The strongest signal is the burden the founder refuses to outsource.
The center of a venture is the set of commitments that are never outsourced. When the founder takes that weight alone, direction becomes non-negotiable.
When evaluating a founder, the most reliable indicator of their future trajectory is not the size of their market, the elegance of their pitch, or even early traction. It is the specific category of weight they refuse to hand off. Every meaningful venture concentrates pressure in a small set of irreversible decisions, and the founder’s willingness to personally carry those decisions reveals whether the venture is built on conviction or convenience. Outsourced responsibility creates the illusion of progress; internalized load is the only real signal.