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By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
Lenny Rachitsky shares advice, drawn from researcher Matt Gallivan, on which questions to ask users to judge product-market fit. He recommends a survey for 100+ active users and interviews for smaller bases, while warning against asking about NPS or what users want. The core argument is to triangulate multiple approaches and try to falsify your product's underlying assumptions.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- With 100+ active users, a survey measuring disappointment, relative utility, and past behavior gives a useful PMF signal.
- With fewer users, interview 6-12 people about how they do the core task and why they chose your product.
- Genuine enthusiasm and clear, specific superiority over alternatives are signals of product-market fit.
- Avoid asking NPS or 'what do people want'; neither reliably reveals product-market fit.
- No single question answers PMF; triangulate multiple methods and actively try to disprove your assumptions.
“While product-market fit looks different for every product, it's hard to imagine a scenario where you'll attain PMF if people don't feel some degree of…”Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny’s Newsletter
“Asking people what they want isn't research.”Matt Gallivan · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.