Product market fit is often assumed by founders prematurely, leading to increased spending and hiring without having a solid foundation.

• Founders often claim to have found product market fit too early, which can lead to scaling their startups prematurely.
• This misconception can result in hiring and increasing expenses before the true product demand is understood.
• Marc Andreessen's influential post on product market fit is recommended as a must-read for entrepreneurs.

Product market fit is rigorously defined and involves high customer demand and growth.

• Product market fit is defined by customers buying or using the product as fast as it can be provided.
• The growth of the product should be rapid, necessitating quick hiring of sales and support staff.
• Money from customers should be accumulating quickly in the company's accounts.

Founders often mistakenly believe they've achieved product market fit due to intellectual convenience and the excitement of company building.

• Founders are eager to shift focus to company building activities like hiring and establishing a culture, often before solving the main problem.
• There is a misunderstanding that company building leads to success, but in reality, solving the core problem should come first.
• The term 'product market fit' is frequently used incorrectly, and there's a misconception that its definition is flexible.

True product market fit is characterized by explosive usage and growth, not just by having built a product that founders believe customers want.

• Product market fit is confirmed when there is explosive customer usage, not when a product is simply built.
• Founders often wish to separate the concept of creating a product customers want from the actual explosive usage it receives.
• Explosive growth is indicative of a product that truly fits the market, separating it from products that merely exist without significant traction.

There is a common misconception that building the product customers want is what defines product market fit, when it is, in reality, the customer response that matters.

• A common mistake is believing that product market fit is achieved once a product is built.
• The real test of product market fit is the customer response to the product, not the existence of the product itself.
• Without explosive usage, a startup does not have true product market fit, regardless of the product's features.

Product market fit entails not only user growth but also profitability, which many companies fail to achieve even after being acquired.

• Product market fit involves both rapid user growth and profitability, which should not be neglected.
• Many acquisitions involve companies that did not achieve product market fit, and growth alone is not a sign of fit if it's not profitable.
• Growth that comes with scaling negative margins is not indicative of product market fit.

After achieving product market fit, the company's success becomes more about execution and less about discovery.

• Once product market fit is found, the company's future success largely depends on not making significant mistakes.
• Pre-product market fit is characterized by uncertainty and exploration, while post-product market fit focuses on scaling and execution.

Socialcam and Justin.tv's experiences are used to exemplify the challenges of achieving product market fit and the false indicators of success.

• Socialcam's massive download numbers and Facebook video views did not equate to product market fit due to lack of monetization and poor retention.
• Justin.tv's significant revenue and viewership did not represent product market fit because they lacked a repeatable growth engine and faced content monetization issues.
• The journey to finding Twitch's product market fit is described, highlighting the importance of technology and identifying the right customer base.

Persistence and appropriate timing are crucial in achieving product market fit, as demonstrated by Twitch's eventual success.

• Some companies take longer to achieve product market fit, but persistence can eventually lead to success.
• Factors such as technological advancements and understanding user needs can impact the timing of achieving product market fit.
• Twitch's success came after years of groundwork laid by Justin.tv, proving that not dying and continuous improvement increase the odds of success.