Product-market fit

How it is used

A central idea in startup strategy, often shortened to PMF. Founders search for, reach, hit or lose product-market fit. Signs include strong retention, word-of-mouth growth and customers who would be very disappointed without the product. Investors often want to see it before a Series A.

Example sentences

1. We haven't found product-market fit yet; most users try the app once and never come back.

2. Once they hit product-market fit, sales almost doubled every quarter.

Common collocations

• find product-market fit
• reach product-market fit
• signs of product-market fit
• pre-product-market fit
• PMF

Related terms

• MVPMinimum viable product: the simplest version of a product that real customers can use, built quickly to test whether the idea solves their problem.
• retentionA company's ability to keep its customers or users over time, usually measured as the percentage who are still active or paying after a certain period.
• customer discoveryThe early process of talking directly to possible customers to understand their problems and test whether your idea is worth building.
• tractionClear evidence that customers want a product, such as growing users, sales, revenue or partnerships, which shows that the startup is moving forward.
• early adopterOne of the first customers to try a new product, usually someone who has a strong need for it and accepts bugs and missing features.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• product-market fit · Product Management

More terms: MVP & Product-Market Fit

• iterate
• prototype
• lean startup
• validate