The 8-Step Framework That Guaranteed Product-Market Fit Before I Built Anything

"The hard part about any product isn't selling it – it's long-term retention. Even if users stay for four or five months, you don't really have much. You have this massive leaky bucket where users just turn over."

This was my biggest fear when I decided to build a new product for Mylance. After five years of running my business and talking to over 1,000 fractional executives, I thought I knew what they needed. But I'd rather be wrong on paper than wrong with a product nobody uses.

So I spent four months validating demand before writing a single line of code. The result? Paying customers before I even built the software. Here's the exact 8-step framework I used – and how you can apply it to any product or service.

Step 1: I Wrote Down My Hypotheses (Don't Skip This)

Before I talked to anyone, I documented what I thought I knew based on my five years of experience with fractional executives.

My hypotheses included:

• People don't know how to find clients on LinkedIn
• They believe LinkedIn is valuable for client acquisition
• They want to post but don't know what content will resonate
• Not knowing what to post stops them from posting altogether

Your turn: Write 4-5 specific hypotheses about the problem you think exists and who has it. Base these on your actual experience, not assumptions.

Step 2: I Built Questions and Actually Talked to People

I created a question list designed to validate or invalidate each hypothesis. Then I did something that felt uncomfortable at first: I asked for help.

What I did:

• Posted on LinkedIn: "We're building a new product at Mylance. Would you spend 20 minutes helping shape its direction?"
• Conducted 30+ interviews over one month
• Asked specific questions about LinkedIn usage, posting frequency, ideal strategies, and current pain points
• Had a team member join to take better notes

The shock: People LOVE helping others. I was nervous about asking for 20 minutes of someone's time, but almost everyone said yes immediately.

Step 3: I Discovered Different Buyer Personas Give Different Answers

Not all feedback is created equal. A brand-new consultant gave me vastly different answers than someone with three years of experience.

What I learned: I needed to focus on slightly more experienced consultants – people who already had a few clients and understood the importance of business development, not complete beginners still trying to land their first client.

After each interview, I noted which buyer persona the person represented and looked for patterns in how different segments responded.

Step 4: I Defined My MVP Based on What I Actually Learned

I took my interview insights and brainstormed the simplest possible solution that addressed one major pain point.

My discovery: The biggest problem was people not knowing what to post on LinkedIn that would resonate with their audience.

My MVP solution: A content calendar that tells people exactly what to write, when to write it, and how to start each post.

The rule I followed: Focus on ONE major pain point. I had to resist the urge to solve everything at once.

Step 5: I Built the Simplest Version Humanly Possible

I didn't hire developers. I didn't spend thousands of dollars. I built a no-code prototype in one day.

My tech stack:

• Airtable (database)
• Zapier (automation)
• OpenAI (content generation)
• Notion (delivery interface)

Time to build: One day. Cost: Practically nothing.

The point: I needed to test if my solution actually solved the problem I identified, not build a beautiful product.

Step 6: I Got People to Actually Pay Me

Free feedback is only so valuable. People need skin in the game to give you honest insights.

My offer to those 30 people I interviewed:

• 50% lifetime discount (retail $279/month, beta $134.50/month)
• Grandfathered pricing forever
• In exchange for detailed, honest feedback every few weeks

Results: 6 out of 30 said yes immediately.

What I learned: Paying customers tell you the truth. Free users are just being polite.

Step 7: I Actually Delivered the Product for Months

This wasn't just feedback collection – I was delivering a real product and learning what worked.

What I did:

• Delivered the manual product for over two months
• Met with customers every two weeks
• Used AI to transcribe and document everything
• Tracked what customers loved vs. what could be improved

The result: Nobody churned. Some customers were "outrageously happy." The price point felt right.

Step 8: I Built the Real Product (Finally)

Only after proving market demand did I invest in actual development.

What I did:

• Found a small agency specializing in MVP development
• Built in 21 days for a few thousand dollars
• Used iterative development (10 feedback cycles with me)
• Focused on essential features: AI post drafting, learning user writing style, analytics tracking

The payoff: The software solved everything the no-code solution did, plus more. My beta customers were "totally blown away."

How I Applied This Framework to Mylance Services

I've used this same process to validate new service offerings at Mylance:

What I did first: I hypothesized what problems my ideal clients had Then I talked to people: I interviewed 20-30 potential clients about these problems
I segmented the feedback: I grouped responses by company size, industry, or maturity I designed simple solutions: I created the simplest service that addressed the biggest validated problem I started basic: I created proposals before building anything complex I found paying pilots: I got 3-5 clients willing to pay for a pilot program I delivered manually: I spent 2-3 months refining while delivering Finally I systematized: I scaled the proven solution

Why I'm Not Scaling Yet

My ultimate metric isn't initial sales – it's long-term retention:

"I'm not ready to scale this thing until I'm 1000% sure that users will stay for years. All the signs are that it's there, but it's early."

This patience is what I've learned separates successful products from the 90% that fail.

What I Learned About Building Products

Most entrepreneurs build solutions looking for problems. This framework ensured I was building a solution for a validated, paying problem.

The magic happened in Step 6: getting people to pay before I'd built anything substantial. If people won't pay for a manual, imperfect version, they definitely won't pay for polished software.

What You Should Do Next

Whether you're launching a new fractional service or building a product, start with Step 1 today:

Write down 4-5 specific hypotheses about problems you think exist in your market. Then start booking those 20-minute conversations.

The difference between my successful products and my failed ones isn't the quality of the idea – it's the quality of the validation process.

Don't build it and hope they come. Prove they want it, then build exactly what they'll pay for.

P.S. If you want to check out what we built at Mylance, you can join our waitlist. But more importantly, use this framework for whatever you're building. It works.

Mylance

‍This value-added article was written by Mylance. Mylance takes your marketing completely off your hands. We build the marketing machine that your Fractional Business needs, but you don't have time to run. So it operates daily, growing your brand, completely done for you.Instead of dangling numbers in front of you, our approach focuses on precise and thoughtful input: targeted outreach to the right decision makers, compelling messaging that resonates, and content creation that establishes trust and legitimacy.To apply for access, submit an application and we'll evaluate your fit for the service. If you’re not ready for lead generation, we also have a free, vetted community for top fractional talent that includes workshops, a rates database, networking, and a lot of free resources to support your fractional business.