I won’t try to answer for Bernard, but from ~20 years experience in the Linux world, I can tell you some reasons FreeBSD and Debian are rock solid with many people.
I should also add that I’ve used both Debian and FreeBSD as my “daily drivers” for years at a time
Debian is the most “Linux like” for many people, it’s most like the original Linux distributions and follows standards well. It’s also super easy and stable (which is why so many distros are based off it).
FreeBSD is the most “Unix like” for people who like Unix. It “feels” like a Unix machine. It’s also incredibly stable.
Both have tons of packages. It’s a big draw for many people.
Being a “Linux like” or “Unix like” distro has value, but I don’t think a successful Linux distro needs to strive for it. A Linux distribution can “do it’s own thing” if there’s a good reason for it, and people will still use it.
Every distribution of Linux is a “flavor”. The kernel and core of most distributions are so similar that you can take any version of Linux and modify it to do anything any other distribution can do. Some people want a distribution that’s easy to install and use, some want to configure everything. Some people use distros just because their packaging managers are great. Some just like the particular desktop. The core is the same, you are picking your favorite flavor.
I don’t have to tell you this, but the big differentiator right now for Clear is performance. It’s built to work well with Intel hardware. You succeeded. It’s measurably faster. That’s a great goal and one you shouldn’t veer far from in future development.
If you’re wondering where to focus next, the package manager is a good place. All other things considered package managers win fans. If someone knows they can easily install the latest Visual Studio Code or Node on their distro in minutes, they are happy. If they don’t get caught in dependency nightmares or get stuck with old versions, they love it.
If you’re looking for greater adoption, stay on the performance path and work on tightening up the package manager and hardware support. Address some bugs that are preventing new users from fully adopting. Stay the course.
I am excited about this distro and love the energy behind it. It will likely be my daily driver soon because performance and stability are important to me. Stay the course and I’ll be continuing to advocate, and hopefully we see some mainstream adoption coming.