Most startups don’t stall due to unhealthy concepts—they stall as a result of they cease refining their product-market match and what works.
Everybody’s chasing the subsequent AI characteristic or untapped market. Rachel Owens presents a uncommon voice of readability on this area. She’s a seasoned product government with a monitor report of scaling AI and workflow automation platforms from $1M to $10M in underneath a yr. And in her latest interview on Productside Tales, she broke down what it actually takes to scale a B2B SaaS product with out dropping focus.
Right here’s what we realized concerning the distinction between discovering and refining product-market match—and the right way to align your groups, keep away from hype-driven technique, and unlock actual progress.
From Public Sports activities Complexes to SaaS: A PM Origin Story Like No Different
Earlier than main go-to-market technique at B2B SaaS startups, Rachel helped launch Aviator, a $50M sports activities complicated constructed on a decommissioned New York Metropolis airport. From understanding group wants throughout the 5 boroughs to designing the bodily area, selecting applied sciences, and planning operations, her job was to construct and ship a fancy system that labored for actual folks.
“That was my first actual product position—even when I didn’t have the title,” she advised us. “It was all about understanding buyer wants and delivering one thing that solved an actual downside.”
Rachel ultimately launched her personal IoT startup, labored in well being tech and long-term care, and made the leap to AI-powered B2B SaaS. Her throughline? Each step has been about diagnosing actual ache factors—and fixing them in scalable, repeatable methods.
Takeaway: Nice product managers aren’t simply builders. They’re problem-solvers. And people abilities are transferable throughout industries.
Why Product-Market Match Isn’t a One-and-Finished
Too many groups rejoice early income prefer it’s the ultimate boss of product technique. However Rachel sees issues in a different way.
“Corporations assume that income equals product-market match. However for those who plateau at $1M ARR and may’t scale past early adopters—you don’t have product-market match. You might have early traction.”
You may must refine PMF if:
- Gross sales stall or rely too closely on a number of early evangelists
- Clients don’t perceive the core worth with out handholding
- The product solely matches a slim, unscalable use case
- Churn creeps up as a result of weak engagement or activation
Takeaway: Product-market match isn’t simply one thing you discover. It’s one thing you sharpen. Particularly if you wish to scale.
The Actual Work: Tips on how to Refine Product-Market Match for Development
1. Zoom Out from the Use Case. Zero In on the Downside.
Rachel’s crew as soon as constructed an onboarding automation software for HR groups—nice for enterprises hiring lots of at a time. However the market turned out to be smaller than they thought.
That’s after they requested: What else may this product clear up?
Seems, the identical automation flows utilized to:
- Worker transitions and promotions
- Tech stack migrations
- Compliance monitoring and coaching
“Scaling isn’t at all times about discovering new prospects. Typically, it’s about fixing extra issues for those you have already got.”
Takeaway: Don’t fixate on one persona or use case. Obsess over the ache—and the place else it exhibits up
2. Align Product, Gross sales, and Advertising and marketing (or Keep Caught)
When product groups function in silos, even nice options can fall flat. That’s why Rachel insists on cross-functional collaboration—early and sometimes.
“Your job isn’t simply to construct the product. It’s to assist gross sales and advertising and marketing inform the story.”
Her playbook for alignment:
- Sit in on gross sales calls to listen to objections firsthand
- Co-create messaging that speaks within the buyer’s voice, not simply business buzzwords
- Collaborate on case research and gross sales collateral that spotlight actual ache, not simply options
Takeaway: In case your go-to-market crew doesn’t perceive your product’s worth, your buyer received’t both.
3. Develop Adjoining, Not In every single place
New markets are thrilling—however they’re additionally costly. As an alternative of chasing shiny objects, Rachel recommends increasing adjacently, the place you have already got traction and perception.
Her 3-step framework:
- Establish overlaps. Ask your customers the place else they need assistance. Pay attention for “hacks” or sudden use instances.
- Take a look at earlier than you scale. Touchdown pages, concierge MVPs, or simply conversations can validate route earlier than code.
- Tweak as a substitute of overbuilding. Typically altering area names or workflows is all it takes to unlock a brand new section.
Takeaway: Actual progress typically comes from lateral strikes, not moonshots.
AI Is Not a Technique—It’s a Instrument
Rachel has seen the AI hype cycle earlier than—and warns in opposition to letting tech paved the way.
“AI is highly effective. However including it for the sake of it results in value bloat, complexity, and poor product match.”
Her recommendation for utilizing AI properly:
- Begin with the ache. AI ought to clear up a transparent bottleneck—not simply increase your demo.
- Give attention to augmentation. Improve person capabilities, don’t attempt to change them.
- Audit what you already use. Many groups are already utilizing AI and ML—chatbots, analytics, automation—however failing to speak about it.
Takeaway: Use AI to do extra of what’s already working. Not as a gimmick to chase a market that doesn’t exist.
Scaling Is a Staff Sport—However Product Leads the Playbook
Rachel prioritizes constructing techniques. And that features tight alignment with gross sales, advertising and marketing, buyer success, and management.
“At some firms, I went on each main gross sales name. As a result of product isn’t nearly what you ship. It’s about how that product succeeds on the earth.”
Whether or not it’s writing pretend press releases, testing new markets by means of dialog, or refining workflows to serve new use instances, Rachel’s method is all about making product technique actionable.
Dealing with Knowledge Challenges & the AI Revolution
AI is on the forefront of almost each product dialogue right now—however as Anne factors out, many firms misunderstand its position.
“Typically, when purchasers say they need AI, they really want higher information,” she says. “We hear, ‘We wish AI to do X,’ however once we examine, they don’t really want AI for that.”
She highlights two main information challenges firms face:
- Messy Knowledge – Knowledge isn’t clear or structured, making AI adoption troublesome.
- Zero Knowledge – Corporations coming into new markets don’t have historic information to investigate.
For messy information, Anne’s crew helps purchasers clear and construction their datasets to enhance decision-making. For firms missing information, businesses like Razorfish leverage third-party datasets (e.g., by means of companions like Epsilon) to bridge the hole.
Recommendation for PMs Contemplating an Company Profession
For product managers contemplating a shift to company work, Anne presents a number of key insights:
- Anticipate selection: You’ll work on totally different industries, challenges, and enterprise fashions.
- Be adaptable: Consumer priorities shift quick—you need to pivot shortly.
- Develop robust communication abilities: You’ll must convey product concepts clearly to stakeholders who may not communicate “product.”
- Suppose quick, however assume sensible: Companies don’t have the posh of lengthy timelines, however good selections nonetheless require rigorous pondering.
“Product at an company is thrilling since you’re always being challenged,” Anne says. “But it surely’s vital to know that product work isn’t at all times glamorous. The day-to-day may be messy and sophisticated—however that’s the place the magic occurs.”
Scaling Smarter with Product-Market Match
Rachel’s playbook for scaling B2B SaaS merchandise is a blueprint for right now’s product leaders—make clear your worth, align your groups, and refine relentlessly. Whether or not you’re navigating early traction, increasing into adjoining markets, or integrating AI with goal, the trail to sustainable progress begins with higher product technique.
What’s been your largest problem in refining product-market match? Share your ideas within the feedback or join with us on LinkedIn.
March 24, 2025
