What Makes Startups Work

✅ Conclusion Reached Startups succeed not by hitting revenue formulas, but by deeply solving painful problems for a small, specific group.

CURRENT POSITION I believe the real driver of startup success is obsession with user pain, retention, and fast learning—not surface-level metrics like MRR alone.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS Revenue milestones are outcomes, not causes, of product-market fit. Small, focused user groups provide better learning than broad markets early on. Retention and word-of-mouth are stronger indicators of long-term success than acquisition numbers.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE Common YC advice emphasizes talking to users, charging early, and doing things that don’t scale before focusing on growth metrics. Observed pattern that startups with early passionate users survive longer than those with high but shallow traction.

OPEN QUESTIONS How small is too small when choosing an initial niche? When is the right time to shift focus from learning to scaling?

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