Product-market fit should feel like 'pulling a rope, not pushing a rope' - customers urgently wanting what you build
Insight from Tomer London
When to use
Use as a gut-check when evaluating whether you've achieved product-market fit - if you're constantly convincing, explaining, or pushing customers toward your product, you likely don't have it yet.
Don't do this
Interpreting polite interest or 'that sounds cool' feedback as validation, rather than looking for urgent demand signals like customers actively seeking you out or asking when they can pay.
14 Founders Who Did This
40% 'very disappointed' is the PMF benchmark - this is a LEADING indicator
It is much easier to productize a service than to productize an idea - tangible results beat hypothetical features
Product-market fit means visceral positive reaction, not just 'seems useful'
Chris knew he had product-market fit when GoRails unexpectedly hit #1 on Hacker News (submitted by a stranger) while he was interviewing for jobs. The organic interest signaled real demand - people were pulling him toward the solution rather than him pushing to sell.
Strong founders can achieve weak PMF with any idea through salesmanship—recognize the trap
Start with the absolute minimum viable product and let real user demand guide expansion
Use network limitations as product inspiration - build what you personally need
Build solutions for problems you personally experience to ensure authentic product-market fit
Seek emotional urgency from customers, not polite interest | Evidence: Tomer cold-called small businesses from a walk-in closet using Yelp, pitching different ideas daily. He looked for customers who "want this right now" with genuine pain, not those offering vague politeness. This "rope-pulling test" helped them find real product-market fit versus "rope-pushing" with enterprises.
Built first version of IACrea supporting only one photo upload at a time with one AI-generated output
Went through 7 product iterations that did not take off—message tracking, Slack project management, Slack bots—before landing on AI meeting transcription. Preserved core technology from failed attempts.
Ran research study with large number of travel agents. Found 60% don't believe they can boost income due to lack of necessary tools, while 50%+ believe technology will drive growth
Raised $1.75B and spent $100K/minute on content production before validating user willingness to pay for premium short-form mobile video. Expected 7M subscribers but got 710K
Compared Gusto's SMB traction (customers craving something better) vs. his Israeli startup's enterprise experience (meetings but no contracts)