The Founder Journey Beyond the Metrics
The Product Market Fit Gauntlet: A Qualitative Deep Dive from Hypothesis to Market Pull
Join the industry’s first "Deep Dive" into the psychology, perception, and messy middle of the search for Product Market Fit (PMF).
Most research tells you what Product-Market Fit is. We are uncovering how it feels to find it, how it hurts to miss it, and the decisions that bridge the gap between intuition and scale.
This project will move beyond what PMF is and focus on how it is found, lost, and measured in practice. Our primary goal is to codify the patterns of perception, decision-making, and iteration that separate companies that successfully navigate the path to PMF from those that don't.
The Outcome:
- Data & Intelligence on PMF for Founders on the $0-3M Journey to better enable them.
- High value ungated content with insights from this project.
- New frameworks and tools to enable a faster path to Product Market Fit.
Apply to Participate Today
Enrollment is capped at 35 founders divided across 4 curated cohorts to ensure a high-quality, hands-on experience.
Why This Research Matters Now
The startup ecosystem is saturated with high-level theoretical frameworks. We all know the post-PMF metrics. But there is a gap in understanding the lived founder experience to get there.
The "Messy Middle" is undocumented.
We are partnering with SaaStock to move beyond the metrics. We are mapping the patterns of perception, the psychological toll of the search, and the critical transition points where "founder gut" transforms into "hard data."
This is not a survey. It is a qualitative narrative inquiry designed to build a definitive roadmap for the next generation of builders.
We are conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with founders at four distinct stages of the journey. Which one are you?
Pre-Seed/Seed Founders | Active Search
You are in the trenches right now. You are iterating weekly, battling mixed signals, and operating largely on intuition. We want to capture the raw, real-time reality of the search.
Series A/B Founders | Found PMF in Last 18-24 Months
You recently crossed the chasm. You have shifted from "pushing" the market to being "pulled" by it. We want to understand the exact moment the transition happened and the metrics that mattered most.
Iconic Later-Stage Founders | The Untold Stories
You are the legend, but we want the grit. We are looking for the untold stories of your early days—the near-death moments and the "hacky" ways you measured love before you had a data team.
Founders of Sunsetting Ventures | The Post-Mortem
You have the most valuable lessons of all. We are conducting blameless retrospectives to identify the "false positives" and "fatal hypotheses" that metrics often miss.
Why Participate?
We know your time is your most valuable asset. In exchange for 60 minutes of your unvarnished honesty, you will receive:
- First Access to "The Founder’s PMF Compass": You will be the first to use our proprietary diagnostic tool, developed from this research, to help you self-assess exactly where you are in the journey.
- Industry Visibility: Your insights will be featured in the landmark report "Navigating the Gauntlet" and a multi-platform campaign with SaaStock and StartStak.
- Pay It Forward: Your experience will help the next generation avoid common "false positives" and expensive "dead ends."
Can't Participate, But Interested In The Insights?
No problem. Click below to get in touch and we'll be sure to send you a copy of the PMF report as soon as it becomes available.
Here's How It Works
01. Application
Submit your details below to ensure you fit into one of our four research cohorts.
02. Selection
Our research team will review your profile. If selected, you will receive a consent form and a scheduling link.
03. Interview
A 60-minute virtual interview. No prep required—just your authentic story.
04. Privacy
All data is anonymized by default. You control how your story is shared.
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Help Us Codify The PMF Journey
Get your application in the queue by submitting the form below.