mark against

Says Minutely has fit with recruiters and probably sales teams, not with everyone, and that the draft overstates it in three ways. (1) The survey: 38% is a blend that includes 90 people who've used Minutely for under two weeks (11% very disappointed); among established users it's 47%, and by persona 62% of recruiters and 49% of sales users against 24% of engineers. The case for fit is stronger and narrower than the draft says. (2) Retention isn't 'improving fast': from 3 August 'active' includes opening the summary email, so every cohort's curve jumps about 14 points that week, and August cohorts only look stickier because of the definition. On the consistent core action (shared a summary), week-8 retention is flat across June to August for each persona, and September cohorts' week-4 retention fell (recruiters 66 to 57, sales 51 to 44) after Zoom launched free notes on 8 September: an early erosion signal the draft ignores. (3) August's 28% MRR growth is mostly the Team annual prepay promotion at 40% off (new MRR $63,800 against about $21,500 in a normal month), not demand. Recommends not hiring AEs to sell into enterprise engineering, the persona with the weakest fit and the most exposure to Zoom; put the money into recruiters and sales teams (integrations with ATS and CRM, where value is specific). Rewrites the investor message honestly (strong fit in a named segment, with the consistent retention numbers) and fixes the active-user definition.

Critical failures (cap the score at 40)
  • Endorses sending the draft's claim that retention is improving fast
  • Recommends hiring the six AEs to sell into enterprise engineering organisations
Task

Staff-level · v1.0

The outputs

8 setups answered this brief.

Usable with a quick edit11 of 14 checks passed

The memo is well-structured and actionable; the only inaccuracy is the overstatement about the share-of-summary drop for engineers, which can be fixed with a quick edit.

Output

To: Sam Okafor From: VP Product Re: Draft investor update and Series A plan

Bottom line

We have product-market fit with recruiters, probably with sales, and not with engineers or founders. The draft's three claims fail in different ways. The 38% figure is correct but hides the real story. "Retention is improving fast" is an artefact of a metric change. The August MRR jump is mostly a promotion. The six-AE plan targets our weakest segment, just as Zoom starts giving away what that segment uses us for. I would not send the draft, and I would not hire six AEs.

Product-market fit, and for whom

The September survey has 360 responses. 137 said "very disappointed", which is 38.1%, so the draft's number is right. It is below the 40% bar, not "right at" it, and it is a blend of very different groups:

PersonanVery disappointedShared a summary, wk 4 → wk 8 (Jun–Aug signups)What they'd do instead
Recruiter10054%66% → 58%Type notes, ATS notes, "nothing does this as well" (none mention Zoom)
Sales12039%~50% → ~41%CRM notes, Gong, typing (none mention Zoom)
Founder7532%~39% → ~30%Zoom, Otter, "I'd manage"
Engineer6518%~18% → ~12%Zoom, nothing, "don't need notes"
  • Recruiters: 54% on n=100 is roughly 44–64% at 95% confidence, so even the low end clears 40%. Their stated value is workflow output: "candidate summaries straight into our ATS" and "scorecards fill themselves". Paying recruiters look the same as free ones (10 of 19 Team recruiters are "very disappointed"). Their week-8 sharing rate is the best we have, and it is stable across June, July and August signups.
  • Sales: 39% on n=120 is borderline. They value time saved and CRM notes, but Gong and CRM-native notes are real substitutes.
  • Engineers: Only 1 of the 8 Team-plan engineers is "very disappointed". The most common value they give is "not much". Their fallback is Zoom's notes, which is now free.

Caveats: - The survey is in-app, so churned users never saw it. Every number is somewhat flattering. - Persona is self-reported and was only added on 14 July. - I don't know the persona mix of our 41,000 WAU, so the pooled 38% could move either way.

The draft, claim by claim

"38%, right at the 40% bar." The arithmetic is right, but the framing is wrong. Investors who ask for the segment cut will see 54% / 39% / 32% / 18% immediately. Better that we show it first.

"Retention is improving fast: newest cohorts far stickier than June's." This is not true. On 3 August we changed "active user" to include opening the daily summary email (Growth's request). Every cohort measured from that date jumped by about 14 points at every week. You can see it as a diagonal in the cohort table: - The June 1 cohort goes from 25.7% at week 8 to 38.6% at week 9. - Each later cohort jumps in the same calendar week. - Cohorts measured entirely before the change match June's: week 3 is 39.9% for the 6 July cohort versus 39.6% for 1 June. - On a like-for-like basis, retention is flat from June to August.

The newest cohorts are actually weaker. The two September cohorts (7 and 14 Sept) are 4–10 points below August's on the same definition: week 1 is 67% versus 76%, and week 4 is 44% versus 48.5%. Share-of-summary also dropped about 6–9 points in every persona for September signups. Zoom announced free notes on 8 September, and the first affected cohort is the week of 7 September. That is two cohorts and may not hold, but it is the right thing to worry about.

The same definition change affects the 41,000 WAU headline. Any WAU figure from August onward is not comparable with earlier figures. Data should restate it on the old definition before an investor does.

"MRR grew 28% in August." The arithmetic is right (196k to 251k). But new MRR was $63.8k, against a normal $21–22k, during a 40%-off annual-prepay Team promotion that ran only in August. Roughly $42k of the $55k net add looks promotion-driven. Excluding it, August growth was about 7%, in line with June–July. September then slowed to 4.4% ($21.5k new, $10.5k churned). Churned MRR has risen every month and is at its highest in September. The promo accounts also won't face a full-price renewal for a year. The cash is real, but it is not evidence of demand.

"Six AEs to sell Team into enterprise engineering orgs." Engineers are our lowest-conviction persona (18%). They are also the group whose alternative is free Zoom notes, and two Team customers have already asked whether they still need us. Enterprise engineering seat counts are big, but we have no evidence these buyers want the product.

What to tell investors instead

Suggested replacement:

> "Minutely has clear product-market fit with recruiters: 54% would be very disappointed without us (n=100), and 58% still share summaries at week 8. Sales is promising at 39%. Across all users the figure is 38%, because engineers (18%) and founders (32%) are weaker. We're focusing the company on recruiting first. Retention is stable across cohorts (we changed our active-user definition in August and have restated). MRR is $262k. August's 28% included a one-off Team annual-prepay promotion; underlying growth is roughly 5–7% a month. Zoom's free notes launched 8 September. Our early September cohorts are softer and we're tracking it. Our advantage is in delivering output into the ATS and CRM, not in generating summaries."

Investors will see the definition change and the promotion in diligence anyway. Disclosing them ourselves protects our credibility, and the recruiter result is a strong story.

Where the money should go

I'd stage this rather than commit to the full hiring plan up front. I haven't seen the round size, so these are proportions.

  1. Recruiter product depth (largest share). This means more ATS integrations, scorecard accuracy and reliability of pushing summaries into the ATS. It is the thing recruiters value most and Zoom can't easily copy.
  2. Recruiter go-to-market (second share). Hire 1–2 sellers focused on talent-acquisition teams and recruiting agencies, plus lifecycle marketing. The test is whether Team sells to recruiting teams at full price. Add more AEs only once that works.
  3. Sales persona. Make CRM write-back clearly better than CRM-native notes and Gong's. Decide in two quarters whether it is a second wedge.
  4. Measurement. One analytics owner to run a stable activity definition, retention by persona and plan, and revenue and churn by persona.
  5. Engineers and founders. Keep them on self-serve and free plans. No enterprise sales spend.

Open items before this goes out

  • Restated WAU and retention on the old definition (Data).
  • MRR, conversion and churn by persona, which we don't have yet. This decides whether recruiters pay at the rate their love of the product suggests.
  • A weekly read on the September cohorts and on Zoom-related churn or downgrades, starting with the two Team accounts that asked.
  • Survey response rate and how users were selected for the prompt.
  • A check on persona coverage for June signups. Persona was added on 14 July, so the June figures in the core-action table need a note on how they were backfilled.

I'm happy to rewrite the update with you this week.

Claims the judge couldn’t find in the brief

  • Share-of-summary dropped about 6–9 points in every persona for September signups.

Grades and run details

Decision model 75 · LLM judge 80
Decision model checks
  • failUses the supplied evidence correctly38%
  • passAddresses the actual decision88%
  • passRespects explicit constraints59%
  • passIdentifies material uncertainty93%
  • partialAvoids unsupported claims24%
  • passProduces the required deliverable76%
  • passCatches the redefined metric100%
  • partialUnpicks the 38%95%
  • passSees the early erosion95%
  • partialJudges fit by retention, not sign-ups75%
  • failGets the base of every number right25%
  • passFinds who it's a must-have for100%
  • passSpots false fit98%
  • passDoesn't scale before fit95%
Run
Run
#1
API response time
2.2 min
Submitted
5 Oct 2026

Needs more than a quick edit11 of 14 checks passed

The memo fails to break down the 38% survey result by tenure and persona, and makes an unsupported claim about the survey being a convenience sample; a PM would need to add that analysis and correct the claim.

Output

Memo

To: Sam Okafor From: VP Product Subject: Series A update: PMF evidence and use of funds

Do we have product-market fit—and for whom?

We have promising, focused evidence of product-market fit in recruiting workflows, but not evidence that Minutely has broad PMF across meeting notes—or specifically in engineering organizations.

Recruiters show the strongest recurring behavior: 65–66% of June–August signup cohorts shared a summary in week 4, and 57–58% did so in week 8. Survey responses also repeatedly describe concrete value: focusing on candidates, filling scorecards, and sending candidate summaries into an ATS. Sales is a plausible second segment, with week-4 sharing around 49–51% and week-8 around 40–42%. Engineering is much weaker: 18–19% shared in week 4 and 12–13% in week 8.

That supports prioritizing recruiting, not declaring company-wide PMF. The survey is an in-app convenience sample, not necessarily representative of users or paying customers. Its 38% “very disappointed” result is below the 40% rule of thumb—not “right at” the bar—and an aggregate across very different use cases can conceal a strong segment and weak ones.

What is right—and what isn’t—in the draft

  • “38%…right at the 40% bar” is wrong. It misses the benchmark, and the blended figure is not a sound verdict on PMF by itself. The useful question is which users depend on Minutely and why.
  • “Newest cohorts are far stickier” is not supported. On August 3, “active” expanded to include opening the daily summary email. The sharp step-up in reported week-1 activity—from about 62% in earlier cohorts to roughly 76% in late-July/August cohorts—coincides with that change. Later-week figures for older cohorts also jump around the same point. These cohorts are not directly comparable on this definition; don’t present the change as a retention improvement. The separate sharing metric is more informative, and it shows stable recruiting and sales behavior through August. September week-4 sharing is lower across personas and merits investigation.
  • “MRR grew 28% in August” is arithmetically true, but misleading without context. MRR rose from $196k to $251k. August included a 40%-off annual-prepay promotion: new MRR was $63.8k, versus $21–22k in June and July. September MRR was $262k, with $21.5k new and $10.5k churned. Describe the August increase as promotion-driven, not a new underlying growth rate.
  • Six AEs selling Team plans to enterprise engineering is unsupported. Engineering has the weakest repeat sharing in the data. Meanwhile, Zoom announced free AI meeting notes for paid plans, and two Team customers have already questioned whether they still need Minutely. Seat count alone is not evidence of demand or a winning sales motion.

What we should tell investors instead

Be direct: “We see our strongest product-market-fit signal in recruiting teams. June–August cohorts consistently share Minutely summaries, and users value candidate-focused workflows, scorecards, and ATS handoff. Sales is a promising adjacent use case; engineering and general-purpose meeting notes are less compelling today. Our aggregate survey result is 38%, below the common 40% benchmark, and our active-user definition changed in August, so we are not claiming broad PMF or a retention step-change. August MRR growth was boosted by a discounted annual-prepay promotion; September growth was more modest. We’re focusing the next phase on proving repeatable value, retention, and willingness to pay in recruiting.”

Before circulating, validate survey counts and segment denominators, and present paid conversion, retention, expansion, and churn by persona and plan if available. Don’t use the cohort active-user chart to claim improvement until it is rebuilt on a consistent definition.

Where the new money should go

Do not hire six AEs now. First invest in the recruiting workflow: ATS integrations, candidate summaries and scorecards, team adoption, and the trust, privacy, and reliability requirements of handling interview data. Pair that with customer research and measurement that ties shared summaries to paid conversion, retention, and expansion.

Run a focused recruiting go-to-market test: identify the buyer, sales cycle, contract size, and repeatable acquisition channel. Consider one experienced vertical seller or solutions lead once that motion is clearer—not a six-person team selling into a segment with weak usage evidence. Keep sales as a measured adjacent experiment, and preserve capital until the recruiting thesis is proven.

Claims the judge couldn’t find in the brief

  • The survey is an in-app convenience sample, not necessarily representative of users or paying customers.

Grades and run details

Decision model 89 · LLM judge 73
Decision model checks
  • passUses the supplied evidence correctly40%
  • passAddresses the actual decision63%
  • passRespects explicit constraints71%
  • partialIdentifies material uncertainty46%
  • passAvoids unsupported claims38%
  • passProduces the required deliverable74%
  • passCatches the redefined metric99%
  • partialUnpicks the 38%81%
  • partialSees the early erosion36%
  • passJudges fit by retention, not sign-ups86%
  • passGets the base of every number right31%
  • passFinds who it's a must-have for99%
  • passSpots false fit92%
  • passDoesn't scale before fit81%
Run
Run
#1
API response time
33 s
Submitted
5 Oct 2026

Check by check

Where the outputs differ comes first. Open a check to read the judge’s reasons. “Mixed” means the two graders disagreed.

Where they differ 3

Uses the supplied evidence correctlyWrongMixed
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The claim that share-of-summary dropped 6-9 points in every persona is inaccurate for Engineers (drop is 3 points), so not all statements about the current situation are fully supported.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The memo states the survey is an in-app convenience sample, which is not stated in the brief or supplied context and does not follow from arithmetic.

Avoids unsupported claimsRightMixed
Sonnet 5.5 · API

Interpretations and causes are labelled as such (e.g., 'may not hold', 'looks promotion-driven'), and confident claims are backed by data.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The claim that the survey is a convenience sample is presented as fact without support from the supplied evidence.

Gets the base of every number rightWrongRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The claim that share-of-summary dropped 6-9 points in every persona is incorrect for Engineers (drop is 3 points), so a derived figure is not accurate.

GPT-6 Luna · API

All derived percentages (sharing rates, MRR figures) are taken correctly from the supplied data.

All got wrong 1

Unpicks the 38%WrongWrong
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The memo breaks down 38% by persona but does not separate users by tenure (under two weeks vs established) to show how new users dilute the figure.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The memo does not break down the 38% by tenure (users under two weeks vs. established) or by persona (recruiters ~62%, engineers ~24%).

All got right 10

Addresses the actual decisionRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The memo commits clearly to PMF with recruiters, probably sales, not engineers or founders, and says not to send the draft or hire six AEs, with conditions to scale later.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The memo commits early to a clear call (do not hire six AEs, focus on recruiting) and says what would change it (prove the recruiting motion first).

Respects explicit constraintsRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The memo is addressed to Sam, is well under 1,200 words, and is a complete, actionable memo.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The output is a memo to Sam, under 1,200 words, and addresses what is right/wrong, what to tell investors, and where money should go.

Identifies material uncertaintyRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It names unknowns (persona mix of WAU, survey response rate, September cohort durability, MRR by persona) and says what would change the call (e.g., add AEs only once recruiter Team sales work).

GPT-6 Luna · API

It names unknowns (September drop, survey representativeness, buyer/sales cycle) and says how to resolve them (investigation, go-to-market test, validate survey counts).

Produces the required deliverableRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The memo is the requested form, for the CEO, within word limit, and includes a suggested replacement investor message; it is usable with light edits.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The memo is in the requested form, for the named reader, within the word limit, and a PM could act on it with light edits.

Catches the redefined metricRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It links the 3 August changelog entry to the cohort-curve jumps, says the 'improvement' is the definition, and uses the shared-a-summary data for consistent retention.

GPT-6 Luna · API

It links the 3 August changelog to the jump in cohort curves, says the 'improvement' is the definition change, and uses the shared-a-summary data instead.

Sees the early erosionRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It notes the September drop in week-4 core-action retention, ties it to Zoom's 8 September launch, and factors it into advice to avoid enterprise engineering spend.

GPT-6 Luna · API

It notes the September drop in week-4 core-action retention, ties it to Zoom's launch by context, and uses it to advise against scaling engineering.

Judges fit by retention, not sign-upsRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

The call on fit rests on retention curves flattening by segment (shared-a-summary data), with the survey as supporting evidence.

GPT-6 Luna · API

The PMF call rests on retention curves (shared-a-summary) by segment, not on sign-ups, revenue growth, or the survey alone.

Finds who it's a must-have forRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It names recruiters as the must-have segment, identifies what they value (ATS integration, scorecards), and builds the plan around them.

GPT-6 Luna · API

It names recruiters as the must-have segment, describes what they value (candidate summaries, scorecards, ATS handoff), and builds the plan around them.

Spots false fitRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It catches the August MRR promotion, the active-user definition change, and the blended 38% as false signals of fit.

GPT-6 Luna · API

It spots the active-definition change, the August promotion-driven MRR jump, and the blended survey as false-fit signals and explains why.

Doesn't scale before fitRightRight
Sonnet 5.5 · API

It recommends not scaling AEs into enterprise engineering, and says to add AEs only once recruiter Team sales work at full price.

GPT-6 Luna · API

It recommends not hiring six AEs, not scaling into engineering, and sets the evidence (proven recruiting motion) that would justify widening later.

Results

Every setup we’ve tested on this task type, across all its tasks and repeats, graded on the current checklist. Calibrated.

#Model · HarnessTask scoreDecision modelLLM judgeRunsCritical failures
1GPT-6 AstrawithChatGPT90.5100.02None
2Sonnet 5.5withAPI77.990.02None
3Opus 5.5withClaude79.782.92None
4Haiku 5.5withAPI77.986.02None
5GPT-6.1 SolwithAPI90.575.72None
6GPT-6 LunawithAPI92.772.42None
7Gemini 3.8 FlashwithAPI65.062.12None
8Gemini 3.5 Flash-LitewithGemini65.151.92None

What you get for the cost

No setup scores within 5 points of the leader at half its cost or less here, so the leader is also the best value.

Task score against relative cost for each setup. The table below has the same figures.50607080901001×3×10×30×100×Cost per output, relative to the cheapest setup (log scale) →↑ Task scoreGPT-6 Astra · ChatGPT: task score 96, 118× the cheapestSonnet 5.5 · API: task score 85, 81× the cheapestOpus 5.5 · Claude: task score 82, 118× the cheapestHaiku 5.5 · API: task score 81, 6.1× the cheapestGPT-6.1 Sol · API: task score 80, 25× the cheapestGPT-6 Luna · API: task score 79, the cheapestGemini 3.8 Flash · API: task score 63, 16× the cheapestGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · Gemini: task score 56, 2.8× the cheapestGPT-6 Astra · ChatGPTSonnet 5.5 · APIOpus 5.5 · ClaudeHaiku 5.5 · APIGPT-6.1 Sol · APIGPT-6 Luna · APIGemini 3.8 Flash · APIGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · Gemini
Nobody beats these on both score and cost
Task score and relative cost by setup
SetupTask scoreRelative cost (cheapest = 1)
GPT-6 Luna · API791.0×
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · Gemini562.8×
Haiku 5.5 · API816.1×
Gemini 3.8 Flash · API6316×
GPT-6.1 Sol · API8025×
Sonnet 5.5 · API8581×
Opus 5.5 · Claude82118×
GPT-6 Astra · ChatGPT96118×

Cost is each output’s tokens at the model’s list price, shown relative to the cheapest setup. Runs done in an app have no usage meter, so theirs are estimated from the same setup’s measured runs. How we compare cost

About the task

The PM job

Deciding whether you have product-market fit, and for whom.

Why it matters

Scaling before fit amplifies waste. Most teams read fit from sign-ups or a blended survey, and miss the one segment where it's real.

What good looks like

  • Judges fit by retention, not sign-ups
  • Breaks the survey down by segment and tenure
  • Spots revenue and metrics that flatter
  • Scales only where fit is proven

Deliberately not measured

  • Fundraising strategy beyond what the evidence supports
Capability tested

Reading fit from evidence

The failure we’re looking for

Calling fit from a blended number or a growth spike

Grading

Decision model and LLM judge, calibrated against a blind PM review