Four dimensions that contribute to Founder-Market Fit
<aside> 💡 ‘Don’t start a company unless you can’t not do it... unless you can’t sleep at night and your is exploding with the idea’
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Obsession equips them to endure for the long haul that it takes to build a company without burning out or losing faith. Not because you want an entrepreneur but because you are compelled by something deep inside.
Obsession should translate to knowledge. Lack of obsession for — and knowledge of — the market is almost always a bad sign.
A compelling narrative signals to both customers and investors that the Founder has a mission and is in it for the long haul and for the right reasons.
Markets tend to attract people with similar personalities. Are you the kind of personality that can fit in and make connections with your peers in your market? If so, it’s a positive indicator. The personality profiles — dress, norms, behaviors, passions, interests, recreational preferences, common lingo — tend to coalesce within clusters of professionals.
Experience is often overrated when it comes to founder-market fit. Too much experience is not always a good thing. Staying for too long in sector could be a curse of too much knowledge and result in lack of innovation. Too much of knowledge is a blocker to innovation.
Depending on industry, experience could play more important role (e.g. Bio).
Second in command (CMO/CTO etc) plays role but industry experience is less important for them as it is found the Founder/CEO.