Product market fit

Sources:

Product market fit is a crucial stage in a startup's development, where a product meets strong market demand. It is not defined by an absolute number of users but rather the trends and behaviors of user cohorts. Lex Fridman discussed this concept in various episodes:

  1. Instagram's Approach (Kevin Systrom on Lex Fridman Podcast #243): Kevin Systrom explained that assessing product market fit goes beyond just user numbers; it involves examining how cohorts behave over time, especially in terms of retention and engagement, to capture network effects and trends. 1

  2. Finding Fit through Customer Feedback (Brian Armstrong on Lex Fridman Podcast #307): Brian Armstrong from Coinbase emphasized the importance of talking to customers and iteratively improving the product. He found product market fit when adding a crucial feature, buy bitcoin, which led to increased user engagement and retention. 2

  3. Robotics and Product Market Fit (Ayanna Howard on Lex Fridman Podcast #66): Discussed the difficulties robotics companies face in achieving product market fit, stating the challenge is not only about building a viable product but also matching it with market demand at a correct pricing point. 3

    Product Market Fit

    Kevin discusses the importance of writing tests from the beginning and how it helped them move quickly when rewriting parts of the product. He also shares his thoughts on how to determine product market fit, emphasizing the importance of analyzing cohorts rather than absolute numbers.

    Lex Fridman Podcast

    Kevin Systrom: Instagram | Lex Fridman Podcast #243
    1
    2
    3

These discussions highlight that product market fit can often be an iterative process, influenced by user feedback and behavioral analysis, rather than a quantitative benchmark.

RELATED QUESTIONS