Product/Market fit

Achieving Product/Market fit is paramount to any entrepreneurial effort. The path is not predefined and can vary from a straight line to a cloud of iterations depending on the type of product. Zero to P/M fit is not an easy task, but when it’s achieved growth can start!

Product | According to Andrew Chen, the best metric is retention(is the product sticking?) analyzed through cohorts. Once it sticks and you have a solid acquisition strategy then you can start to roll out your growth plan. The effort of getting something to stick depends on the thing itself. The spectrum being from a straight forward product with few and clear requirements (easy) or a brand new tech product that may have endless variations (hard). 

Market | The market itself is its own contributor. Is there existing pull that can be validated through customer behavior metrics or is the potential pull inferred from hypothesis? A competitive market is a resource for existing pull that highlights market need. This pull reminds me of David Frost’s core day trading strategy of understanding institutional value areas. The institutions control 80-90% of trading volume so you want to be on their same team to find the buying and selling areas with high likelihood of success. Institutional value areas = product market opportunity.

Once these elements are grasped then the product strategy can be crafted to enter the market. Ideally with an offensive edge and defensive moats. A suggested approach is to pick a point between a pre existing and new market and launch something that customers understand, value, and can clearly see its market advantage. 

Art for Art’s sake does not apply here, it’s Art for Market’s sake.

Reference: andrewchen.com