Article · 20 min read

Levels of PMF

First Round Capital · First Round Free Intermediate

This framework treats persona as one of four levers, alongside problem, promise, and product, that you pull when growth or product market fit stalls, asking directly whether your target persona is too narrow, too broad, or needs to be replaced altogether. It gives you benchmarks for how a company's readiness changes as it moves from a handful of early customers into a mature account base. Useful for checking whether you have gotten specific enough for the stage you are actually at.

• Persona is one of four levers, persona, problem, promise, and product, you pull when growth or fit stalls.
• The framework asks bluntly whether your persona is too narrow, too broad, or needs to be abandoned altogether.
• Reassess persona, problem, promise, and product together whenever growth stalls, the persona is often the first thing that has gone stale.