What does product-market fit actually look like in the real world?

Everyone’s heard it. A leader slaps the table and says, “Go get product market fit.” But what does that even mean?

In this episode, Ryan and Joe sit down with Shardul Mehta, founder of Street Smart Product Manager, to unpack one of the most overused yet misunderstood phrases in product management. They dig into what PMF actually looks like in practice, how to validate real problems worth solving, and why it’s not a one-time milestone but an ongoing process of alignment.

Shardul brings three decades of experience across startups, enterprises, and everything in between. He shares grounded, no-fluff advice for PMs trying to prove traction without falling for vanity metrics or corporate buzzwords.

If you’ve ever been told to “get PMF” without an explanation, join us on the porch for a discussion about what product market fit really means, how to recognize it when you see it, and how to build it without the buzzwords.

References & Links

Follow Shardul at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shardulmehta/
Subscribe to Shardul's Newsletter at: https://streetsmartproductmanager.com/

Time Stamped Notes:

Intro: The Product Porch Opens
[00:00] Porch banter and setup – Ryan and Joe introduce Shardul Mehta and tee up the topic of PMF.
[00:01:30] Meet Shardul Mehta – Shardul’s background, career highlights, and his “Product Jedi” reputation set the stage.

Chapter 1: The Myth of Product Market Fit
[00:03:00] Defining the problem – Shardul explains why “go get PMF” is one of the least helpful phrases in product.
[00:05:15] The illusion of metrics – Why chasing a single magic number never proves real market traction.
[00:07:00] PMF as alignment – Reframes PMF as a continuous process, not a one-time milestone.

Chapter 2: Testing for Real Demand
[00:10:30] Validation over vision – How to replace assumptions with small, testable experiments.
[00:13:45] The demo test – Why showing a clickable prototype can reveal whether customers actually understand and want it.
[00:16:00] The only real proof – Early commitments, prepayments, or budget allocation beat any engagement metric.

Chapter 3: The Leadership Disconnect
[00:19:30] The PMF pressure cooker – Leaders demand traction without defining what it means.
[00:22:00] Bridging the gap – How PMs can align stakeholders by translating validation into business outcomes.
[00:25:30] Documenting assumptions – Using hypothesis-driven roadmaps to protect PMs from arbitrary goals.

Chapter 4: Internal PMF and the Non-SaaS World
[00:29:00] Inside the enterprise – How to measure “fit” when your customers are internal teams.
[00:32:15] Currency beyond dollars – Using adoption, efficiency, and reallocated budget as signs of success.

Chapter 5: Lessons from the Street Smart Product Manager
[00:36:00] Shardul’s Street Smart rules – Simplicity, storytelling, and listening to signals over vanity metrics.
[00:38:45] Improv and product – How improv training sharpens curiosity, communication, and decision-making in product work.

Outro: Wrapping Up the Porch Talk
[00:42:00] Final reflections – Why PMF is a journey of constant learning and recalibration.
[00:43:30] Porch close – Ryan and Joe reflect on takeaways and invite listeners to subscribe and share their own PMF stories.

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Product Market Fit Isn’t a Goal, It’s a Grind

The Product Porch