5 Questions to Probe Product-Market Fit
How to tell if that startup you want to join actually has momentum
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The same way that “AI” is a catch-all these days for anything remotely automated, “product-market fit” has become a magical phrase for all kinds of startup success discussions. Knowing if a startup you’re considering has hit product-market fit (PMF) is helpful — it highlights a better chance your work will reach users, and that you’ll spend more time building and less time pivoting.
Unfortunately, looking for PMF makes life as a jobseeker a bit more difficult; while PMF can be a great signal that a startup has found real demand, virtually every founder believes they’ve hit it, or are almost there. That’s why outright asking a founder if they’re there yet might not paint the full picture.
So when you’re sitting down with a founder or hiring manager, how can you tell if they’ve really got something? Here are 5 questions to help you separate real PMF from talk.
#1) What was your customer doing before you?
Startups that have achieved PMF offer products that customers truly depend on for success. Before these solutions existed, customers might have spent 100 extra hours on a process or paid 25% more in operational costs. Consider this: if the product suddenly vanished, what alternatives would customers turn to? Would its absence create a hair-on-fire emergency for them?
#2) What’s your Ideal Customer Persona?
Are their customers "small businesses looking to grow" or "independent e-commerce brands doing $10–50K/month and struggling with ad attribution”? Startups with PMF have found their sweet spot: they can precisely define their customer persona, use case, and the specific value their product delivers. Once they identify a customer profile that works well, they focus on and pursue similar customers (at least until they've saturated that market).
#3) What’s driving current growth?
It’s a big green flag when existing customers rave about the product without being incentivized to do so. Startups that have hit PMF turn customers into natural advocates, and growth (at least early on) is driven through word-of-mouth. Growth can’t be 100% organic forever, but it can be helpful to find out how much energy & funding is attributed to customer acquisition.
It also may be important to learn more about how scalable customer growth is. What level of onboarding does each new customer require? Can revenue sustainably grow, or does it stall unless the company keeps hiring people to build custom solutions?
#4) What’s the biggest ask amongst your customers?
A great sign of PMF is product-led growth — customers are invested in the product, and are looking for new features to augment the startup’s core offering. Are customers looking to improve their experience by taking the product further, or reshaping it entirely?
#5) What’s changed since you’ve hit Product-Market Fit?
When a company finally finds its niche, the resulting growth often requires organizational changes. Has the company restructured? Have they moved to matrix reporting? Look for signs that the company is no longer just experimenting — they’re building systems to scale what’s already working. These details from the founder or hiring manager will help reveal the full story.
Product-market fit is not a single, magical moment—founders don’t get an email or push notification when it happens. In fact, PMF can fluctuate throughout a startup’s lifecycle. That’s why these questions can help you assess if a startup has hit PMF, but it’s equally important to keep an eye on how the company continues to evolve and scale.
Is the adventure of pre PMF work still calling your name? Startups that are pre PMF usually hire their first few employees from their own personal networks; it’s easier for founders to convince people they already know and trust to wander the idea maze with them. If you’re thinking of joining a pre PMF startup, above all you should be obsessed with the people you’re working with. The product and even the problem can shift dramatically, but the people you’re building with are constant.
Our bread and butter at FYSK (our product-market fit, so to speak) is helping talented engineers and operators in our community find great roles at startups that are scaling fast. Want to be in the know about open roles at FYSK startups, pre or post PMF? Opt-in to our Bespoke Matching Program here and you’ll be first to hear about roles you’re a great fit for.