Joanna Lord, VP of Marketing at Porch, presented on Product/Market Fit at Startup Next in Seattle

1. Finding Product/Market Fit
[OMG.PMF.ASAP]
Joanna Lord
VP of Marketing
@joannalord

2. What is product market fit?

3. Product/market fit means being in a
good market with a product that can
satisfy that market.
- Marc Andreessen
http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee204/ProductMarketFit.html

4. A repeatable and scalable sales model.
- Steve Blank

5. Achieving product/market fit requires at
least 40% of users saying they would be
“very disappointed” without your product.
- Sean Ellis

6. It’s what you need to hit before
you focus on growth.

7. But wait…how will I know?

8. But wait…how will I know?
Oh trust me. You’ll know.

9. BPMF.
Wondering where the value is?
Customers are confused?
No organic traction.
Hard to pitch startup press.
Long sales cycles.
…they don’t want it.

10. APMF.
Customers buying as fast as you can
build.
Your understaffed.
WOM is on fire.
Random emails/feedback thanking you.
Investment/press/general buzz.
…they need it.

11. So how do you get there?

12. Lessons learned
from a few
BPMFs, a few
APMFs, and some
NFPMFs.

13. Lesson #1: The Market Wins*
*Every damn time.

14. What matters most. Let’s talk about it.
Team
Product Market

15. What matters most. Let’s talk about it.
Team
Product
“In a great market, the product is pulled out of the startup”
- Andreesen
Market

16. [important little side note]
4 Types of Market
1. Existing market
2. Resegmented market
3. New market
4. Clone market

17. #realtalk:
ASSUMPTIONS:
Recession = high unemployment.
High unemployment = job search.
Job search = need for job search sites.
Need for job search sites = opportunity.
Opportunity = Success.
Success = lots of fun and money.
Lots of fun and money = speedboats.

18. #realtalk:
Recession = high unemployment.
High unemployment = filing for unemployment.
Job search = need for job search sites.
Need for job search sites = opportunity.
Opportunity = Success.
Success = lots of fun and money.
Lots of fun and money = speedboats.

19. #realtalk:
I lost two years* trying to
force a market.
*all my savings
*angel investment
*all my relationships
*political currency
*confidence
*about a million other things

20. #2. Realize your product is not the product.*
*your business model is.

21. #realtalk:

22. #realtalk:

23. #realtalk:

26. #3. Start at the pain point

27. #realtalk:
Forget the vitamin, be the painkiller.

28. #realtalk:
Help you connect with customers in new ways.
Help you engage them throughout their lifecycle.
Help encourage social advocacy.

29. #realtalk:
Help you connect with customers in new ways.
Help you engage them throughout their lifecycle.
Help encourage social advocacy.
Feed your CRM.
Increase your VPC.
Drive referrals.

30. #4. Ask all the questions

31. • Who needs your solution?
• Who would pay for your solution?
• Who approves that charge?
• What are they doing now to solve for that?
• What is the dream solution?
• The minimum solution?
• What other problems stem from this problem?
• How would they feel if it was solved?
• How much of their monthly budget would they put toward a solution?
• If presented with a solution, what could stop them from using the solution?
• What are their shooting for?
• What are their professional goals?
• What roadblocks are they facing when aiming for those goals?

32. #5. Be skeptical.

33. #realtalk:

34. What do I mean “skeptical?”
• What if they aren’t right? (you know who I mean)
• What if that one person is right?
• What if your first three validating points didn’t exist?
• What if the most constant thing vanished?
• What if your primary persona didn’t exist?
• 10th man rule/argumentative theory/odd man out theory : do it
For the love of goodness gracious:
Embrace and reward skepticism.

35. #6. Minimum sellable product.*
* Versus MVP.

36. #realtalk:
THE DREAM.

37. #realtalk:
MVP.

38. #realtalk:
MSP.

39. #7. Double back…a dozen times.
…aka checking your hypotheses.

40. #realtalk:

41. What do I mean “validate?”
• Troll feature request forms (yours and others)
• Visit tradeshows, shake hands, ask them what challenges they are facing
• Get a CAB early, grow it steadily
• Get your prototype into customer hands as quickly as you can
• Do retros on market failures – awkwardddd, but valuable
• Do retros on lost deals, cancelled customers
• Write your assumptions on a wall and revisit them frequently
For the love of goodness gracious:
Don’t base anything on what is listed a trend to watch.

42. #8. Repeat after me: activation & retention.
Everything else comes after PMF.

43. McClure’s Startup Metrics
Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Revenue
Referral
http://www.slideshare.net/Startonomics/startup-metrics-for-pirates-presentation

44. McClure’s Startup Metrics
Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Revenue
Referral
http://www.slideshare.net/Startonomics/startup-metrics-for-pirates-presentation

45. #9. Architect for speed

46. #realtalk:

47. What do I mean “architect for speed?”
• Plug and play platforms as much as you can
• Don’t build too deep too early
• Think flexibility from the get go
• Your first processes should be around iteration
• Your first hires should pride themselves in their ability to adapt
• Culture should reward fluidity
For the love of goodness gracious:
Don’t build for progress sake.

48. #10. Validate Qualitatively, Verify Quantitatively

49. #realtalk:

50. So you have PMF, now what?

51. Growth & Product Vision
Next up…

52. Growth.

53. Product Vision.
http://svpg.com/product-market-fit-vs-product-vision/

54. Don’t forget…it’s not optional.

55. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?
Joanna Lord
VP of Marketing
@joannalord