Product/market fit is the degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand. It has been identified as a first step towards building a successful venture in which the organization meets early adopters, gathers feedback, and gauges interest in its product(s). [1]
📝Y Combinator founder Paul Graham described product/market fit as having "made something that people want", while 📝Sam Altman characterized it as when users "spontaneously tell other people to use [your product]." [2] The most cited description of product/market fit originates from this passage in 📝Marc Andreessen’s 2007 blog post:
“You can always feel when product/market fit is not happening. The customers aren't quite getting value out of the product, word of mouth isn't spreading, usage isn't growing that fast, press reviews are kind of ‘blah,’ the sales cycle takes too long, and lots of deals never close.
And you can always feel product/market fit when it is happening. The customers are buying the product just as fast as you can make it—or usage is growing just as fast as you can add more servers. Money from customers is piling up in your company checking account. You're hiring sales and customer support staff as fast as you can. Reporters are calling because they've heard about your hot new thing. You start getting entrepreneur of the year awards from Harvard Business School. Investment bankers are staking out your house.”
"Ask your users how they’d feel if they could no longer use your product. The group that answers ‘very disappointed’ will unlock product/market fit." ~ 📝Sean Ellis
References
- Product/market fit, wikipedia.org
- How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit, firstround.com