3,000+ posts on entrepreneurship and startups
Last week, I was listening to a podcast from “Invest Like the Best,” where guest Miles Grimshaw discussed a concept I’ve encountered before, but never described in the same manner. The concept revolves around the in-market search for product-market fit. Historically, product-market fit has been discussed in contexts where new ideas and markets were explored. … Continue reading In-Market Search for Product-Market Fit
As startup aficionados, we like to think of our understanding of the search for product/market fit and stages of the startup lifecycle as more evolved and sophisticated when compared to our predecessors. Only, entrepreneurs are an intuitive bunch that have been scraping and clawing their way to success since the dawn of time. I’m reminded … Continue reading Search for Product/Market Fit in the 1880s
Every so often I come across a podcast interview that is so profound and thoughtful that I stop everything and concentrate on the content. Last week I listened to an interview with Rahul Vohra, the founder of Superhuman, and it was one such show. There were a number of takeaways over the course of an … Continue reading Running the Product/Market Fit Engine the Superhuman Way
When we launched the initial marketing automation product for Pardot, the feature set was quite simple. We had a minimal analytics that would track the individual lead’s movement around the site, a basic form capture to collect contact information, rudimentary CRM integration to sync data, and that was about it. Over time we added core … Continue reading The Email Inflection Point in the Product/Market Fit Journey
One of my favorite questions to ask seed/early stage entrepreneurs is “do you have product/market fit?” Then, naturally, it’s followed up by “how do you know and what are the metrics?” Of course, the answers, and rationale, are all over the place. While there are a variety of ways to define product/market fit, here are … Continue reading Competing Definitions of Product/Market Fit
Last week I did an informal poll asking several entrepreneurs how long it took to get to product/market fit. Consistently, the response was two years. I took this feedback and shared it on Twitter, resulting in a large conversation: I’ve asked multiple entrepreneurs this week how long it took to find product/market fit. Answer: two … Continue reading Why Product/Market Fit Often Takes Years
Recently I was talking to an entrepreneur that was excited about a number of excellent conversations he was having with prospects. Potential customers were sharing details around their problems and expressing real pain. Then, the entrepreneur volunteered that he thought he was close to product/market fit. Excellent conversations don’t equal product/market fit. Product/market fit comes … Continue reading Excellent Conversations Don’t Equal Product/Market Fit
One of the never-ending startup discussions is around assessing product/market fit. Product/market fit is the idea that the product’s form and functionality meets the needs of the market. Fit isn’t an on/off item, rather it’s a continuum with various dimensions. And, for entrepreneurs without product/market fit, not much else matters. Here are a few ideas for assessing … Continue reading Assessing Product/Market Fit
The topic of product/market fit has come up several times recently. More and more entrepreneurs are beginning to understand that in the early stages of getting a startup off the ground, the most important thing is building something that people want. It seems so simple but in reality it’s incredibly difficult. If you haven’t already, … Continue reading Product/Market Fit: Entrepreneurship 101
Recently I was talking with an entrepreneur about product pricing and positioning ideas. Only, this startup was pre product/market fit and didn’t have 10 passionate customers. My advice: product pricing doesn’t matter when searching for product/market fit. What matters is getting the product in the hands of as many potential customers as possible and iterating based on feedback. … Continue reading Product Pricing Doesn’t Matter Pre Product/Market Fit
David Cummings on Startups 