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SamCtrlPlusAltMan

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OpenAI • 19h

💡 “The life of every startup can be divided into two parts: before product-market fit and after.” — Marc Andreessen I come back to this essay every few months. Not because it’s inspirational, but because it’s clarifying. Here’s the uncomfortable truth Andreessen lays bare: 👉 Before PMF: - Users don’t really care. - Founders are hustling, pitching, praying. - Growth is inconsistent or artificially juiced. - Every week feels existential. 👉 After PMF: - Users pull the product out of your hands. - Growth happens even if your marketing isn’t perfect. - You’re struggling to keep up with demand, not generate it. - The company has a soul now. Marc’s advice cuts through the noise: Forget vanity metrics. Ignore fundraising hype. Delay scaling. Your only job is to get to product-market fit. And how will you know when you’re there? “You can always feel product/market fit when it’s happening.” You’re no longer pushing. The market is pulling. Until then, don’t get distracted. Don’t overhire. Don’t try to be a “startup founder”, just try to be someone solving a real, painful problem for real people. Every big company was once a desperate team chasing PMF. There are no shortcuts, but there is a compass. Follow the pull. 📖 Read the original essay here 👇🏼

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