Article

How Intercom Uses Clusters of Demand to Find Product-Market Fit

Des Traynor · Underscore VC Free Intermediate

Traynor describes finding fit by looking for clusters of demand, groups of customers pulling for the same underlying thing, rather than chasing individual asks. It is the clearest statement of your core move, cluster by problem and build for the biggest, most painful cluster. Short and directly on point.

  • Look for clusters of demand, not one off requests.
  • A strong cluster is many customers pulling in one direction.
  • Build for the cluster that is both large and underserved.
Open on underscore.vc ↗

The question it answers

  1. Every user interview gives me a different feature request. How do I turn messy feedback into a real prioritisation decision?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The primary-source telling of the milkshake story, the single most memorable illustration of Jobs to Be Done, straight from... HBS Working Knowledge Article · ~8 min read Clay Christensen's Milkshake Marketing Clayton Christensen (via Harvard Business School)
  3. The original, primary source where the RICE framework was introduced, cite this, not the SEO reposts. The clearest way to... Intercom Blog Article · ~12 min read RICE: Simple Prioritization for Product Managers Sean McBride
  4. The canonical PM-community reference on choosing what to build next, from the most-read product newsletter. A pragmatic... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read Prioritizing Lenny Rachitsky
  5. Basecamp's battle-tested, opinionated system for shipping meaningful work in fixed cycles without endless backlogs, a primary... Basecamp / 37signals Book · free online book Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters Ryan Singer
  6. The standard modern playbook for keeping discovery continuous so roadmap decisions stay grounded in real customer input, not... Product Talk Book · ~240 pages Continuous Discovery Habits Teresa Torres
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →