What to do when the search for product-market fit stalls

The Founders work group on bounded tests, fair tests, paying for the search and when to stop.

Updated October 13, 2026

Make the next attempt a bounded test: pick the strongest group of users, set a target and a deadline the cash can cover, and decide in advance what a miss means.

Bound the next attempt. Emmett Shear would pick the strongest group of users found so far, set a usage target and a deadline that fit the cash, and change course on a miss. With no promising group or no runway for a real test, he would return the remaining capital.
Make the test fair. Ben Silbermann would first define one experience worth someone's time, since a weak first version can make a useful idea look like a failed one. Reid Hoffman would check that the test group had enough people for the product to work. LinkedIn's sparse early network gave each new member little value.
Talk to the users who return. Ben would learn what returning users rely on the product for and look for more people with that need. Ivan Zhao suggests putting the founder on support, as he did at Notion, and kept Notion's goal while changing the product built around it.
Know who pays for the search. Emmett describes a third option: make the business pay for its own search, as Justin.tv did by reaching profitability. Reid would put the plan, its cost and a judgment date in front of the team and board, and arrange a responsible transition if the case can't be made.

Group chat with Emmett, Ben, Ivan, Reid, Shishir — the Founders work group

Question:

What should a founder do after a long search for product-market fit that hasn't worked?

Emmett ShearCEO of Softmax. Founder of Justin.tv and former CEO of Twitch

By a failed search, I mean repeated launches that produce no sustained use, rather than a fixed number of months. At Kiko we launched a family social network that got 12 users, tried other ideas, and kept returning to the calendar for roughly eighteen months. A TechCrunch feature had produced a small bump and then nothing. We eventually sold Kiko after Google launched its calendar. More time spent on the same loop was not evidence that the loop worked.

Spotify

I would make the next decision a bounded experiment. Pick the strongest specific group of users you have found, set a usage target and a deadline that fit the cash you have, then commit to changing course if you miss it. At Justin.tv, we gave two competing directions small teams and three months; the gaming project aimed for roughly 20 to 25 percent monthly usage growth and achieved 30 percent a month over those three months. That result made the choice much easier. If there is no similarly promising group to test, or no runway to run a meaningful test, return remaining capital rather than fund another vague search.

Spotify

Ben SilbermannFounder and Chairman of Pinterest. Founder of How We Feel

I think the first decision is whether a few people would genuinely miss the product. Pinterest had only about 3,000 registered accounts after its early launch, yet some users wrote when it went down because they depended on it to plan a wedding or redecorate a home. We spent time with those people and found others who had the same need.

Apple Podcasts+1

So I would speak to the people who return on their own, learn exactly what they use the product for, and try to reach more people with that need. If you find that group, concentrate the product and your outreach there. If you cannot find anyone who depends on it, change the product or the problem you are working on. Before Pinterest, our shopping app Tote was struggling; Pinterest gave us a product we used every day and could improve every day, so we shifted our attention to it.

Apple Podcasts

Ivan ZhaoFounder of Notion

I would separate the long-term goal from the product people have in front of them. We spent two or three years on an easier programming environment because we wanted more people to make their own tools. Most people we showed it to wanted to finish the work already on their desk. We kept the goal and changed the product to a productivity tool they could use immediately.

Apple Podcasts

So I would ask three questions. Which people have a task they already do often? What have they tried in your product, and where do they stop? Can you make their next attempt useful before they have to adopt your broader vision? If the answers point to a different product, change the product and show it to those people. If repeated attempts still produce no use, decide how much time and money you can commit to one more specific approach. Our years of trying happened to lead somewhere; their length alone was never evidence that the next version would work.

Emmett ShearCEO of Softmax. Founder of Justin.tv and former CEO of Twitch

There is a third option between finding rapid growth and closing the company: make the existing business pay for its own search. At Justin.tv, after raising equity and venture debt, we decided we could not count on another financing round. We shared burn and runway with the team, reviewed the P&L every month, and worked through ideas to earn revenue and cut costs until we reached profitability. The constraint made us measure whether each change actually brought in money.

Spotify

That option requires users who already get enough value to pay, or a clear route to earning revenue before the cash runs out. If the economics work, a founder can keep learning without asking investors to fund an indefinite search.

Shishir MehrotraCEO of Superhuman (formerly Grammarly). Co-founder of Coda and former Chief Product Officer of YouTube

For a team product, I would watch for use spreading beyond the first person who tried it. At Coda, we released an alpha to one six-person team about six months in. Their daily use fell from six to zero, and they gave us a list of roughly 30 changes. We took the feedback seriously, but built out the broader product rather than treating that list as the roadmap. We began to feel product-market fit three to three and a half years in, when use spread within teams and then into other teams.

Apple Podcasts

A useful test is to put the product in a team's real workflow and watch whether colleagues adopt it, and whether someone carries it into another team. If the first team quits, ask where the experience failed. Their requests may expose a gap, but following every request can leave the broader product unfinished. If repeated attempts yield no sustained use or spread, change the product or the customer you serve.

Emmett ShearCEO of Softmax. Founder of Justin.tv and former CEO of Twitch

When cofounders disagree about the next direction, stop debating once each has made a clear case. At Justin.tv, Michael and I each preferred a different idea, and neither could convince the other. We gave each idea a small team and a three-month test with a target set in advance. The gaming project's measured usage growth gave us a reason to commit; the test replaced a debate neither of us could settle by argument.

Spotify

Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn, Inflection AI and Manas AI. Partner at Greylock

Financing can make a weak search look viable longer than it is. At SocialNet, we accepted a business model proposed by the investor willing to fund us, even though we had little sense of whether it would work. About two years in, I no longer believed in the model. I helped with the leadership transition and left. It was emotionally difficult, and the mistakes later shaped my thinking about LinkedIn.

Spotify

Emmett's point about paying for the search sharpens the decision. Put the next plan in front of the team and board with its cost, the customer behavior that would justify continuing, and the date on which you will judge it. If current revenue can cover the search, you have more time to learn. If the plan depends on another raise, the customer evidence must justify spending other people's money on it. If you cannot make that case, arrange a responsible transition while there is still cash to protect employees and obligations.

Ben SilbermannFounder and Chairman of Pinterest. Founder of How We Feel

Emmett’s bounded test needs a product that gives people a fair chance to feel its value. Our earlier iPhone app had many features, yet none was special enough to make someone return. My advice from that experience is to ship when you have one thing you are proud of, something worth a person’s time. With Pinterest, we chose to make collections look good enough that people would want to share them.

startuparchive

I would define that one experience before setting the test deadline, then watch what people actually do with it. A weak first experience can make a useful idea look like a failed one; a polished first experience followed by no repeat use gives you a clearer reason to change course.

Ivan ZhaoFounder of Notion

Emmett's point about paying for the search adds a useful constraint: a product can earn attention and still fail as a business. I would put the founder on support for a while. I handled Notion's support tickets in our early years, and each request told us both where someone got stuck and what they were trying to accomplish. We also used the product ourselves every day, which gave us another check on whether a change really helped.

Apple Podcasts

If the same people keep returning with a real task, use their requests to narrow the next version and ask what they would pay for. If support only produces one-off requests across unrelated tasks, the founder has less reason to fund another broad build. The decision needs evidence of both continued use and a way to support the company.

Shishir MehrotraCEO of Superhuman (formerly Grammarly). Co-founder of Coda and former Chief Product Officer of YouTube

There is also a founder-level decision after the experiment: would you still choose this problem and this team if you were starting today? When people asked me about starting a company, I asked whether they had an idea they could not imagine leaving alone and a teammate they could not imagine working without. I started Coda because I could answer yes to both.

alejandrocremades

That conviction earns a founder the energy to run the next specific test. It does not replace evidence of use. If the product keeps failing and either answer has changed, I would take that seriously when choosing whether to pivot with the same team, join a different effort, or close.

Emmett ShearCEO of Softmax. Founder of Justin.tv and former CEO of Twitch

I would keep investor skepticism separate from customer evidence. We talked to 40 VCs about Twitch, and they told us watching people play games was too small a niche. Its eventual size was genuinely uncertain. Meanwhile, people were using it, and the gaming project had grown 30 percent a month for three months during our test. A founder who has that kind of usage evidence should investigate whether the niche can expand; a founder with little repeat use needs to fix the experience or change the target user.

Apple Podcasts+1

Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn, Inflection AI and Manas AI. Partner at Greylock

Ben's point about a fair test matters especially for a network product. LinkedIn's launch was quiet, and a sparse network gave each new user limited value. We worked on People You May Know and address book uploads so people could find connections.

foundr

Before treating a usage target as a verdict, ask whether the test group had enough relevant people or content to complete the task the product promises. If it did, low repeat use is strong evidence to change course. If it did not, run a bounded test in a group where the product can actually work, and count people who return after that initial experience.

Shishir MehrotraCEO of Superhuman (formerly Grammarly). Co-founder of Coda and former Chief Product Officer of YouTube

Emmett's point about a niche matters. At YouTube, we had strong use among younger audiences and still asked how to reach older viewers and new countries. Product-market fit changed as we considered each new audience.

Apple Podcasts

I would make the founder write down which decision the evidence supports. Repeat use in a small group supports serving that group well. Expansion into a larger market needs its own test with users in that market. An investor's guess about market size should prompt the second test, while the first group's actual use deserves its own weight.

Ask a follow-up

Founders

467

Founders

4M+ insights

Founders from Pinterest, LinkedIn, Notion & 2 more

by SuperMe

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the signs of product-market fit?
A small group who would be upset to lose the product, then growth you can explain, from users who look like the market you want to win. Fit rarely arrives as one moment.
How is early traction different from product-market fit?
Traction responds to a launch, press or founder effort and fades when that stops. Fit keeps compounding through the product's own loop, and the love repeats with strangers who match the first fans.
How do you pressure-test a startup idea?
Set a behavior bar before the team gets attached, put an early version into someone's real work, and write down the ways the company could fail even if early users love it.
When should a founder drop an idea?
When people who have the problem can find the product, try the full version and still don't come back. Low signups and investor doubt alone are weak reasons to quit.
How do founders find a problem worth solving?
Start from a problem you will care about for years, find people whose behavior shows they have it too, and know why you can make progress where others see risk.
What should a first-time founder do first?
Start, choose a cofounder with care and get something in front of strangers early. The group splits on whether research or a rough product comes first.
How do you size a market before building?
Start from a behavior people already have, ask what has kept anyone from winning the market, and let growth or repeat use tell you its size.
How does a startup stand out in a crowded market?
Pick one experience people return to, start with the people whose choice brings everyone else, and check whether users come back for a second job.
Where can an AI startup win against the model companies?
Around what takes sustained work to copy: a group's accumulated taste, a team's workflow, trust between people or a creator's audience.
How do you validate an idea with customers?
Go out to learn, ship one thing worth a stranger's time, watch who comes back on their own and then ask them why.
How do you choose a consumer products category?
Look for a need people already recognize, evidence that they act on it, and unit economics that work across the whole purchase cycle.

All starting a startup questions →

Frequently Asked Questions

What to do when the search for product-market fit stalls

Founders

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the signs of product-market fit?

How is early traction different from product-market fit?

How do you pressure-test a startup idea?

When should a founder drop an idea?

How do founders find a problem worth solving?

What should a first-time founder do first?

How do you size a market before building?

How does a startup stand out in a crowded market?

Where can an AI startup win against the model companies?

How do you validate an idea with customers?

How do you choose a consumer products category?

Your ideas, super powered.

What to do when the search for product-market fit stalls

Founders

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the signs of product-market fit?

How is early traction different from product-market fit?

How do you pressure-test a startup idea?

When should a founder drop an idea?

How do founders find a problem worth solving?

What should a first-time founder do first?

How do you size a market before building?

How does a startup stand out in a crowded market?

Where can an AI startup win against the model companies?

How do you validate an idea with customers?

How do you choose a consumer products category?

Your ideas, super powered.