u/adarshrajoria

Working with early-stage SaaS teams, I see this pattern constantly. Teams build an MVP, then immediately jump into ads or building more features. But they skip the most important analysis step.

Stakeholders think they know their target segment from a few early customer interviews. But the people who actually buy and stick around often look completely different.

We had a B2B note-taking SaaS where the team targeted product managers at funded startups. Their actual buyers? Solo consultants and agency owners who needed fast client meeting notes. Two completely different segments with different buying cycles, pricing sensitivity, and decision criteria.

This is why so many products burn cash on channels that do not convert, build features real users do not need, and position for a market that does not exist.

As business analysts, what frameworks or methods do you use to validate customer segments early in the product lifecycle?

I built a free tool that helps early-stage SaaS founders find their real ICP before they waste money on channels that do not convert.

What it does: It analyzes your traction data across 5 dimensions - retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, and market fit - then gives you an action plan.

Try it here: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Looking for feedback on:

- Is the ICP analysis actually useful for your stage?

- What traction signals would you add?

- Is the action plan specific enough to act on?

No paywall, no sales pitch. Just a tool built from conversations with founders at a product studio.

Been working on a product studio and kept running into the same problem. Founders build an MVP, then immediately jump into ads or building more features. But they skip the most important step - figuring out who their actual ICP really is.

So I built a free tool that analyzes traction signals across 5 dimensions: retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, and market fit. It gives founders an action plan to catch ICP mismatches early.

No paywall, no sales pitch. Just built it because I kept having the same conversation with founders over and over.

Tech stack is simple, vibe coded the whole thing. If anyone wants to check it out or give feedback: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

For vibecoders here: what tools are you building that solve real problems you see in your work?

A lot of Indian SaaS founders I work with make the same mistake. They build an MVP, then immediately start spending on ads or building more features.

But before either of those, there is a much bigger problem. Founders think they know their ICP from a few early customer interviews. But the people who actually buy and stay often look completely different.

One example: a B2B note-taking SaaS founder thought their ICP was product managers at funded startups. Turns out their actual buyers were solo consultants and agency owners who needed fast client meeting notes. Two very different segments.

This is why many SaaS companies end up burning money on channels that don't convert, building features real users don't need, and positioning for a market that doesn't exist.

For Indian founders who have shipped: what was the biggest surprise about who your actual customers were after launch?

After shipping an MVP, most founders jump straight to running ads or building more features. But the real bottleneck comes before either.

Founders think they know their ICP from a few early interviews. But the people who actually buy and stick around often look nothing like that ICP.

We saw a B2B note-taking SaaS founder targeting product managers at funded startups. Their actual buyers? Solo consultants and agency owners who needed fast client meeting notes. Two completely different segments with different buying cycles and pricing sensitivity.

This ICP mismatch is why so many SaaS companies burn cash on channels that don't convert, build features real users don't need, and position themselves for markets that don't exist.

For growth marketers here: what's the best way to validate your ICP early, before spending on acquisition?

Working on a product studio, I kept seeing the same pattern: founders build an MVP, then immediately jump into ads or building more features, skipping the most important step.

They have an ICP in their head from a few early interviews, but their actual customers look completely different.

Example we saw: a B2B note-taking app founder targeted product managers at funded startups. Turns out their real users were solo consultants and agency owners doing client meetings. Completely different segment, different buying behavior.

I built a free tool to help founders catch this gap early. It scans your traction data across retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, and market fit - then gives you an action plan.

No paywall. Just built it because I kept having the same conversation with founders.

For founders who have shipped: what was the biggest ICP surprise you found after launch?

Link: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Startup advice is all over the place. Talk to users. Build fast. Ship early. But nobody tells you how to figure out WHICH dimension of PMF is actually broken.

Retention? Positioning? Distribution? Monetization? Market fit? These are 5 completely different problems with 5 completely different solutions.

I built PMF Insights - a free diagnostic tool that analyzes your startup across all 5 dimensions and tells you exactly where you're weakest. It maps the behavioral gap between your stated ICP and your real customers.

No email. No paywall. Just built it because I needed it.

pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Try it out and let me know if the diagnosis matches what you're experiencing.

I kept running into the same problem with founders - they have a perfect ICP on paper but their sales numbers tell a different story. So I built something to fix it.

PMF Insights is a free diagnostic tool that analyzes the behavioral gap between your stated ICP and your real buying customers. It looks at:

- What users were doing before they found you

- How urgent their problem actually is

- Whether they control the budget

- The specific triggers that precede a buying decision

It breaks PMF into 5 dimensions and gives you a diagnostic that flags which area is holding you back.

Built with no framework, just pure problem-solving. No email, no paywall, no catch.

Link: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Would love to hear what the side project community thinks. What would make this more useful for you?

I've talked to enough founders to know this pattern. You nail your pitch deck. Investors love your ICP slide. Demographics? Perfect. TAM? Huge. But when you start selling, the people who actually buy don't match that ICP at all.

The problem is you're defining ICP by who you want to sell to, not by who is actually buying. And those are often two completely different audiences.

I built a free tool called PMF Insights to fix this. It analyzes the behavioral gap between your stated ICP and your real customers. It looks at things like:

- What were they doing before they found you?

- How urgent was their problem?

- Did they control the budget?

- What triggered the purchase?

It breaks PMF into 5 dimensions and flags which one is actually broken.

Free. No email. No paywall.

pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

If you've been struggling with this gap, try it out and tell me if it resonates.

What: PMF Insights - a free tool that helps founders identify the gap between their stated ICP and their real buying customers.

Problem: Most founders define ICP by demographics and job titles. But real buying behavior is driven by completely different signals - urgency, budget control, pre-purchase research patterns.

What it does: Analyzes customer behavior across 5 PMF dimensions (retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, market fit) and flags where your PMF is actually weak.

Who it's for: Founders who know they have a PMF problem but can't pinpoint which dimension is broken.

Monetization: None. 100% free. No email, no paywall.

Link: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Roast away. What's wrong with this? What would you change? What's missing?

I kept seeing founders build tools and SaaS products for ICPs that exist only on paper. Demographics, job titles, company size - all the surface-level stuff. But when you actually talk to paying customers, their behavior tells a completely different story.

So I spent the last few weeks building PMF Insights, a free diagnostic tool that maps the behavioral gap between your stated ICP and your actual buying customers. It analyzes:

- What users were doing before they found you

- How urgent their problem actually is

- Whether they control the budget

- The specific triggers that precede a buying decision

It breaks product-market fit into 5 dimensions: retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, and market fit - with a diagnostic that flags which area is holding you back.

No email required, no paywall, no catch. I just built it because the gap was too obvious to ignore.

Check it out: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

Would love feedback from this community. What would make this more useful for you?

Hey everyone, I wanted to share something I've been working on.

I noticed a pattern while talking to dozens of founders - most of them define their ICP on paper (demographics, job titles, company size) but their actual buyers behave completely differently. The ICP that converts is rarely the ICP that looks good in a pitch deck.

So I built a free tool called PMF Insights that helps founders map the behavioral gap between their stated ICP and their real buying customers. It analyzes things like:

- What your users were doing before finding you

- How urgent their problem actually is

- Whether they control budget

- The specific triggers that precede a buying decision

It breaks PMF down into 5 dimensions: retention, positioning, distribution, monetization, and market fit - with a diagnostic that flags which area is actually holding you back.

I'm not trying to sell anything. The tool is completely free, and I built it because I kept seeing the same mistakes over and over.

Would love honest feedback from this community:

1. Does this problem resonate with your experience?

2. Is the diagnostic approach useful or does it feel too generic?

3. What would make this more valuable for you?

Try it out: pmf-tool-fe.vercel.app

No email required, no paywall. Just built it because the gap was too obvious to ignore.