1. Talk to (more) users—actually do it
- Aim for at least 30 user conversations (50+ for B2B). Go beyond friends and network.
- Ask about their pain (what frustrates them) and pull (what excites them about your idea).
- Don’t settle for “lukewarm” interest—look for strong emotion, actual purchases, or repeated usage.
2. Change your target audience / ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
- Try pitching the product to a completely different, narrower audience.
- Identify a super-specific “who”—the most passionate, underserved potential customers.
- Focus all your energy on solving their biggest problem, then expand outward.
3. Change your positioning, messaging, or pitch
- Craft and test clear, differentiated messaging.
- Make the value instantly understandable: “So what?” and “Why now?” should be obvious.
- Sometimes simply reframing the product’s positioning can unlock traction, even if you don’t change the product itself.
4. Try a “kickstarter” or launch tactic to get the word out
- Run an experiment (e.g. waitlist, landing page, “viral” press, or public campaign) to test real demand.
- Make it easy for early adopters to try, share, and buy.
5. Find what is working (even if small) and pivot fully to it
- Analyze what users are actually doing—not what you wish they’d do.
- Double down on features or use cases getting unexpected traction—even if they weren’t your original vision.
- Study analytics, talk to power users, and look for “pull” (inbound, excitement, repeated use).
6. Give it a (defined) bit more time—BUT set clear milestones
- Decide up front what “progress” looks like (new users, paying customers, growth).
- Set deadlines for measurable improvement.
- If there’s true momentum, keep going; if not, consider pivoting.
7. Be prepared to move on
- If the above steps don’t produce traction, and you’re not seeing strong pull, it might be time to give up or significantly pivot.
- Don’t let sunk cost, vanity metrics, or external pressure keep you on a dead end.
- Remember: Many iconic startups only succeeded after a major shift in product, audience, or positioning.
General Founder Principles from the Best Performers
- Build a cheap prototype quickly and get it in front of actual users.
- Passion and obsession matter: You should be unable to stop thinking about the problem you’re trying to solve.
- Ideas that seem trivial or weird at first often become huge—don’t dismiss hunches.
- Persistence is key, but so is knowing when to move on.
- Most successful companies took several years and multiple pivots to find true product-market fit.
- “Build something people want” is not just a slogan—it’s the root of all product-market fit.
Use this checklist as a structured ritual every few months if your startup isn’t clicking—most companies that break through do so only after systematic, uncomfortable changes. You’re not alone. Keep iterating boldly!
This is a simple way for reviewing your journey for course correction.
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