The most common cause of startup failure is not finding product-market fit or PMF (conditional return).So, let's look at what is needed to find product-market compatibility.

Let's understand the importance of PMF, not how to find PMF.Let's look at what are the common themes for founders who have achieved product-market compatibility.

There are three traits that all successful startup founders have in common when it comes to achieving product-market compatibility and achieving revenue growth:

1) the ability to prioritize solving the right problems;

2) willingness to work more and make fewer strategies;

3) Avoid distractions

Prioritise the right issues

As a founder, you'll have to juggle an endless list of tasks and challenges. The key is to take a step back and identify which issues are most important, which will help you make the best use of your limited time.

This means being strategic and knowing which issues are too far away to make an immediate impact. For example, if you want to enter an enterprise, it's important not to jump in and realize that there may be special features that still need to be developed.

Even if you develop those features, you'll have to deal with a months-long sales cycle. Instead of rushing to develop those features, if you can focus on finding product-market compatibility with the features you already have, you can get some revenue and devote funds to the development of other features.

make more work less strategies

The best founders understand that they have to spend analogies in the market to find product-market compatibility and win customers. There's a direct correlation between time spent with your customers and revenue, so it's crucial to spend more time in the market than strategizing.

Whiteboarding and developing new ideas are decisions that need to be made very carefully and wisely. When it comes to customers and revenue, new strategies, markets, pivots, and features may seem good at first, but they rarely help you on the journey ahead.

For example, attending a conference may seem like a way to get new customers, but if you don't take the time to have meetings with the right people beforehand or follow-up campaigns on any given occasion, you won't see any new revenue from this and won't be able to get closer to product and marketing.

Discipline to avoid distractions

Discipline is another important trait that all successful start-up founders have. The best founders have the discipline to understand that all that glitters is not gold. Shiny object syndrome is a very common cause of failure for early-stage startups. It's important to stay focused on executing your plan and not get distracted.

Being a startup founder is like playing poker. Playing poker requires strategy, discipline, and the ability to make good decisions under pressure. As a founder, you are constantly dealing with a new hand, a new market, a lead, or a strategy.

Each time you turn the card over, you will have to decide whether to move forward or back. Shiny object syndrome is like gambling with a bad hand. Gambling can be fun, but you're unlikely to win.

What good poker players and great founders have in common is that they don't gamble or play bad rounds. You come to the table with a strategy and the goal is to optimize the opportunities you've got. Of course, poker is a game of chance, and sometimes even the best players can fail. The same is true for founders; even the most disciplined and attentive founders can face unexpected setbacks.

But just as good poker players know how to manage their risk and increase their chances of winning, good founders know how to focus on their goals and make the most of what they manage.