Product-Market Fit: Signs You're Getting Close

Product-market fit is the holy grail for startups. Here's how to know when you're getting there.

Early Signals

1. **Customers are finding you**: Organic growth and word-of-mouth 2. **Usage is increasing**: Growing daily/monthly active users 3. **Retention is improving**: Users come back regularly 4. **Customers are paying**: Willingness to pay indicates value 5. **Support requests changing**: From "how to use" to feature requests

Key Metrics to Track

• **Retention Rate**: Are users coming back?
• **Net Promoter Score (NPS)**: Would users recommend you?
• **Revenue Growth**: Month-over-month growth
• **Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)**: Decreasing over time
• **Lifetime Value (LTV)**: Increasing value per customer

What to Do When Close

1. **Double down** on what's working 2. **Remove** features that don't add value 3. **Focus** on your core value proposition 4. **Scale** your marketing and sales 5. **Build** a team that can execute

Product-market fit isn't a destination—it's a continuous journey of improvement.