Why Product Market Fit



Why Product Market Fit? It is critical for the success of any startup?You can call it as lifeline. Any idea will succeed only if it solves a problem for  a customer or gives value in terms saving efforts, time etc.

 “Product/market (PMF) fit requires you to figure out the earliest tells.” Using an analogy to poker is appropriate since the process finding PMF fit is an art rather than a science. PMF emerges from experiments conducted by the entrepreneurs. Through a series of build-measure-learn iterations, PMF is discovered and developed during a process rather than a single Eureka moment. A-ha moments of inspiration do happen, but PMF is not created that way."- Reid Hoffman

Why Product Market Fit-Tell tale Signs of Product-Market Fit

 “You can always feel when product/market fit isn’t happening. The customers aren’t quite getting value out of the product, word of mouth isn’t spreading, usage isn’t growing that fast, press reviews are kind of ‘blah’, the sales cycle takes too long, and lots of deals never close. And you can always feel product/market fit when it’s happening. The customers are buying the product just as fast as you can make it — or usage is growing just as fast as you can add more servers. Money from customers is piling up in your company checking account. You’re hiring sales and customer support staff as fast as you can. Reporters are calling because they’ve heard about your hot new thing and they want to talk to you about it. You start getting entrepreneur of the year awards from Harvard Business School. Investment bankers are staking out your house. You could eat free for a year at Buck’s.” Marc Andreessen

Common misconceptions about product-market fit

1. “First to market seldom matters. Rather, first to product/market fit is almost always the long-term winner.” “Time after time, the winner is the first company to deliver the food the dogs want to eat.” “Once a company has achieved product market fit, it is extremely difficult to dislodge it, even with a better or less expensive product.” Andy Rachleff

2.You don’t need to build something that is your vision of the future, you actually need to solve a specific problem that customers have today, here, now.”Peter Reinhardt

3.Startup growth isn't just about driving users through your funnel. You need retention if you want your startup to survive.-500 Startups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpnYFG1-rdk

 How To Achieve Product-Market Fit-Hay Leibson  -forbes.com

When your product is being ripped out of your hands by eager customers and you cannot keep up with their demand for more, you have achieved the nirvana known as “product-market fit.” Most startups fail because they burn through cash without first carefully considering or planning for the moment when customers actually want what they are selling. Achieving product-market fit is one of the most important goals for a startup, yet it is also one of the least understood concepts.

Why Product Market Fit-  Successful Examples

1.Shampoo Sachets by -CavinKare-- A runaway success- Addressed the need of customers at the bottom pyramid

2. Nirma -Detergent Powder- Gave tough competition to HLL and market witnessed structural shift

3. Micro Loans- by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh

4. home Delivery of food through apps

Why Product Market Fit- Conclusion

Product- Market Fit is a critical success factor for any startup.Look before you leap and get familiar with this concept.

Hits the "Bulls Eye"

Sean Ellis claims the achievement of product/market fit can be measured according to a specific metric: when, in a survey, at least 40% of users say they would be “very disappointed” without your product or service. After studying 100 startups, he claims this is a good indicator of whether a company has achieved basic traction, while getting beyond “basic” necessitates that this 40% represents a large enough market on which to build your business.