Product market fit a.k.a. “shut up and take my money”
That magical moment when customers actually want what you’re selling
(And no, your supportive friends don’t count.)
You’ve built a product. You’ve pitched it at five meetups, seventeen Zooms, and one wedding (awkward). You’ve dropped the price. Rewritten the homepage six times. And yet... sales are meh, retention is low, and investors keep asking, “But is there traction?”
Let’s talk about what’s really going on: Product Market Fit (PMF). Or the lack of it.
First things first: What PMF is NOT
PMF is not a box you tick. It’s not the day you launch. And it’s definitely not a vibe you get because your best friend said, “I’d totally use this.” (Spoiler: They probably won’t.)
PMF is momentum
It feels like pull.
Customers come back without you begging.
Referrals happen organically (not because you bribed someone with a free month).
You stop chasing leads and start managing demand.
In short, your product solves a real, painful, “shut up and take my money” kind of problem.
How do you get to Product-Market Fit?
Here’s the unsexy truth: You don’t get there by sitting in a strategy bubble. You get there by getting uncomfortable, getting curious, and getting out there.
Let’s break it down, with examples:
1. Talk to real users. Not just your friends.
You need truth bombs, not compliments. Go beyond “Would you use this?” (Most people will lie to be polite.)
Instead, ask:
“What frustrates you most about solving this problem right now?”
“What have you tried already—and what was bad about it?”
“What would make you actually pay for something new?”
Example:
You’re building a mindfulness app for busy professionals.
Stop pitching features. Start asking stressed users what they really need. Turns out, they don’t want an hour-long meditation, they want a 3-minute SOS button before meetings. Boom. Pivot.
2. Run fast, scrappy tests.
Think:
Landing pages with different value propositions
A/B tested ads with different audiences
Launch pre-orders or waitlists before full development
Try different pricing tiers—even if you're not 100% ready
Example:
Launching a subscription-based mental wellness app?
Test which benefit people respond to more:
“Daily gratitude journaling” vs “5-min audio therapy for stressful mornings.”
Whichever one gets more signups = messaging that resonates.
3. Measure what matters.
Forget vanity metrics. Focus on signals that scream PMF:
Retention – Are users coming back?
Activation – Do users complete key actions right after onboarding?
Referral – Are users sharing it without being bribed?
Example:
You run a virtual fitness studio.
Tracking class attendance is cute. But tracking repeat sign-ups, trial-to-paid conversions, and NPS scores? That’s gold.
PMF isn’t built in Notion. It’s built in the wild.
You have to test, talk, tweak, repeat. It's messy. It's humbling. But it’s the path.
So ask yourself:
Are you still pushing... or is your audience starting to create pull?
Because when you hit Product Market Fit, it won’t feel like a question.
It’ll feel like:
More demand than you can handle.
Customers who ask what’s next.
Investors sliding into your inbox.
And until then?
Stay curious. Stay close to your users. Stay scrappy.
