The flat part of the hockey-stick curve is where you uncover key insights or secrets that allow you to build something unique and valuable.

If you study the hockey stick curve, you’ll notice it’s actually made up of three distinct segments. Each of these segments represents a specific stage in the product lifecycle:

  1. Problem/Solution Fit: the goal here is finding a problem worth solving.

    The counter-intuitive driving principle during this stage is focusing on finding a problem worth solving and even getting paying customers without having to first build out a fully functioning product (solution).

  2. Product/Market Fit: the goal here is to demonstrate a working business model at small scale. You do this by building and refining a minimum viable product (MVP).

    The counter-intuitive driving principle here is that you don't need lots of users to navigate this stage - just a few good customers.

  3. Scale: the goal here is shifting focus to growth

    The driving principle here is less about continually optimizing your product but shifting focus to finding and optimizing your engine(s) of growth.

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