CHAPTER 34Disruption and Product‐Market Fit (PMF)—U+
There's no such thing as a disruptive idea. Customer adoption at scale is what creates disruption.
— Sean Sheppard
Challenge:
“What's the big problem that you're solving today?
Who's the team? What's the market?
What product are you offering in that market?
What traction do you have to date?
How are you different?”
We loved the powerful simplicity of Sean Sheppard's venture capitalist (VC) round because it was a chance for a top seller and marketer to pitch their startup idea to an accomplished early‐stage VC. You may know Sean Sheppard of U+, a 5× founder with three exits who is a go‐to‐market (GTM) philosopher and pragmatist with a penchant for Stoicism. You better have “traction” before barking up his tree. He's an angel investor and venture capitalist behind some of the biggest business‐to‐business (B2B) successes that sponsored our event.
When he went to crown the winner of the GTM Games, he decided to break our rules. And we couldn't help but let him. Not because we are pushovers, but because it “made sense.” He declared a tie on the merits of the two contestants' delivery and the strength of each company's GTM. One award was for a Certified B Corp with an egalitarian mission, and the other for a C Corp.
In Sean's simulation, he highlighted five pillars that act as a GTM filter for the startups he invests in. But before that, he always asks, “what's the big problem you solve?”
- Pillar I—Team
- Pillar II—Market
- Pillar ...
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