I built and sold my first SaaS for $1.2 million. Then I built and sold another. After that, I led a $36 million SaaS fund at a private equity firm where I owned revenue and led growth for over 20 SaaS companies.
And still, on day one of building Marvelous, I almost made the same mistake I’ve seen too many founders make.
I started thinking too big.
I told myself, “Let’s go after all growth teams, in all markets.” More markets meant more opportunity, right?
Wrong.
SaaS is different. The way we market, convert, and retain customers isn’t like other industries. Trying to serve everyone is the fastest way to get ignored.
I had to stop, reset, and go back to the basics. I had to focus on building something specific for a specific group of people.
I needed to get serious about product-market Fit.
What is product-market fit?
Product-market fit is when a product solves a clear, specific problem for a specific group of people. In SaaS startups, this usually means building something that a specific, target audience truly needs, uses, and is willing to pay for consistently.
Early on, I made the mistake of trying to serve everyone. I wasn’t focused. Instead of doubling down on helping SaaS companies grow, I got distracted chasing growth problems across completely different industries restaurants, real estate teams, banks, car dealerships, you name it. They all wanted to grow, but they needed different strategies.
Every industry has its own goals, language, pain points, and product expectations. The messaging had to change. The strategies had to change. Even the way we measured success had to change.
That’s when I hit pause and went back to the basics. I got laser-focused on my real market. I stopped trying to solve everyone’s problems and focused on solving one problem for one audience.
Examples of product-market fit
Product–market fit is like finding the yin and yang or a perfect match between what you built and who you specifically built it for.
I think we see the world much smaller than it really it is. We don’t really comprehend how massive our tiny target market really is. We instinctively want to expand to all market, and be everything to everyone.
But that’s snot what successful SaaS companies do.
Let’s look at a few examples of SaaS products that found a perfect product-market fit.
1. Senta
Built specifically for accounting firms, Senta didn’t try to be just another CRM. It focused on the workflows accountants actually use deadlines, compliance, and repeatable client processes, and made their lives easier.
- Product: CRM and workflow automation
- Market: Accounting firms
- Link: senta.co
2. Trainerize
Personal trainers needed a better way to stay connected with clients beyond the gym. Trainerize gave them a clean, digital way to deliver workouts, track progress, and keep clients engaged, all in their own brand.
- Product: Online coaching and workout delivery platform
- Market: Personal trainers and fitness coaches
- Link: trainerize.com
3. Auditsky
Instead of bloated marketing platforms, Auditsky provides SEO and digital marketing agencies AEO and SEO auditing tools they can embed on their website to generate more leads.
- Product: Embeddable website audit and lead generation tool
- Market: Digital marketers, SEO agencies
- Link: auditsky.ai
4. Dubsado
Freelancers and creatives hate spreadsheets and duct-taped workflows. Dubsado helps them manage clients, send invoices, track projects, and automate the boring stuff, all in one clean dashboard.
- Product: Client management and automation software
- Market: Freelancers, creatives, and service-based businesses
- Link: dubsado.com
5. Plutio
Plutio is like Notion, a CRM, and a project manager had a baby, made specifically for freelancers who do everything themselves. It keeps projects, clients, payments, and communication in one space that doesn’t feel bloated.
- Product: All-in-one business and productivity suite
- Market: Freelancers, consultants, and solo entrepreneurs
- Link: plutio.com
Product-market fit shapes everything else
Once you find product-market fit, everything downstream gets easier. Or at least clearer. Before that, you’re guessing. After that, you’re scaling.
Messaging and content
Example: A SaaS scheduling tool for restaurants.
- Before: “A flexible platform for any team.”
- After: “Designed for restaurant managers who need to fill last-minute shifts fast and reduce no-shows.”
Ad targeting
Example: A fitness coaching platform.
- Before: Broad targeting like “fitness pros” or “health businesses.”
- After: Focused on independent personal trainers running solo businesses who need to deliver programs online.
Support burden
Example: A client onboarding tool.
- Before: Frequent questions like “What is this for?” from a general audience.
- After: Niche focus on bookkeeping firms who immediately understand the use case and workflow.
Community resonance
Example: A product feedback platform.
- Before: A quiet, scattered community serving a wide range of industries.
- After: A focused space for early-stage B2B SaaS teams discussing onboarding, retention, and early feedback.
Product-market fit is not just some growth checkpoint you hit and move past. It’s the foundation for everything that comes next. Until you have it, you’re building on sand, your roadmap shifts, your messaging wobbles, and your team is guessing.
Once you lock it in, the entire company starts pulling in the same direction.
- Product knows what to build.
- Marketing knows what to say.
- Sales knows who to talk to. Engineers stop chasing edge cases.
- Support isn’t drowning in confusion.
- And leadership can finally plan like there’s a future worth planning for.
Everything gets clearer, tighter, and more focused. You stop surviving and start scaling.
How do you find product market fit?
The fastest way to find product-market fit is to solve a problem that frustrates you. Not a niche you think might be profitable. Not what a few friends suggested. Start with what actually sucks for you.
Why? Because when you’ve lived the pain, you don’t need to fake empathy. You already know what’s broken. You care enough to fix it. And you stick around long enough to get it right.
Building something for a problem you’ve never experienced? That’s how most founders burn out. You’ll lose interest. You’ll build the wrong thing. You won’t know what “great” actually looks like.
That’s why I created the Marvelous PMF Framework.
What is Marvelous PMF Framework?
It’s the idea that your product should work for you first. If it doesn’t solve your problem, it probably won’t solve it for people like you either.
Here’s the framework, a simple sentence to complete:
“[Job title] like me hate [pain], so I built [Product] to fix it.”
If you can’t fill that in, you’re not close enough to PMF.
Here are real examples of my Product-Market Fit Framework
- ConvertKit
Creators like me hate using clunky email tools built for marketers, so I built ConvertKit to fix it. - FreshBooks
Freelancers like me hate confusing accounting software, so I built FreshBooks to fix it. - Calendly
Salespeople like me hate endless back-and-forth to book a meeting, so I built Calendly to fix it. - Notion
Team leads like me hate juggling 10 different tools for docs, wikis, and tasks, so I built Notion to fix it. - Slack
Startup teams like mine hate messy email chains, so I built Slack to fix it. - Stripe
Developers like me hate dealing with complex payment systems, so I built Stripe to fix it. - Figma
Designers like me hate version chaos and desktop tools, so I built Figma to fix it. - Shopify
Entrepreneurs like me hate how hard it is to sell products online, so I built Shopify to fix it. - Mixpanel
Product teams like mine hate guessing what users are doing, so I built Mixpanel to fix it. - Drift
B2B marketers like me hate slow sales funnels, so I built Drift to fix it. - Marvelous
SaaS founders like me hate marketing, so I built Marvelous to fix it.
Great products start with personal pain. If it fixes your problem, it probably fixes it for others too.
Don’t chase trends. Build something you’ve felt deep frustration over. If it made you crazy, chances are it’s doing the same to others. That connection gives you clarity, obsession, and a real reason to keep going.
Next Steps
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Use my PMF framework: “[Job title] like me hate [pain], so I built [product] to fix it.” Test and refine it until it feels emotionally real
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Use that sentence as a north star for building your product, and crafting your messaging
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Share it publicly — on your homepage, in your pitch deck, or as the first line of your outreach
Stick to your pain. Iterate based on proof. You’ll find product-market fit that starts with you and grows outward.
One last thing:
This post isn’t just for you. It’s a letter to myself that I’m going to bookmark. A reminder to start with the basics, stay focused, and trust the plan.
FAQs — Product Market Fit
You know when people use the product without being pushed, talk about it without being asked, and get frustrated if it’s taken away. You stop chasing users — they start chasing you. Retention goes up. Sales get easier. Feedback gets specific and urgent.
There’s no single metric, but common signals include:
High user retention (especially after 30–90 days)
Organic referrals or word of mouth
Users saying they’d be “very disappointed” if it disappeared (40%+ is strong)
Consistent usage, not just signups
Growing waitlists or demand without paid marketing
Qualitative + quantitative is key. Numbers tell you what, conversations tell you why.
You can do small-scale marketing early to learn, but don’t scale until users are sticking around and getting value. Without PMF, marketing is a leaky bucket.
Yes, if the new direction solves a more important problem for the same people. But if the pain you’re solving changes completely, expect to find a new audience.
Users drop off quickly. They don’t refer others. They don’t care if the product disappears. Sales feel like pushing a rock uphill. If usage is inconsistent or flat, PMF probably isn’t there yet.
You know when people use the product without being pushed, talk about it without being asked, and get frustrated if it’s taken away. You stop chasing users — they start chasing you. Retention goes up. Sales get easier. Feedback gets specific and urgent.
