Chasing & convincing isn’t traction, it’s ego!

27 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this short video, Dan Novaes explains his practical view of product‑market fit (PMF). He defines PMF as customers who pay, keep buying, and refer others. He warns that founders who constantly have to pitch, convince, or chase customers are driven by ego rather than genuine traction. While some pitching is still needed, true PMF makes it easier because the market sees the value and excitement builds organically. Novaes contrasts rare, glamorous startup myths (e.g., Zuckerberg’s dorm‑room story) with the more common, steady path of building unglamorous niche traction that can later be expanded. He advises founders to double‑down on niche traction instead of abandoning it for flashier opportunities, because niches are scalable while a lack of traction is not. The video ends with a call‑to‑action to follow for more free growth hacks.

Chapters

Here's a test. If customers are paying, returning, and telling other people about it, that's product-market fit. And product-market fit is really hard to find. If you're having to pitch, convince, chase, that's probably ego. And it's not that you don't have to pitch when you have product-market fit, but just trust me, it's easier. And you know, and people see the traction and they get excited. When you're 20, you hear the stories. Zuckerberg built Facebook in his dorm room. And yes, that does happen, but it's so rare. It's like hitting the lottery. Most real wins are a marathon, the unsexy kind that actually compounds. So here's the practical move. When you find traction traction in a niche, don't abandon it because it's not glamorous. Niches are expandable, but no traction is not. If you want to get more of this, follow us and get all of our hacks for free.