John Kim on product-market fit
From John Kim I’m shocked that 90% of startups don't do this · · Behind The Business
“Think about what your strengths are and try to make sure that you are balancing out talking to customers and building a fantastic product — deprioritize everything else. None of it really matters until you find a strong product-market fit in the early days.”
On , John Kim, Former Executive Vice President & Chief Product Officer at PayPal, spoke about product-market fit during John Kim I’m shocked that 90% of startups don't do this on Behind The Business.
About John Kim
John Kim, formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at PayPal, has joined Lila Sciences, a General Catalyst portfolio company, as Chairman and President of Corporate Development. He has also authored a book titled *The Tao of Fundraising*, which he described as distilling three decades of lessons for investment managers. In a May 2025 podcast interview, Kim discussed his philosophy on fundraising and persuasion. He stated that "persuasion is desire minus fear" and emphasized the importance of addressing potential investors' fears and insecurities. He described a formula for fundraising success as "your track record plus your differentiation divided by the complexity of your story." Kim also outlined a framework for structuring meetings, advising that they should begin with establishing rapport, credibility, attention, and interest. He discussed tailoring approaches to different investor types, such as emphasizing national interest for sovereign wealth funds or risk mitigation for insurance companies.
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