Rocket Fuel Ep #2: Finding Product-Market Fit with Tim Johnson from Blossom

Pitch Please

Ever wondered how to identify when your product has truly hit the market sweet spot? In this episode of Rocket Fuel, we sit down with Tim from Blossom Social to delve into the one of the most common founder hurdles: finding product-market fit. Tim brings a wealth of experience, from his days at Wattpad to founding Couply and now leading brand partnerships at Blossom. Tim shares his insights on the signs of product-market fit, including unique user behaviours and the critical role of customer feedback. We also explore the challenges of pivoting and the importance of staying true to your vision while adapting to market needs. Discover how Blossom Social is revolutionizing the investment community by making financial education and portfolio management accessible to everyone. Tune in for an engaging discussion packed with practical advice for startup founders and entrepreneurs navigating their own journey to product-market fit. Takeaways • Product-market fit means building the right product to solve a customer's needs. • Signs of true product-market fit include users doing strange things, users getting upset about changes, and users being highly motivated to be part of the product. • Partial product-market fit is when a product solves a specific problem for users but struggles to scale effectively. • Continuous usage and momentum are crucial for achieving product-market fit. • Understanding user behavior and feedback is essential for identifying and improving product-market fit. Recognizing product-market fit is crucial for startup success. • Feedback loops and validation are essential for understanding customer needs. • Finding fellow founders to compare and be vulnerable with can provide valuable insights. • Being realistic and open to pivots is important for long-term success. • Embracing adjustments and not getting stuck on the original idea is key. Sound Bites • "People doing strange things... that is a sign of product-market fit." • "Users getting very upset around changes in the product... is an amazing sign of product-market fit." • "Investment in your product by your users is a massive sign of product-market fit." • "If you're struggling or if you don't have product market fit, everything feels like you're pushing a boulder up a hill." • "The best founders make pivots, adjustments, not just features, and they embrace it and they push through and they succeed." Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Background 02:58 - Understanding Product-Market Fit 04:29 - Signs of Product-Market Fit: People Doing Strange Things 07:32 - The Importance of User Feedback and Debates 11:16 - Passionate Users: A Key Indicator of Product-Market Fit 15:03 - Challenges of Scaling Without Continuous Usage 16:32 - The Decision to Pivot 20:23 - The Importance of Feedback Loops 26:20 - Embracing Pivots for Success 32:42 - Building a Supportive Founder Community More About Tim Johnson Tim was an early employee at Wattpad which led to a 753M exit. He built his own app, Couply, won the largest pitch contest in the world at Collision Conference and garnered 400K downloads before Couply became a self-sustaining business. Tim is now Head of Brand Partnerships at Blossom Social – the app for investors. More About Blossom Blossom is a community of over 150,000 investors sharing their verified stock portfolios, trades, and investment ideas - helping the world make better financial decisions together. Want to Connect? Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejjohnson/ Blossom: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meetblossomsocial/ Couply: https://www.linkedin.com/company/couply/ Want to Explore More? Download Blossom: https://www.blossomsocial.ca/ Download Couply: http://www.couply.io/ Keywords product-market fit, startups, consumer apps, user behavior, user feedback, community, motivation, product-market fit, pivot, feedback loops, validation, founders, vulnerability, adjustments, realistic, openness