I just wrapped up a very productive mentor session with two amazing founders who, by every measure and definition, are successful:
● They’ve raised money.
● They’re winners of multiple of startup competitions
● They’ve built an innovative product solving a real problem.
But, and here’s the challenging issue we uncovered:
Every customer they’ve spoken to has said, “We love this idea and we will buy it!—once the product is further along.”
🤦🏻♀️ Darn it…
They’re at risk of running out of money before they figure out how to deliver value to paying customers…like many early-stage founders do.
Their current potential customers are experiencing…you guest it…UX (user experience) issues.
Their product is very impressive from a technical perspective, but it is just slightly too cumbersome and time-consuming for users to onboard without frustration.
And right now, there’s no quick fix or affordable fix to this problem.
So, what’s the solution?
Pivot to a New Audience
Sometimes, the key isn’t fixing the product—it’s finding an audience with a different definition of “perfect.”
Here’s why:
✅ What’s “good enough” for one audience might be a huge win for another. If your product solves a high-level pain point for a specific group, they’re more likely to overlook imperfections.
✅ Another audience may value outcomes over ease. If their current solution is more expensive or even more frustrating, who knows, your product could be a massive improvement over their current solution—even with a less-than-ideal user experience.
✅ The right audience will pull you forward. Instead of pushing a boulder uphill with your product, sales, and marketing, the right audience will pull you in with their demand.
The Power of Focused Validation
The key is to continuously refine your target audience through a focused and intentional validation process as your product and company continues to evolve...don't just do it at the beginning of your startup journey.
1️⃣ Sell to potential customers. Dig deep to understand their biggest frustrations and priorities.
2️⃣ Identify high-pain segments. Look for groups with problems so severe that your solution feels like a lifesaver, even if it’s not perfect.
3️⃣ Test, learn, and pivot. Use feedback to refine your product— and not for everyone, but for the right audience.
Serving the right customer can mean the difference between endless uphill battles or effortless growth.
The faster you pivot and iterate, the sooner you’ll find traction.
Your target market drives everything—sales, marketing, and even your product roadmap.
✍️ Think about your current product. Are you solving the problem for the right target audience? Take one step this week to build smarter.
- "I had two dev shops take my money without delivering."
- "I went through two CTOs before finding the right one."
- "I wasn't a great tech leader (or a leader at all) and had to get tech leadership coaching."
- understand the entire technical process
- help companies recognize red flags early
- minimize technology mistakes and
- cut their product development costs by as much as 50%.
TechSpeak was an incredible experience. I've done a 4 month accelerator course before, but 80% of the things I was taught, I was learning for the first time.
Sabrina Noorani
Founder of ClearForMe
