The Real Product Market Fit: Product Market Fit | Y Combinator

The Real Product Market Fit: Product Market Fit | Y Combinator

The concept of product/market fit has been defined by Marc Andreessen as the point where customers are buying the product as fast as it can be made, or where usage is growing just as fast as more servers can be added. Essentially, it is when money from customers is flowing into the company and the demand is overwhelming. Andreessen looks for a founding team that is frantically trying to keep up with the ever-growing number of happy, loyal, and paying customers. This is the true indicator of product/market fit.

To achieve product/market fit, it is crucial to focus on the market first. Find a market where users have a real and meaningful problem that needs solving. This is the real opportunity. Users are often willing to try imperfect solutions if their problem is dire enough. Launch quickly and listen to your users. This allows you to iterate and improve your product based on their feedback. The key is to choose a market where the problem is so pressing that users are willing to accept a half-baked, version one solution.

In essence, finding product/market fit requires a lean approach. Keep burn low and resemble a Navy SEAL team instead of an Army battalion. This means staying agile and adaptable, constantly iterating and improving based on user feedback. The goal is to reach a point where usage is overwhelming, to the point where major changes to the product become difficult because of the sheer volume of customers relying on it.

The Future of Search

Curiosity is a natural human desire that drives us to seek knowledge and learn new things. It is a sustained desire that we have inherently. However, we also have a natural inclination towards loss aversion. We don't want to waste the time we have spent. This may be why people often curate their searches. They curate what they have searched for in the past and search from that curated bucket in the future.

The process of curating searches involves three steps. First, there is the generic search from the Internet, where users gather a wide range of information. Next, they curate the important parts and save them for future reference. Finally, they search from the curated bucket, which contains the most relevant and valuable information. The quality and scope of this curated bucket are crucial factors.

Maintaining the quality of the curated bucket can be achieved through social accountability. By making the curated information public, individuals feel a sense of responsibility to provide accurate and valuable content. This ensures that the curated bucket remains high in quality.

Interestingly, the way people organize information for curation is often different from the way they search for it. This is an important insight that has been recently noticed. Public highlights, which combine social accountability and specific important parts, can contribute to enhancing the quality of the curated bucket.

In terms of searching, narrowing down the scope or focusing on verticals can be more effective. The scope directly impacts the signal-to-noise ratio, meaning that a narrower scope leads to a higher concentration of relevant information. Separating searches into verticals allows for more targeted and efficient results.

It is worth noting that the word "curate" and "curious" both stem from the same Latin word, "cura," meaning care. This connection highlights the importance of caring for and organizing information in the search process. In the case of an "In-cura-net," an interest graph and social graph can be utilized to search for information. This concept suggests that the future of search may lie in vertical, high-quality curated buckets within an "In-cura-net" that maximizes the use of interest and social graphs.

In conclusion, achieving product/market fit requires focusing on the market first and finding a real, meaningful problem to solve. Launch quickly and listen to user feedback to continuously improve your product. Stay lean and adaptable, resembling a Navy SEAL team rather than an Army battalion. In terms of search, the future may be centered around high-quality curated buckets that make use of interest and social graphs. Curating information and searching from a curated bucket can enhance efficiency and improve the overall search experience.

Three actionable advice:

• 1. Identify a market where users have a pressing problem and are willing to accept imperfect solutions. This will increase the chances of achieving product/market fit.

• 2. Launch quickly and listen to user feedback. This will allow for rapid iteration and improvement of the product based on user needs and preferences.

• 3. Consider curating your searches by saving important information for future reference. This can enhance the quality of your search results and make the search process more efficient.