The problem
“We’re new” reads as a warning.
A prospect asks "who else have you worked with?" and you have no logos to offer. Admit it plainly and it sounds like a risk. Dress it up — borrowed logos, invented quotes — and you're faking it, which is now unlawful and collapses the moment it's scrutinized.
But the reference request is rarely about the references themselves. It's a shorthand for a buyer trying to lower their risk. Proof Profile answers the question underneath it — starting with the person standing behind the product.
What it answers
The three real questions behind every reference request.
Your Proof Profile is structured around the three questions a buyer is actually asking — and gives them an honest, checkable answer to each.
- 01
Can you actually do it?
Proof you have the skill and the product — a working demo, an inspectable sample, a founder track record that holds up.
- 02
Can you do it in my context?
Proof it works for a buyer like them — a scoped pilot plan and a measured outcome from a context that resembles theirs.
- 03
Will you stick around?
Proof you’re a safe long-term bet — straight security answers, clear commitments, and an honest account of where you are today.
How it works
What goes into a Proof Profile.
A Proof Profile is your founder identity and credibility — assembled from checkable facts.
Who you are
Your founder identity and credibility — your name, role, and the company behind the product. Not an anonymous landing page; a real person a buyer can place.
Your track record
Where you’ve done the work before — prior roles, shipped products, and domain experience, stated as founder claims and clearly labeled as such.
Your domain depth
The specific problem space you know cold. Buyers don’t need a logo wall to believe you understand their world — they need evidence you’ve lived in it.
How we keep it honest
More of the system