Principles
What Backhelm refuses
Restraint is the product. These boundaries are not limitations — they are the category definition.
Private Economic Memory
Append-only, org-scoped evidence store. Value compounds over time. Not an analytics warehouse. Not a CDP. Evidentiary purpose only.
Neutral verdicts
Supported, unsupported, or insufficient evidence — stated with equal flatness. Good months and bad months receive the same layout weight.
No recommendations
Backhelm does not advise where to spend, how to scale, or what to optimize. It verifies what evidence supports. Strategy stays with the client.
Traceability
Every certificate contains claim, verdict, and supporting evidence traceable to source. Show me why is the primary interaction — not exploration.
Scope discipline
MVP commerce truth flows through Shopify and Stripe Connect. Meta is comparative only. No attribution engine. No public API. No trust scores.
Selectivity
Backhelm chooses its clients. Diagnostic access is reviewed. Pricing is tied to economic vulnerability, not seats or dashboard access.
Design law
Does this make the claim more defensible?
If a surface only adds engagement, color, exploration, or SaaS familiarity — it does not belong. Backhelm should feel like a vault, a certificate, a silent control room.