The Three PMF Archetypes
Hair on Fire, Hard Fact, Future Vision. Each archetype requires a different first sale, a different early customer, and a different content engine.
Every venture has to pick a side. Hair on Fire problems are urgent — the customer is bleeding and will pay anyone with a bandage. Hard Fact problems are accepted as the status quo — nobody pays because nobody believes a solution exists yet. Future Vision problems are paradigm-creating — no market exists until you build one.
The reason this matters is that each archetype requires a different first sale, a different early customer profile, and a different content engine. Hair on Fire wants speed and case studies. Hard Fact wants proof and contrarian framing. Future Vision wants narrative and authority.
Founders who can't name which archetype they're in end up doing all three motions at once, which is the same as doing none of them.