As someone often referenced as an expert in product-market fit (PMF), I've spent years helping companies navigate the challenges of achieving sustainable growth.
Great insights, Sean! Your take on PMF as a gradual process really resonates with my experience. I've found that a crucial part of scaling with PMF is aligning expectations across your team, current customers (across segments), and future target customers. This alignment isn't something you can pinpoint in a moment -- it emerges from insights and feedback over time. In my experience, it helps prevent premature scaling pitfalls and reduces jagged friction in delivery, ultimately saving resources.
Your examples of Dropbox and LogMeIn beautifully illustrate the power of focused, incremental progress. It's not about waiting for a "rocketship" moment, but building it piece by piece with a clear, shared vision. Really enjoyed this piece - thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Really good point about the importance of team alignment. Important for everyone to be on the same page or execution gets out of sync and team members quickly get frustrated.
In my experience, trying to scale too quickly can be risky—something every entrepreneur should keep in mind. But at the same time, being too cautious and missing out on a solid growth opportunity can also work against you.
In the end, the real challenge is finding that balance and being willing to keep improving. As you mentioned, PMF isn’t a destination; it’s a journey. The companies that truly succeed are the ones that understand this and put in the effort every day to strengthen their position in the market.
Yep, it's easy to miss the point that even after you have validated PMF, it's important to build a strong growth foundation of the right users (which often requires patience).
Great insights, Sean! Your take on PMF as a gradual process really resonates with my experience. I've found that a crucial part of scaling with PMF is aligning expectations across your team, current customers (across segments), and future target customers. This alignment isn't something you can pinpoint in a moment -- it emerges from insights and feedback over time. In my experience, it helps prevent premature scaling pitfalls and reduces jagged friction in delivery, ultimately saving resources.
Your examples of Dropbox and LogMeIn beautifully illustrate the power of focused, incremental progress. It's not about waiting for a "rocketship" moment, but building it piece by piece with a clear, shared vision. Really enjoyed this piece - thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Really good point about the importance of team alignment. Important for everyone to be on the same page or execution gets out of sync and team members quickly get frustrated.
In my experience, trying to scale too quickly can be risky—something every entrepreneur should keep in mind. But at the same time, being too cautious and missing out on a solid growth opportunity can also work against you.
In the end, the real challenge is finding that balance and being willing to keep improving. As you mentioned, PMF isn’t a destination; it’s a journey. The companies that truly succeed are the ones that understand this and put in the effort every day to strengthen their position in the market.
Yes, you should never stop improving PMF!
Trying to scale before PMF.. so many failed startups. Slow and steady at first for the foundation of a good quality customer.
Yep, it's easy to miss the point that even after you have validated PMF, it's important to build a strong growth foundation of the right users (which often requires patience).