Early-stage startups can't afford to be strung along by enterprise prospects. The goal isn't just to close deals, but to get feedback quickly. Founders must design a sales process that forces a decision, because a "long maybe will kill you." It's better to get a fast "no" and move on.

In early stages, the key to an effective product roadmap is ruthlessly prioritizing based on the severity of customer pain. A feature is only worth building if it solves an acute, costly problem. If customers aren't in enough pain to spend money and time, the idea is irrelevant for near-term revenue generation.

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.

People are unreliable at predicting their future behavior. Instead of asking if they *would* use a new feature, ask for a specific instance in the last month where it *would have been* useful. If they can't recall one, it's a major red flag for adoption.

Having paying customers doesn't automatically mean you have strong product-market fit. The founder warns against this self-deception, describing their early traction as a "partial vacuum"—good enough to survive, but not to thrive. Being "ruthlessly honest" about this gap is critical for making necessary, company-defining pivots.

Success in startups requires nuanced thinking, not absolute rules. For instance, product-market fit isn't a simple 'yes' or 'no' checkbox; it exists on a spectrum. Learning to see these shades of gray in funding, marketing, and product strategy is a hallmark of a mature founder.