Evidence
Evidence: The Right Proof for Each Claim
An unsupported claim is not automatically wrong. But it must remain visible as an assumption until the right evidence exists.
Source work in a business plan is not about collecting as many links as possible. The evidence has to fit the claim.
Market Size
Good evidence can include industry reports, public statistics, databases, bottom-up derivations or comparison markets. A huge market number without segment, region, year and entry relevance is weak evidence.
Target Group
Target groups are often better evidenced through proximity than statistics: interviews, observations, pilot data, waitlists, usage behavior or letters of intent.
Willingness to Pay
Interest is weaker than willingness to pay. Stronger evidence includes paid pilots, offers, budget statements, price tests or pre-orders.
Competition
Competitors are not only similar startups. They include every alternative the target group uses today: internal workarounds, spreadsheets, email, agencies, consultants or doing nothing.
Impact
Impact needs measurement logic: before-after comparison, time saved, error reduction, activation rate, qualitative evaluation or a case example.
The goal is not to prove everything immediately. The goal is to keep assumptions, sources and decisions separate.