Concept · Product Management
Product-Market Fit
Origin: Marc Andreessen / Don Valentine
The Biological Bridge
This business construct is human-invented, but the outcome it's trying to achieve has deep biological roots.
Surface Construct
When a product satisfies strong market demand
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Underlying Outcome
Finding an environment where your specific traits provide competitive advantage
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Biological Mechanism
Niche fit / ecological fitting. Darwin's finches achieved 'product-market fit' through beak morphology matching food sources. Medium ground finches with 11mm beaks thrive on medium seeds. Those with mismatched beaks (wrong product for available market) die at 10x the rate during droughts.
Key Insight: Fit isn't approximate - it's the difference between thriving and extinction. Both PMF and niche fit require precise matching between capabilities and environmental demands.
The Full Picture
Darwin's finches on the Galápagos achieved product-market fit through beak morphology: each species' beak shape precisely matches a specific food resource niche. Medium ground finches with 11mm beaks can't crack large seeds (wrong product) and waste energy on tiny seeds (wrong market). Those with beaks matching available seed sizes survive droughts at 10x the rate of mismatched morphologies. Fit isn't approximate—it's the difference between thriving and extinction.