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This post was originally published on VC Cafe.
“If you’re pre-product/market fit, the best advice that I have from that period is: action produces information. Just keep doing stuff.”
Brian Armstrong, founder of Coinbase
Product/Market Fit (PMF) is the holy grail for startups. It’s the point where you’ve built something people want so much that they can’t imagine living without it. But finding PMF is more than just checking off items on a list. It’s about understanding your customers deeply, iterating relentlessly, and being willing to pivot when necessary.
I’ve seen this happen many times in startups: you’ve done everything by the book. Identified a significant pain point, formulated a hypothesis, conducted thorough research, mapped out user needs, created wireframes, designed and built your product, and rigorously tested it. Yet something still feels off. You need to raise your next round of funding but there still isn’t that magnetic pull and word of mouth you were hoping for. Welcome to the challenging world of startups, where following the playbook is just the beginning.
I’ve been thinking for a while about how to write this post. There’s so much great content about finding PMF from the likes of Lenny Ratchitsky, Ycombinator, Bessemer…
