Ensuring Product-Market Fit and Monetization
The main goal was to find the right balance between customer discovery and customer validation to reach at least 70% product-market fit. Similar to finding the first MVP, it involved iterations to understand how much customers would pay for our solution at a time when its value to clients was still uncertain.
Project driver, sales manager, researcher, networker.
Mainly me together with two developers.
As mentioned in the introduction, I had an idea about the product but did not know how much one would pay for it. Additionally, we did not have a fully developed product to show its value over time. It was more about finding a client interested in our solution and starting discussions about its value to them, despite our limited experience and confidence in pushing into the market with a well-elaborated price initially.
We used the Agile methodology, which was the best approach given our situation. Although I preferred developing the MVP before selling it, we also engaged the same people involved in creating the MVP to refine our approach. We created a simple prototype in Framer and sought a team including a UX designer and backend developer to build the product.
We focused on developing the prototype first using Framer. I then hired a UX designer and a backend developer to create a well-designed and functional product. It was challenging to sell a product without having it in hand, as it was difficult to argue its value and price without data. Knowing there was a market gap, we offered our first customers a lower price and adjusted our pricing model as we grew. We created a feedback iteration process with tickets in GitLab, and established a support line with Intercom and phone calls, ensuring seamless communication with backend developers via Slack for resolving issues promptly.
Key features included core functionalities that brought value to clients, a feedback iteration process, creation of feedback tickets in GitLab, an initial customer support system represented by the project team, a support line created with Intercom and phone calls, and communication setup via Slack for seamless interaction with backend developers.
Visuals of the first prototype designs, landing page, and callout scripts will be provided in the final HTML page.
We managed to get our first customer at around 50 Swiss francs per year with unlimited handovers. This was the first approach, and we successfully acquired a paying customer.
The main challenge was finding the right pricing sweet spot for a product whose value to the client was unknown in the early stages. Ensuring long-term profitability while starting with an attractive price point for initial customers was crucial. As the founder, it was particularly difficult for me to set and sell the first price due to my limited sales experience. Therefore, we offered the first customers a lower price and adjusted our pricing model as we grew. This approach ensured that clients paid for the product, reinforcing their commitment. We conducted interviews and research to understand how much our software improved our clients' work experiences, helping us refine our value proposition and pricing strategy.
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