“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist”
Picasso
PRODUCT-MARKET-FIT (PMF)
PMF is often called a black-art, meaning it is more art than science. So, you have to attack it like Picasso would – “learn the rules (of the business game) like a pro, so you can break them like an artist (entrepreneur)”.
To get there you have to think of business as a game. It is a game more akin to basketball than golf – meaning it is a fast paced team sport. A basketball team’s formula for success is simple. Coaches will look to maximize their team’s strengths and exploit their opponent’s weaknesses to win. This is exactly what a team needs to do to earn users, earn PMF, and earn funding.
Founders: are coaches using their experience to build the right team for the product.
Teams: are not a collection of individual players, but a diverse team that works together to win. They have a better shot at winning if they played together before.
- Investors: they are the team’s GM, meaning – they actively protect their investment in the team by helping to evangelize it and control costs by helping to recruit the right partners and talent.
3 PILLARS:
- B.I.G. entrepreneurs with the right mix of technical business savvy are SMEs that look at their product and themselves through the eyes of the client and the investor. Meaning they understand:
- 1. End user pain
2. End user behavior
3. End user urgency
From the investor side, they understand a bet on them hinges on:
- 1. Leadership: how is this project a logical next step?
2. Team: did the founders build a team with complimentary skill sets?
3. Product: are MVP metrics proving it is relevant to the target audience and is it modular enough to pivot and scale without losing its’ evangelists?
- 1. Leadership: how is this project a logical next step?
MVP rinse-repeat process
Stage 1: PMF experiments S2: ICP soft-launch S3: ICP metrics S4: R-PMF rinse-repeat
PMF Evolved: R-PMF
A B.I.G. PMF project, looks at the ability for the product to take advantage of what it does at its’ core to create repeatable sales success. We call this Repeatable – PMF (R-PMF):
- 1. Niche pain point opportunities that exploit cross-functional behavior.
- 2. End-users are more time driven than price driven – meaning they are willing to keep paying a premium for services that accomplish the time saved goal.
- 3. Data: KPIs are milestones that fund future rounds long before the gas tank gets low. In a nutshell, realistic milestones keep the R-PMF roadmap on track to further scale to profitability.
- The #1 reason start-ups fail is because they run out of money before earning product-market fit. We systematically hedge against that scenario from day #1 with R-PMF.
PMF vs. R-PMF
⊕ PMF: uses the 3 U’s: URGENT / UNAVOIDABLE / UNDER-SERVED
⊕ R-PMF: THE ABOVE + LEADERSHIP TRANSPARENCY / PRODUCT X-FUNCTIONALITY / EACH MILESTONE IS REALISTIC
B.I.G. Mindset:
B.I.G. is an apex IA focused on leadership, R-PMF, and sales – in that order. These are companies at the seed stage ($1-10M) because the MVP is revenue generating.
We look for open-minded veteran founders that are also SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) focused on modernizing traditional ecosystems. These are leaders with both BIG brains and hearts. They are self-aware people we call servant leaders because they lead from the front.
SMEs make for the best PMF champions, because they understand their ICP (Ideal Customer Profile – i.e. first-hand target industry buyer behavior). This scenario makes MVP pivots that arrive at R-PMF a lot faster to find, fund, and manage.
B.I.G.
CHAMPIONS MADE HERE