Figma's CEO reflects that despite clear signals of user demand, like a 14-page feature request after a buggy demo, he was too nervous to hire aggressively. This slowed their progress unnecessarily in the early years, a mistake he advises other founders to avoid.

Users won't permanently reject a rough product if you respond to their feedback and ship improvements almost immediately. This rapid iteration turns initial frustration into loyalty. Slowness, not product roughness, is the real danger that causes users to lose interest.

In Figma's early days, CEO Dylan Field actively sought out his idols in the design community via cold emails. He didn't ask for praise; he asked them to critique the product harshly. This direct, high-quality feedback was a 'blessing' that accelerated improvement and built crucial industry relationships.

Your first customers require obsessive, daily interaction to ensure the product works for them. Astronomer's founder spoke with their first managed Airflow customer four times a day for two months. This grueling process is essential for ironing out roadblocks and achieving product-market fit.

Figma's expansion into multiple products (FigJam, Slides) wasn't based on abstract strategy but on observing users pushing the main design tool to its limits for unintended use cases. Identifying these 'hacks' revealed validated market needs for dedicated products.

Product teams often fear showing prototypes because strong customer demand creates pressure. This mindset is flawed. Having customers eager to buy an unbuilt feature is a high-quality signal that validates your roadmap and is the best problem a product manager can have.

Product-market fit isn't just growth; it's an extreme market pull where customers buy your product despite its imperfections. The ultimate signal is when deals close quickly and repeatedly, with users happily ignoring missing features because the core value proposition is so urgent and compelling.

Hux's founder measures success not just by retention, but by the passion of retained users. When users start writing in daily, angrily demanding bug fixes, it's a strong positive signal. It means the product has become so essential to their routine that they care deeply about its improvement.

Figma learned that removing issues preventing users from adopting the product was as important as adding new features. They systematically tackled these blockers—often table stakes features—and saw a direct, measurable improvement in retention and activation after fixing each one.