Essay · ~15 min read

The Only Thing That Matters

Marc Andreessen · pmarchive.com Free Intermediate

The essay that put 'product-market fit' into the startup vocabulary. Read it for the gut-level description of what PMF feels like when it's happening vs when it isn't, the intuition behind the metrics.

  • Market matters most; a great market pulls product out of a startup.
  • You can feel PMF, customers buy as fast as you can ship.
  • Before PMF, do whatever it takes to get there; nothing else counts.
Open on pmarchive.com ↗

It answers 59 questions

  1. What does 'validating an idea' actually mean?
  2. How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business?
  3. What is an ideal customer profile and how do I define mine?
  4. I'm non-technical, do I actually need a technical co-founder?
  5. I'm a technical founder and I hate selling, do I really have to do sales myself?
  6. How do I know if my idea is any good?
  7. Do I need to be an expert in an industry to start a company in it?
  8. Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market?
  9. Why does 'why now?' matter so much for a startup idea?
  10. I'm passionate about an idea but have zero background in it. Should I still do it?
  11. How do I know if my idea is a real problem or just a 'nice to have'?
  12. My market is small right now but growing fast. Is that a problem?

And 47 more across the hub.

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 definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  3. Turns the vague feeling of product-market fit into a number you can move. Ask users how they would feel if they could no longer... First Round Review Article · ~20 min read How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit Rahul Vohra
  4. The permission slip to recruit users by hand, do things manually, and deliver 'insanely great' experiences to your first few... paulgraham.com Essay · ~15 min read Do Things That Don't Scale Paul Graham
  5. Video · ~50 min How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Kevin Hale, Y Combinator
  6. Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky
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