As I develop my Startup Balance Model—a tool to help founders manage the uncertainty of early-stage growth—I’m digging into what really separates momentum from true product–market fit.

I also sometimes work with teams who are trying to navigate this tricky but important stage.

Why product-market fit still matters (and still confuses people)

“Product-market fit” is one of the most overused and misunderstood phrases in startup life. Founders are told that achieving it unlocks everything: traction, funding, clarity, and scalable growth.

But what is product-market fit—really? And how can you tell if you're truly there, or just propping up early success through hustle and spend?

A working definition

Product-market fit is when your product delivers such clear, self-evident value that customers find it, use it, and return to it—without you needing to push them every step of the way.

It’s not a checkbox. It’s a shift—from push to pull, from explaining value to struggling to keep up with demand.

Some classic signals:

Users come back on their own
They tell others without being asked
Growth starts to feel organic
Acquisition costs begin to fall
You can no longer build fast enough to keep up with usage

Traction is not the same as fit

Early traction—usage, revenue, even geographic expansion—can be deceiving. These are positive signals, but they can also mask deeper issues.

Let’s take an example.

Case in point: Tørn

Tørn was a marketplace I founded to connect surplus building materials with value-conscious consumers. Within months, we had onboarded both suppliers and buyers, and expanded into a second country. The model was operating. Revenue was growing. By many external measures, we looked like we had found product-market fit.

But internally, something didn’t quite add up.

Despite growth, we remained dependent on paid acquisition—through Google and other channels—to bring in customers. Organic traffic lagged. Repeat usage didn’t scale as hoped. And customer behavior required constant nudging.

What we realized:
We had traction—but not strong, self-sustaining product-market fit.

Paid growth does not equal real pull

Using paid acquisition early is normal—even smart. But if your model depends on it long-term, that’s a warning sign. Product-market fit tends to reveal itself when customers come to you—not only because you found them, but because they found value they didn’t want to lose.

Product-market fit is not binary

It’s better to think of PMF as a spectrum rather than a milestone:

No fit → customers don’t care
Partial fit → customers engage with effort
True fit → customers come back and bring others

That middle zone—partial fit—is where most early-stage startups live. And it’s dangerous, because it can look like progress while hiding fragility.

Lessons from the field

From my own experience and in working with early-stage teams, here are some signs you're approaching real fit:

You need to slow growth because retention or experience can’t keep up
Customers are using the product in ways you didn’t anticipate—but keep using it
You spend less time convincing, and more time optimizing
Investors start calling you

In the startup balance model

In the Startup Balance Model, product-market fit isn’t treated as a finish line—it’s one of several key transitions in a startup’s journey. The model aims to help founders navigate the path from Phase 0 (pre-fit) to early product-market fit, and eventually into post-fit growth.

It will offer:

Best practices for what to focus on in each phase
Guidance on how to test, prioritize, and sequence decisions
Equally important: clear signals on what not to do too early

Product-market fit isn’t just about getting it right—it’s about not scaling too soon, not optimizing the wrong metrics, and not mistaking noise for signal.

The goal is to give founders a practical map, not just a motivational compass.

Final note

If you're in the thick of this journey—trying to figure out whether you have real fit, just traction, or something in between—you're not alone. This is where the hardest and most defining work happens.

I occasionally work with early-stage teams wrestling with this exact question. If that’s you, feel free to reach out.

What really counts as product-market fit?