Essay · ~15 min read

Why Product Market Fit Isn't Enough

Brian Balfour Free Advanced

Balfour (Reforge) makes the case that retention and engagement, not raw acquisition, decide which company wins. It explains the product death cycle where founders keep adding features and chasing new users while the base quietly leaks. Read it to internalize why your energy right now belongs on keeping the first 10, not filling the top of the funnel.

  • The company with the highest retention usually wins the category
  • Chasing new features and new users can mask a leaking base
  • Much of retention is set by the natural frequency of your use case
Open on brianbalfour.com ↗

The question it answers

  1. How do I actually keep my first 10 customers so they don't quietly churn while I go chasing the next 10?

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