2025 Product-Market Fit Report
Overcoming Barriers to Startup Success
Table of contents
Introduction
Since the earliest days of the SaaS and startup ecosystem, achieving product-market fit (PMF) has been the defining milestone for founders. In 2025, the path to PMF is more complex than ever, shaped by rapid technological change, shifting customer expectations, and resource constraints.
To capture the real-world challenges and strategies of today's founders, we conducted live interviews with 53 startup founders at SaaStr Annual 2025—the world's largest gathering of SaaS leaders. These candid conversations, spanning a diverse set of industries and company stages, provide a unique window into the obstacles, pivots, and breakthroughs that define the PMF journey in 2025.
This report distills those insights into actionable guidance for founders, investors, and ecosystem partners seeking to accelerate the path to PMF.
Executive Summary
- Customer Access & Market Fit: Founders struggle to reach and validate their ideal customers, especially in dynamic or regulated markets.
- Resource & Time Limitations: Small teams and limited funding force tough trade-offs between building, learning, and selling.
- Adoption & Trust Issues: Resistance to change, skepticism about new tech (especially AI), and fear of job loss slow adoption.
- Revenue & Sales Prioritization: Declining response rates and lead generation challenges make monetization a moving target.
Despite these headwinds, founders are finding PMF by doubling down on customer discovery, focusing on revenue-generating features, and building trust through transparency and education.
Key Takeaways
-
Trust and adoption barriers remain significant challenges
- Resistance to change and skepticism about new technologies (especially AI) slow adoption
- Regulatory concerns in industries like healthcare create additional hurdles
- Successful founders address these through transparent ROI data, education, and low-risk pilots
-
Customer discovery has evolved from occasional activity to systematic discipline
- Founders who succeed are making customer interviews a regular, structured practice
- AI-powered tools like Perspective AI are enabling more efficient and scalable customer research
- The patterns that emerge from consistent discovery are more valuable than individual insights
-
"Will you pay for this?" is the ultimate validation question
- Testing willingness to pay before building features is a critical filter
- Successful founders are asking for payment upfront to validate real demand
- This approach prevents wasted development cycles on features customers won't pay for
Who We Talked To: The 2025 Founder Landscape
Data Collection
- Source: Live, in-depth interviews with 53 startup founders at SaaStr Annual 2025.
- Format: Semi-structured, conversational interviews focused on PMF challenges, strategies, and lessons learned.
- Analysis: Thematic analysis to identify patterns, supported by direct quotes.
Industry Verticals
| Industry | % of Participants | # of Founders (out of 53) |
|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | 42% | 22 |
| Healthtech | 17% | 9 |
| Marketplaces | 17% | 9 |
| AI/Automation | 17% | 9 |
| Other | 7% | 4 |
Company Size
| Team Size | % of Participants | # of Founders (out of 53) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-10 employees | 67% | 36 |
| 11-50 employees | 25% | 13 |
| 51+ employees | 8% | 4 |
Company Revenue
| Revenue Range | # of Founders (out of 53) |
|---|---|
| <$1M | 40 |
| $1M–$10M | 10 |
| >$10M | 3 |
Time in Market
| Stage | % of Participants | # of Founders (out of 53) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch | 8% | 4 |
| 0-2 years | 58% | 31 |
| 3+ years | 34% | 18 |
PMF Journey Stage
| PMF Stage | % of Participants | # of Founders (out of 53) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-PMF | 50% | 27 |
| Near PMF | 33% | 17 |
| Post-PMF | 17% | 9 |
What's Blocking PMF: The Real-World Barriers
Customer Access & Market Fit
Challenge: Difficulty reaching, engaging, and validating the right customers—especially in regulated or traditional industries.
Key Quotes:
"Access to teens and their opinions has been our biggest challenge."
— Byron Wang, Gumshoe Ventures
"Getting access to agents in the markets we wanted to go after."
— Jim Crisera, RateMyAgent
Analysis:
Founders consistently report that even with a compelling product, breaking through to the right audience is a major hurdle. This is amplified in markets with entrenched behaviors or regulatory barriers.
Founders consistently report that even with a compelling product, breaking through to the right audience is a major hurdle. This is amplified in markets with entrenched behaviors or regulatory barriers.
Resource & Time Limitations
Challenge: Small teams and limited funding force founders to juggle product development, customer discovery, and sales—often at the expense of speed.
Key Quotes:
"Balancing time between building the product and talking to prospects was a challenge."
— Sacha Wright, Practest
"Time constraints and team resources are our biggest blockers."
— Arun Sivashankaran, FunnelEnvy
Analysis:
The pressure to do more with less is universal. Many founders wish they had invested more in early customer conversations, but bandwidth and competing priorities get in the way.
The pressure to do more with less is universal. Many founders wish they had invested more in early customer conversations, but bandwidth and competing priorities get in the way.
Adoption & Trust Issues
Challenge: Resistance to change, skepticism about new technologies (especially AI), and fear of job loss or loss of control slow user adoption.
Key Quotes:
"Ingrained habits and resistance to change are major factors."
— Craig Waller, Rewyndr
"To leverage AI as an alternative is still not widely accepted for healthcare."
— Nonye, Stone Origin
Analysis:
Even when the value proposition is clear, users may hesitate to adopt new solutions. Building trust, demonstrating ROI, and addressing fears directly are essential.
Even when the value proposition is clear, users may hesitate to adopt new solutions. Building trust, demonstrating ROI, and addressing fears directly are essential.
Revenue & Sales Prioritization
Challenge: Declining response rates, difficulty generating qualified leads, and uncertainty about what customers will pay for.
Key Quotes:
"Only build what customers are willing to pay for."
— Glen Barnes, STQRY
"Focus on revenue. We just asked for money for everything that we were doing for the customers."
— Aayush Kumar, OpsLyft
Analysis:
Founders who prioritize monetization and test willingness to pay early are more likely to find PMF. Those who delay often struggle with wasted cycles and unclear value.
Founders who prioritize monetization and test willingness to pay early are more likely to find PMF. Those who delay often struggle with wasted cycles and unclear value.
How Founders Are Winning: PMF Breakthroughs in 2025
Despite the challenges, founders are innovating in their approach to PMF:
- Customer Discovery as a Discipline:
Founders who schedule regular interviews, use structured feedback loops, and iterate quickly report faster progress. - Revenue-First Mindset:
Testing pricing and asking for payment early helps validate real demand. - Building Trust:
Transparency, education, and involving users in the process help overcome skepticism—especially with AI and automation. - Agility & Focus:
Letting go of misaligned customers and focusing on the ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) accelerates learning and growth.
Playbook for PMF: Proven Strategies from the Field
Double Down on Customer Discovery
Why:
Founders who invest in ongoing, structured customer discovery avoid building in a vacuum and quickly identify real pain points, leading to faster PMF.
Founders who invest in ongoing, structured customer discovery avoid building in a vacuum and quickly identify real pain points, leading to faster PMF.
How:
- Conduct regular discovery interviews with customers—using live calls or innovative AI-powered tools like Perspective AI—to consistently gather fresh insights and feedback.
- Ask open-ended, probing questions that go beyond surface-level needs, encouraging customers to share stories, frustrations, and workarounds that reveal deeper problems and opportunities.
- Synthesize and document learnings after each interview by capturing key themes, quotes, and actionable insights in a centralized system, ensuring the whole team stays aligned and can spot emerging patterns.
- Continuously iterate on your product and messaging based on what you learn, rapidly testing new ideas or features with follow-up interviews to validate changes and measure impact.
Founder Experience:
"It's by doing more customer discovery calls. There were surprises but there were patterns observed as well which eventually led to finding reputable use cases."
— Aayush Kumar, OpsLyft
Impact:
Aayush's team discovered that CFOs cared deeply about cost allocation and unit cost analytics—insights that directly shaped their product roadmap and unlocked new revenue.
Aayush's team discovered that CFOs cared deeply about cost allocation and unit cost analytics—insights that directly shaped their product roadmap and unlocked new revenue.
Prioritize Revenue-Generating Features
Why:
Testing willingness to pay early ensures you're building something customers truly value, not just what they say they want.
Testing willingness to pay early ensures you're building something customers truly value, not just what they say they want.
How:
- Ask for payment or commitment before building new features by presenting prototypes or concepts and gauging if customers are willing to invest, which validates real demand before development.
- Run structured pricing experiments—such as A/B testing different price points or packaging options—to identify what customers are actually willing to pay for and which features drive purchasing decisions.
- Track conversion rates and customer feedback on paid features to understand which offerings are most valued, and use this data to inform your product roadmap and prioritize high-impact work.
- Use "will you pay for this?" as a decision filter for all new feature requests, ensuring that development resources are focused on initiatives with clear revenue potential.
Founder Experience:
"We just asked for money for everything that we were doing for the customers."
— Aayush Kumar, OpsLyft
"Only build what customers are willing to pay for."
— Glen Barnes, STQRY
Impact:
Both founders found that focusing on paid features quickly clarified their value proposition and helped them avoid wasted development cycles.
Both founders found that focusing on paid features quickly clarified their value proposition and helped them avoid wasted development cycles.
Build Trust & Overcome Adoption Barriers
Why:
Adoption is often blocked by skepticism, fear, or inertia—especially with new technologies like AI or in regulated industries. Building trust is essential for unlocking usage and advocacy.
Adoption is often blocked by skepticism, fear, or inertia—especially with new technologies like AI or in regulated industries. Building trust is essential for unlocking usage and advocacy.
How:
- Offer pilots or proof-of-concept projects that allow customers to experience the product's value in a low-risk, low-commitment way, helping to overcome initial skepticism and demonstrate tangible results.
- Share transparent ROI data, case studies, and testimonials from early adopters to provide social proof and concrete evidence of the product's impact, addressing doubts and building credibility.
- Address user fears directly in onboarding and support by proactively discussing concerns such as job security, data privacy, or workflow changes, and providing clear, empathetic communication and resources.
- Engage stakeholders at multiple levels within customer organizations to build broad-based buy-in, ensuring that both decision-makers and end-users feel heard and supported throughout the adoption process.
Founder Experience:
"What's worked is defining success outcomes worth achieving with usage from identifying financial pain related to doing things the old fashioned way."
— Craig Waller, Rewyndr
"To leverage AI as an alternative is still not widely accepted for healthcare... Continuous research and development to pushing the boundaries of what's possible."
— Nonye, Stone Origin
Impact:
Craig's approach of tying adoption to clear financial outcomes helped overcome resistance to change, while Nonye's ongoing R&D and education efforts gradually built trust with skeptical providers.
Craig's approach of tying adoption to clear financial outcomes helped overcome resistance to change, while Nonye's ongoing R&D and education efforts gradually built trust with skeptical providers.
Optimize for Resource Constraints
Why:
Early-stage startups rarely have enough time, people, or money. Ruthless prioritization and process efficiency are critical to making progress with limited resources.
Early-stage startups rarely have enough time, people, or money. Ruthless prioritization and process efficiency are critical to making progress with limited resources.
How:
- Use lightweight tools for feedback and analytics—such as AI-driven interviews, tagging, and UTM codes—to efficiently gather and analyze customer data without overburdening the team.
- Automate repetitive or manual tasks wherever possible, leveraging affordable SaaS tools or no-code solutions to free up founder and team bandwidth for high-value activities.
- Focus on "must-have" features and defer "nice-to-haves" by regularly reviewing your roadmap and aligning on the core problems that need to be solved for PMF, ensuring resources are spent where they matter most.
- Establish clear, time-boxed processes for customer learning and iteration so that even with limited capacity, the team maintains a steady cadence of feedback and improvement.
Founder Experience:
"Balancing time between building the product and talking to prospects was a challenge... Overwhelmed with tasks."
— Sacha Wright, Practest
"Time constraints and team resources are our biggest blockers."
— Arun Sivashankaran, FunnelEnvy
Impact:
Both founders realized that without deliberate process and prioritization, customer learning and product iteration stalled. Streamlining feedback and focusing on essentials helped them regain momentum.
Both founders realized that without deliberate process and prioritization, customer learning and product iteration stalled. Streamlining feedback and focusing on essentials helped them regain momentum.
Stay Agile & Ruthless in Focus
Why:
Chasing every opportunity or customer segment dilutes learning and slows PMF. The most successful founders are those who quickly identify and double down on their best-fit customers.
Chasing every opportunity or customer segment dilutes learning and slows PMF. The most successful founders are those who quickly identify and double down on their best-fit customers.
How:
- Regularly review and update your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on real customer data and feedback, ensuring your team is always targeting the segments most likely to convert and succeed.
- Let go of customers or segments that are not a fit—even if it means short-term revenue loss—so you can concentrate resources and learning on your core market.
- Use clear, objective criteria for evaluating new opportunities (such as alignment with ICP, willingness to pay, and potential for advocacy) to avoid distractions and maintain strategic focus.
- Continuously monitor customer engagement and retention metrics to quickly identify when a segment or approach isn't working, and pivot decisively to higher-potential opportunities.
Founder Experience:
"We ended up doing a source code license to the customer and got rid of them... They were in a completely different vertical than we normally serviced."
— Glen Barnes, STQRY
"Find the right champions but also assess as quickly as possible the correct target customer... Know your market and know where you fit best so you don't spin cycles where there is not a good fit."
— Rodney Turner, Rewyndr
Impact:
Glen's decision to part ways with a misaligned customer freed up resources for core users, while Rodney's focus on finding internal champions and the right customer profile accelerated adoption and learning.
Glen's decision to part ways with a misaligned customer freed up resources for core users, while Rodney's focus on finding internal champions and the right customer profile accelerated adoption and learning.
Conclusion
The journey to product-market fit in 2025 represents a fundamental shift in how successful startups approach building and scaling. Our research reveals a clear evolution from the "move fast and break things" era toward a more methodical, customer-obsessed approach that balances speed with intentionality.
The most successful founders are those who have embraced three critical mindset shifts:
From sporadic feedback to systematic discovery—making customer conversations a regular discipline rather than an occasional activity, and using the patterns that emerge to drive product decisions.
From building first to validating first—testing willingness to pay before committing resources, ensuring that every feature developed has a clear path to revenue.
From growth at all costs to focused growth—having the courage to walk away from misaligned customers and opportunities, concentrating resources where they'll have the greatest impact.
These shifts are particularly crucial given the resource constraints most founders face. With 67% of our participants operating with teams of 10 or fewer employees and 75% generating less than $1M in revenue, the margin for error is slim. The founders who succeed are those who turn these constraints into advantages—forcing clarity, focus, and discipline.
As we look ahead, the path to PMF will continue to evolve. Technological advances, particularly in AI, will both create new opportunities and new challenges. Founders who combine the timeless principles of customer obsession and revenue validation with emerging tools and methodologies will be best positioned to navigate this journey successfully.
The insights in this report represent not just the experiences of 53 founders, but a collective wisdom that can help guide the next generation of startups toward sustainable success. By learning from both the triumphs and struggles of those who have walked this path before, we can all contribute to building a more resilient, innovative startup ecosystem.
Chasing product-market fit? Reach out to learn how we can help get you there faster.