Product Strategy

Start noticing a shift from push to pull, and organic growth

‍“Positioning defines how your product is a leader at delivering something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about.”

“Many investors will say that the total addressable market (TAM) size is the primary indication of ‘venture scale,’ but I disagree. You can have large TAMs that actually aren’t very good markets for startups, and smaller markets that can be expanded by the abilities of a talented startup with the right product offering.

So instead I tell founders t

... See more

The actionable thing for me on the product-market fit stuff is it’s just really focusing on customer love.

Our team then dove into each of these tracks — developing hypotheses, ideating on solutions, and launching dozens of experiments to make steady progress towards our goal.

The Minto Pyramid Principle:

1. What is the current situation?


2. What is the complication?


3. What is the solution?


4. How do we achieve this solution?

In terms of feeling market-message fit, there’s a few ways you can test it. One, based on launch press coverage, e.g. who wants to talk about it. You send an email using cold outbound and look at response rates.

A wedge seems most essential when you’re going after a market that is (1) entrenched or (2) crowded. When it’s hard to break in head-on.

There are four signs your idea has legs:

1. People pay you money: Several people start to pay for your product, ideally people you don’t have a direct connection to


2. Continued usage: People continue to use your prototype product, even if it’s hacky


3. Strong emotion: You’re hearing hatred for the incumbents (i.e. pain) or a deep and strong emotional react

... See more