David Rusenko - How to Find Product Market Fit
by Parker · 58 things on Twos
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LNQxT9LvM0
- Make something a lot of people want
- Startup Phases: idea, prototype, launch, traction, monetization, growth
- Top early challenges at a startup:
- Finding product market fit
- Hiring and building a world-class team
- Once you find product market fit start scaling the team
- Making money (distant 3rd)
- It is a lot harder to build a product that a lot of people really really want than it is to figure out how to make money from that product
- Later, how to build an organization that scalably and repeatedly launches great products
- The best companies will create their own market
- Find a hidden need
- Everyone is going to tell you your idea is stupid. If it's obvious, everyone would do it
- What are you a substitute for, what need are you serving better? What job are you being hired for? What are people trying to do?
- Where are you getting pulled? Where are people hacking the thing you got and using it in a way you didn't intend? Double down on that
- Building a remarkable product
- Have a great idea
- Talk to customers
- ???
- Talk to customers. Develop a market thesis
- Listen to their problems NOT their solutions
- Rapid prototyping & user testing
- Don't worry about scaling or monetization
- Build the solution to their problems
- Test the solution with them
- Make sure you are talking to your target customers (be open to changing your view on who those are)
- Don't overthink it
- Most helpful tools:
- Customer Interviews (5-10)
- UX testing sessions (3-5)
- Get someone to use your app in front of you
- Encourage them to give open and honest feedback
- Ask them to perform a task (you are not allowed to touch the phone)
- DO NOT SAY OR DO ANYTHING
- Watch in extreme agony as they struggle to figure it out
- Did it work? If false, GOTO 1
- By the time you've reached this step, you've likely looped ~27 times
- PROFIT!!!
- Minimum Remarkable Product
- "Launch when your product is better than what's out there" - Paul Buchheit
- First priority is what gets you to your next milestone
- Don’t write articles, don’t go to meet ups, don’t read the news
- What is your biggest unknown that I need to learn?
- You should be involved in everything important and know all there is to know about your customers/product/market/channels
- Once you've found product-market fit, scale aggressively
- Be young and stupid. Take calculated risks. Be an optimist. Never give up. Be determined and know this is something people need and continue to work on it
- Being vertical is generally good advice, but if you are building a platform go horizontal first, then customize the vertical
- Be focused on your customers, not your competitors
- Second-time watching
- Create a new market
- Find a hidden need. A lot of people don't realize the problem exists.
- Everyone will tell you it is stupid
- What are you a substitute for? What need are you serving better? What job are you being hired for?
- Jobs to be done framework and book
- What are people hacking the thing you got and using it in a way you didn't intend? Double down on that
- What is the job they are trying to get done and how can you get it done faster or better
- Listen to their problems. Not their solutions
- What's the biggest unknown that I have and how do you go about figuring that out?