.png)
Speakers: Corinna Hagen & Ed Forteau
Finding Product-Market Fit (PMF) is a crucial milestone for any startup, ensuring that the product aligns with the needs and desires of the market. However, the process can be resource-draining and time-consuming, which is why many startups strive to speed up the process.
In this session, Corinna Hagen, a business coach and consultant, and Ed Forteau, an expert in marketing and sales, shared their insights on how to accelerate PMF, particularly for startups facing limited resources and high expectations from investors.
Why Speeding Up PMF Is Important
Common Challenges in Achieving PMF
Startups often struggle to reach PMF due to:
Resource Limitations: Many startups run out of time and money before they can fully validate their product in the market.
Incremental Changes: Minor tactical shifts may not yield substantial results, delaying the discovery of a sustainable PMF.
Investor Pressure: Investors want to see profitability as soon as possible, which puts additional pressure on startups to find PMF quickly.
Models and Strategies for Achieving PMF
Corinna and Ed introduced eight different models for finding PMF, each offering unique advantages and challenges. They categorized these models based on their strategic or tactical focus and whether they were fast or slow to implement.
1. Business Model Canvas
Overview: A holistic visualization tool that maps out elements of a business model and its value proposition.
When to Use: Ideal for startups starting from scratch or conducting in-depth discussions about their business direction.
Pros: Provides a comprehensive view and fosters team alignment.
Cons: Can be overly simplistic and static if not iterated.
Example: Netflix used this model to pivot from DVD rentals to streaming services.
2. Design Thinking
Overview: A human-centered approach that emphasizes understanding customer pain points through a structured process (empathize, ideate, prototype, and test).
When to Use: Effective when deep customer insights are needed.
Pros: Strong user focus that can lead to significant innovation.
Cons: Time-consuming and potentially expensive.
Example: Airbnb used design thinking to improve user experience, leading to better PMF.
3. Lean Startup
Overview: A framework centered around rapid experimentation using a build-measure-learn cycle.
When to Use: Best suited for high-uncertainty situations with limited resources where speed is crucial.
Pros: Efficient and resource-saving.
Cons: Requires discipline and a data-driven mindset; can lead to "analysis paralysis."
Example: Dropbox used this approach by launching a product explainer video before developing their actual product.
4. Hypothesis Testing
Overview: Focuses on rigorously testing assumptions about the target audience and the product.
When to Use: For startups that prioritize data accuracy and want to mitigate risks early.
Pros: High accuracy.
Cons: Time-consuming due to the data-driven nature of the process.
Example: Amazon continuously A/B tests its product page elements to optimize conversion rates.
5. Hackathons
Overview: Time-boxed events where participants rapidly prototype and test ideas.
When to Use: When gathering a large number of ideas in a short period is important.
Pros: Collaborative and energizing, fostering team spirit.
Cons: Results may lack practicality if not properly tested with real users.
Example: The Facebook “Like” button emerged from a company hackathon.
6. Growth Hacking
Overview: A data-driven approach focusing on quick growth by experimenting with marketing and product features.
When to Use: For startups looking for creative ways to achieve traction.
Pros: Can fuel rapid growth.
Cons: May lead to unethical practices or unsustainable results if done carelessly.
Example: Airbnb leveraged Craigslist to reach their target market creatively.
7. Pre-Selling (Selling the Book Cover)
Overview: Gauge market demand by selling the product vision before development.
When to Use: When validating demand for a product is needed before investing in production.
Pros: Attracts early adopters and allows startups to validate market interest early.
Cons: May not accurately represent the final product, potentially leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Example: Tesla garnered massive preorders for its Cybertruck by selling a vision before production started.
8. Concierge Onboarding
Overview: Manually guiding individual users through a product or service to get granular feedback.
When to Use: Ideal for collecting detailed customer insights in the early stages.
Pros: Provides deep insights and can build customer loyalty.
Cons: Not scalable and can be biased toward early adopters.
Example: Groove Pages refined its product by offering early access and constant education to its initial customers, gaining valuable feedback before launching fully.
Combining Approaches for Faster PMF
Corinna and Ed advocate for a hybrid approach that combines Pre-Selling and Concierge Onboarding to speed up PMF. This approach enables startups to:
Validate market interest quickly through pre-selling.
Gather detailed customer insights through personalized onboarding.
This combination ensures early revenue generation while gathering feedback that can refine both the product and the customer experience, increasing the chances of hitting PMF faster.
Conclusion
Startups aiming to speed up their journey to Product-Market Fit have a variety of models and strategies to choose from. By carefully selecting the right combination of approaches—whether it’s the holistic view of the Business Model Canvas, the rapid experimentation of Lean Startup, or the hands-on customer interaction of Concierge Onboarding—startups can increase their chances of reaching PMF faster. For many, the hybrid approach of Pre-Selling and Concierge Onboarding offers a balanced mix of quick validation and deep learning.
By accelerating the PMF process, startups can conserve valuable resources, meet investor expectations, and pave the way for scalable growth.
Q&A
Q1: What are the biggest mistakes people make when trying different approaches to PMF?
Corinna Hagen explained that one of the biggest mistakes is sticking too rigidly to the process without considering the actual objectives. Sometimes people get so caught up in following the process that they stop listening to what the customer or user is actually telling them. It's essential to focus on what you're trying to achieve and not just the method itself.
Q2: Are there any tools you would suggest for building the "book cover" (vision) to present to potential customers?
Corinna shared that when building the vision, you don’t need a full prototype. You’re selling an idea, and that can be communicated through wireframes, drawings, or explainer videos. She mentioned tools like:
CARD (CARRD.co) – A platform that allows you to quickly create landing pages to test concepts. These can be set up in minutes.
Score App – A tool for creating quizzes to gather feedback from users, helping refine the product concept.
Ed Forteau added that landing pages or online quizzes are great for gauging interest. He mentioned Score App as a good application for this purpose.
Q3: Can you provide examples of companies that have successfully used the "book cover" approach?
Corinna used Dropbox as an example. Dropbox initially used a whiteboard explainer video to show users how their service would work, even before the product was fully developed. This approach successfully sold the vision of Dropbox to potential users.
Another example she mentioned was Tesla’s Cybertruck, where Tesla put up a landing page to showcase the vision of the product, which resulted in massive pre-orders, validating the market demand before production even started.
Q4: How can I get feedback on my investment deck before talking to investors?
Corinna recommended Score My Deck, a tool designed to provide feedback on your investment deck before presenting it to investors. This tool has been refined by working with hundreds of venture capitalists and can help improve confidence and the quality of the pitch.
Q5: Does the pre-selling approach work well for B2B companies?
An attendee, Ananya, shared their experience in the B2B space, confirming that pre-selling can work well for B2B companies. Ananya explained that their team had a concept and architecture ready and presented it in the form of one-pagers and slide decks. This approach resulted in many sign-ups and valuable connections with potential customers, even though the product wasn’t fully built yet.
Q6: How can I connect with Corinna Hagen and Ed Forteau?
Both Corinna and Ed shared their LinkedIn profiles in the chat, allowing attendees to connect with them directly. Additionally, a QR code was provided during the presentation for quick access to their contact information.
Tools/Resources Mentioned
Book: "Mastering High Stakes Communication"
Written by Corinna Hagen, this book is set to be released in December.
Book: "No More Cringe"
Ed Forteau's book, focusing on LinkedIn Outreach, is available on Amazon.
Business Model Canvas
A widely-used tool for mapping out a company’s business model and value proposition. Netflix used this tool to pivot from DVD rentals to streaming.
Design Thinking
A human-centered problem-solving approach, especially useful for deeply understanding customer pain points. Airbnb used this method to improve user experience.
Lean Startup Approach
A framework for rapid experimentation and iterative product releases. Dropbox applied this model in its early stages by using an explainer video.
AppSumo
A platform where companies, especially SaaS products, can test and refine their products by getting feedback from early adopters.
Tool: CARD (CARRD.co)
A simple tool for quickly building landing pages to test product concepts or sell the vision.
Tool: Score App
An application for creating quizzes that help gather feedback from users to refine product ideas.
Tool: Score My Deck
A tool designed to provide feedback on investment decks before presenting to investors, helping to refine pitches.