The ZIAVE Publication Standard
We publish only what we can verify
Every case, blueprint and teardown on this site is written under the rules below. They exist so you can trust our materials for the only reason that matters: they honestly show the limits of their own conclusions.
The labels
Every number carries one of five labels
If a number appears in a ZIAVE publication, you can tell exactly what kind of number it is.
Observed
Seen on a public surface we actually fetched, with the date stated. If we couldn't see it, we don't claim it.
Modeled
Arithmetic on stated assumptions. Every input is labeled, the math is shown, and modeled numbers are never presented as results.
Measured
Instrumented data from a live system, with the baseline and the timeframe attached. No timeless percentages.
Client-verified
Numbers signed off in writing by the client before publishing. No anonymous wins.
Prior role
Work a founder did before ZIAVE existed, in a named role at a named company. The numbers are theirs, not ours: published only when already public or signed off in writing. Otherwise the claim stays role-scoped, without numbers.
Mandatory blocks
What every publication must include
Baseline first
Where the numbers stood before anything changed.
Timeframes stated
How long every result took, stated next to the result.
What didn't work
The failures and dead ends, with what they cost.
What we ruled out
The hypotheses we considered and rejected, and why. The decision path, not just the winning move.
What we couldn't verify
The explicit limits of the analysis, listed, so you know exactly how far to trust it.
The money rule
When a money figure may appear in a sample
A money figure may appear in a sample only as the visible output of on-page arithmetic over inputs explicitly labeled as fictional assumptions, in the same view as that arithmetic. Never as a standalone number in a headline, summary, preview, tile or social image. And modeled money is never called a result: only what the stated assumptions produce.
Corrections
Errors get fixed in public
If someone shows us an error, we correct the piece and date the correction at the top of it. No silent edits, no quiet deletions. Being corrected in public is cheaper than being distrusted in private.
By design
What we deliberately avoid publishing
- Invented or borrowed numbers.
- Percentages without a baseline and a timeframe.
- Anonymous “results” we can't attribute.
- Client data without written sign-off.
- Demonstration work presented as client work.
- Founder history presented as firm track record.
See the standard applied: case studies, blueprints and teardowns.