Go-To-Market StrategyvsProduct-Market Fit (PMF)

A Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is the plan for how you'll reach, acquire, and serve customers profitably. It answers three questions: WHO is your ideal customer? HOW will you reach them? WHY will they choose you over alternatives? There are three dominant GTM motions: Sales-Led (Salesforce, $80K+ ACV), Product-Led (Slack, Figma, <$1K ACV self-serve), and Channel-Led (Microsoft through resellers). Choosing the wrong motion for your price point and buyer is the #1 reason startups stall at $1-5M ARR.

Product-Market Fit is the degree to which your product satisfies a strong market demand. When you have PMF, customers are actively pulling your product from you rather than you pushing it onto them. Marc Andreessen defined it as 'being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.' The Sean Ellis test quantifies it: if 40%+ of users say they'd be 'very disappointed' without your product, you have PMF. Before PMF, nothing else matters — marketing spend is wasted, hiring is premature, and features are guesses. After PMF, everything gets easier: organic growth appears, retention improves, and word-of-mouth starts compounding.

The fatal trap is running a Sales-Led GTM with a Product-Led price point (or vice versa). If your product costs $29/month, you cannot afford a $15K CAC from a sales team — the math doesn't work. Conversely, if you're selling a $200K enterprise contract, a 'sign up free' button won't close deals because enterprise buyers need RFPs, security reviews, and executive alignment. Dropbox tried to go upmarket with sales reps for a $150/user product and burned $100M before pivoting back to PLG.

Founders declare PMF too early based on vanity metrics — sign-ups, press coverage, 'exciting conversations' with potential customers. True PMF means users would be genuinely disappointed if your product disappeared. The second trap: assuming PMF is binary and permanent. PMF exists on a spectrum and can erode as markets shift (Blackberry had PMF until iPhone changed the market). Also: PMF for one segment doesn't mean PMF for another — you might have PMF with startups but not enterprises.

Map your GTM motion to your ACV: Under $1K ACV → Product-Led Growth (self-serve, free trial, community). $1K-$15K ACV → Inside Sales (demo-led, 2-4 week sales cycle). $15K-$100K+ ACV → Field Sales (relationship-led, 3-6 month cycle). Calculate: GTM Efficiency = Net New ARR ÷ Sales & Marketing Spend. Target: >1.0 for healthy, >1.5 for efficient. Below 0.5 means your GTM motion is wrong for your market.

Run the Sean Ellis survey: ask existing users 'How would you feel if you could no longer use [product]?' with options: Very Disappointed, Somewhat Disappointed, Not Disappointed. If 40%+ say 'Very Disappointed,' you likely have PMF. If not, interview the disappointed users to learn what they love, and double down on that specific value. Track the PMF score quarterly — it should improve as you refine the product.