Product/Market Fit

The premise of this course is the success of a startup (and even a large company launching a new product) is most dependent on finding a market that is desperate for its product. Focusing on product/market fit conflicts with the conventional view that a startup¿s limited resources should be applied to perfecting the execution of day to day activities. Interestingly almost every successful product driven technology company followed a similar path to find its product/market fit, but it was usually by accident. In this course we attempt to define the consistent process each successful company pursued, which in most cases is highly counterintuitive, and how to apply it to different situations. Our class highlights the potential conflict between pursuing a conventional approach and optimizing product/market fit. In order to really bring out this conflict, we employ a seminar format with only 25 students so every issue can be evaluated in detail. Our lessons are limited to information technology-based companies, but we have been told they may be more broadly applicable. That being said, this course has been designed for someone who is truly interested in technology-based entrepreneurship. Students who choose to take this course must be committed to read all the assigned articles and books to have the proper foundation to address the frequent counterintuitive learnings. In some cases that might require an entire (although relatively short) book be read for an individual class. A written assignment addressing at least one of the learnings from each reading will be required to be submitted at least four hours prior to each class. Failure to submit even one of the written assignments will result in a U. In addition to the daily written assignments, there will be a large individual project required at the end of the course. In other words, this course requires far more commitment than a typical GSB course, especially for one that offers only two credits. However I promise this course will be invaluable should you choose an operating or investment career in the technology business.