Lenny Distilled

A framework for finding product-market fit

April 11, 2024

Featuring: Todd Jackson (Partner, First Round Capital)

6 quotes · 5 insights

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Fake it before you automate it

She was completely manual. She was the one behind the email address posing as the AI, but doing it herself.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 00:25:49

Stop talking to customers when their answers become predictable

If you talk to enough people and you can predict 70 to 80% of what the next person is going to say to you, because you've just talked to so many people and you've heard the pattern so clearly, that's when you've talked to enough people.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 01:24:44

Build now for the AI capabilities of tomorrow

Finding product-market fit is the single most important thing that your startup does in the first three years, and it's just underexplored and it's just underexplained as a topic.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 00:00:00
Extreme product-market fit is a state of widespread demand for a product that satisfies a critical need and crucially can be delivered repeatably and efficiently to each customer.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 00:17:03

Real commitment shows through payment, not promises

You don't want to get friend-zoned by your customers, where your customers like you, but they don't love you and they don't need you.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 00:36:23

Unit economics are the real PMF test

You see a lot of startups kind of do this. They're basically with their products, giving away $2 for $1 and it gets them pretty far. But that's not real product-market fit.
Todd JacksonPartner, First Round Capital 00:18:59

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