INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ann Miura-Ko is a co-founding partner at Floodgate, a seed-stage VC firm
A repeat member of the Forbes Midas List and the New York Times Top 20 Venture Capitalists Worldwide, she earned a PhD in math modeling of
In 2008, I co-founded Floodgate, one of the first seed-stage VC funds in Silicon Valley
Unlike most funds, we invest exclusively in seed, making us experts in finding product-market fit and building a minimum viable company
Each of our partners sees thousands of companies every year before electing to invest in only the top three or four.For the past 11 years,
When I reflect on the failures, the root cause inevitably stems from misconceptions around the nature of product-market fit.Before
attempting to scale your minimum viable product, you should focus on cultivating your minimum viable company
Nail down your value proposition, find your place in the broader ecosystem and craft a business model that adds up
In other words, true product-market fit is actually the magical moment when three elements click together:To have built a minimum viable
company, these three elements must work in concert together:People must value your product enough to be willing to pay for it
This value also determines how you package your product to the world (freemium versus free to pay versus enterprise sales).Your business
model and pricing must fit your ecosystem
ecosystem and the ecosystem needs to accept your product.Many entrepreneurs conceptualize product-market fit as the point where some subset
This conceptualization is dangerous
Many failing companies have features that customers loved
Some even have multiple beloved features! Great features constitute only one-half of one-third of the whole puzzle
their own business will find that product-market fit is a predictable, achievable phenomenon
On the other hand, founders who prematurely focus on growth without knowing the basic ingredients of their minimum viable company often fuel
destruction.Read an extended version of this article on Extra Crunch.
