A more effective mental model than PLG vs. SLG is analyzing which activities create new demand versus which ones harvest existing demand. Both sales and product can serve either function. Creating demand is always the harder, more critical challenge for any revenue engine.

Real demand isn't a wish list; it's an active struggle. "Coping" customers are fighting a subpar solution right now, while "blocked" customers would act immediately if a viable option existed. Both represent a "spring-loaded" market ready to adopt a new product that solves their problem.

Treat your startup like a drug discovery experiment. A market's needs are like biological 'binding receptors'—they either exist or they don't. Marketing can raise awareness of your 'drug' (product), but it can't convince the body to grow new receptors. If you lack product-market fit, don't try to market your way out of it.

Successful startups tap into organic customer needs that already exist—a 'pull' from the market. In contrast, 'conjuring demand' involves a founder trying to convince a market of a new worldview without prior evidence. This is a much harder and less reliable path to building a business.

Founders mistakenly believe they can manufacture demand through better positioning or features. This is the "supply trap." True demand must exist independently before your product arrives. Your role is to find customers who are already "spring-loaded" (coping or blocked) and unleash their existing pull.

The most critical, yet often overlooked, factor for successful demand generation is not channel tactics but strong product marketing. A clear brand identity, positioning, messaging, and a deep understanding of the buyer are the true foundation for effective marketing programs.

Many marketers mistakenly start with the goal of creating a new category. However, a new category only emerges as a downstream consequence of a strong, existing demand that is poorly served by all current products. The demand must exist before a new category can be successfully established.

The "Pull Framework" defines demand not by pain, but by observable action. It requires a customer to have an active, unavoidable project, to have already explored existing options, and to find those options insufficient. This is the signal for a product they will eagerly "pull" from your hands, even if it's imperfect.

Girish Redekar simplifies go-to-market strategy into two buckets. Are you "harvesting" existing demand from people already searching for a solution, or are you creating demand for a new category? Sprint0's early traction came from focusing solely on harvesting demand where their ICP was already active.