Contrary to belief, finding PMF escalates stress. Founders shift from one existential problem (finding customers) to managing numerous fires simultaneously: customer happiness, feature requests, hiring, and the constant fear of losing the newfound momentum. The number of critical, concurrent tasks multiplies.
An HR tool failed in the general market but took off with plumbing and HVAC companies. These businesses are 'structurally understaffed,' meaning their problem is persistent and acute. They have a burning, unmet need, unlike general customers who are 'kind of okay' with their current solutions and lack urgency.
Most sales conversations are polite but unhelpful. The key is to find a customer who both feels comfortable telling you the blunt truth ('you're thinking about it totally wrong') and has genuine 'pull' or a desperate need for a solution. Truth from someone without a real problem is just noise.
After finding PMF, a startup is full of fires. Instead of trying to put them all out, founders must identify the single bottleneck in their business model (e.g., customer onboarding) and focus all energy there. The business only improves when the primary constraint is solved; all other work is a distraction.
All business challenges can be simplified to two ultimate constraints. The first is external: the market's inherent demand ('pull'). The second is internal: the founder's personal willingness and ability to relentlessly attack the business's current primary bottleneck. Everything else is a symptom of these two factors.
Founders often procrastinate on the most critical business constraint, even when they know what it is. This delay stems not from ignorance but from a psychological loophole: the perception that they *can* put it off, that something else might solve the problem, or that the consequences aren't immediate.