There’s no point in pushing a product which brings no real sustainable value to customers.

Engagement and retention numbers will tell the real story. PMF shows up both in user acquisition and user retention. Top-of-funnel growth means nothing if the users all churn!

The strongest PMF comes when users find they can’t live without a product.

Startups fail because they run out of money before achieving PMF. Once done, failure isn’t as pressing. It becomes an execution play.

The theoretical framework:

1. Determine who your customers are
2. Find their under-served needs or desires
3. Define your value proposition
4. Specify and build your MVP
5. Test it with customers
6. Iterate fast till you find product-market fit

Where can you find underserved needs or desires?

There are two places:

1. Find a customer pain-point and find a way to relieve that pain
2. Find a potential way to benefit the customer and present them with a ‘gain creator’

It’s too generic. 10 more specific places where founders can look for PMF.

1. Taking an existing activity and making it 10x easier

You have evidence that people actually do the thing your product enables. But the activity needs to be dramatically easier. Have to hit a critical mass of ‘easiness’ to motivate people to switch their existing habits to start using your product.

2. Make an existing activity 10x better (& networked)

Make the experience dramatically better - especially if it’s better because you made it a network. E.g. Slack.