My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
“this is a product in search of a market”
What It Means
Great technology or product without customers willing to pay sufficient amounts for it
Why It Matters
Helps identify when to focus on market development rather than product development
When It's True
When you have impressive product capabilities but struggle with sales, pricing, or adoption
When It's Risky
Could discourage iterating on product when market fit issues are actually product issues
How to Apply
Diagnose why sales are difficult despite good product
Redirect focus from building features to finding right customer segment
Consider pivoting to different market or business model
Example Scenario
“AI dubbing company has great technology but education market has no budget - need to find customers already spending money on dubbing”
Related Knowledge
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Decide whether to raise venture capital or bootstrap a profitable business
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Going Pro vs Dropping Out Reframe
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Product in Search of Market Recognition
Identifying when you have strong technology or product capabilities but haven't found the right customer segment or use case that will pay sufficiently for the solution.