Product–Market Fit is not a moment, but a continuous process of discovery and adjustment. It requires founders to repeatedly test assumptions, observe real behavior, and confront uncomfortable truths.
Customers and the Real Problem
- Are customers actively searching for a solution, or are they only using mine because I introduced it?
- Without explanation, do customers immediately understand the product’s value?
- Is the problem I am solving truly painful, or merely a “nice-to-have” improvement?
- If my product disappeared tomorrow, would customers feel genuine frustration—or simply indifference?
Activation – the Moment of Realized Value
- How long does it take for users to experience the core value of the product?
- How many users sign up but never reach the most important feature?
- Am I measuring real usage behavior, or just accounts and downloads?
- If direct onboarding were removed, how many users could still succeed on their own?
Retention – Returning Over Time
- After one month, how many customers are still active?
- When do customers leave, and for what reasons?
- Do customers return because of habit, genuine value, or lack of alternatives?
- Am I looking at total users instead of tracking cohorts over time?
KisStartup insight:
If you cannot clearly map monthly retention curves, you likely do not yet fully understand your customers.
Willingness To Pay (WTP)
- Are customers paying for the solution itself, or due to relationships, pilots, or incentives?
- If prices increase slightly, how many customers remain?
- How many customers purchase a second or third time?
- When external support disappears, will they continue paying?
Growth and Scaling Decisions
- Am I scaling because the data supports it—or due to fundraising or reporting pressure?
- If marketing stopped today, would the product survive?
- Does growth come from returning customers, or only from new ones?
- Am I using capital to mask the absence of PMF?
The Final Question for Founders
- Do customers recommend the product without being asked?
- If forced to choose, would I prefer:
- fewer customers who are deeply satisfied, or
- many customers who use the product once and leave?
- Am I listening to data—or only to compliments?
A question KisStartup often asks during mentoring:
“If tomorrow you could no longer call this a ‘startup,’ would you still want to build it?”
PMF is not a trophy to display.
It is a fragile state that must be measured, examined, and continuously validated.
Great founders are not those who claim they have PMF—but those who relentlessly question whether they are deceiving themselves.
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