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 function or untapped market. Rachel Owens presents a uncommon voice of readability on this area. She’s a seasoned product govt with a observe file of scaling AI and workflow automation platforms from $1M to $10M in beneath 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 discovered in regards to the distinction between discovering and refining product-market match—and the 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 neighborhood wants throughout the 5 boroughs to designing the bodily area, selecting applied sciences, and planning operations, her job was to construct and ship a posh system that labored for actual folks.
“That was my first actual product position—even when I didn’t have the title,” she informed 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 expertise are transferable throughout industries.
Why Product-Market Match Isn’t a One-and-Executed
Too many groups rejoice early income prefer it’s the ultimate boss of product technique. However Rachel sees issues in another way.
“Firms assume that income equals product-market match. However in the event you plateau at $1M ARR and may’t scale past early adopters—you don’t have product-market match. You’ve early traction.”
You may have to refine PMF if:
- Gross sales stall or rely too closely on just a few early evangelists
- Prospects don’t perceive the core worth with out handholding
- The product solely suits a slim, unscalable use case
- Churn creeps up on account 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: The best way to Refine Product-Market Match for Progress
1. Zoom Out from the Use Case. Zero In on the Drawback.
Rachel’s group as soon as constructed an onboarding automation device for HR groups—nice for enterprises hiring a whole lot at a time. However the market turned out to be smaller than they thought.
That’s after they requested: What else might this product remedy?
Seems, the identical automation flows utilized to:
- Worker transitions and promotions
- Tech stack migrations
- Compliance monitoring and coaching
“Scaling isn’t all the time about discovering new clients. Generally, 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 reveals up
2. Align Product, Gross sales, and Advertising (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 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 group doesn’t perceive your product’s worth, your buyer received’t both.
3. Broaden Adjoining, Not All over the place
New markets are thrilling—however they’re additionally costly. As a substitute 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. Hear for “hacks” or surprising use circumstances.
- Check earlier than you scale. Touchdown pages, concierge MVPs, or simply conversations can validate path earlier than code.
- Tweak as a substitute of overbuilding. Generally altering discipline names or workflows is all it takes to unlock a brand new phase.
Takeaway: Actual progress usually comes from lateral strikes, not moonshots.
AI Is Not a Technique—It’s a Software
Rachel has seen the AI hype cycle earlier than—and warns towards letting tech paved the way.
“AI is highly effective. However including it for the sake of it results in price bloat, complexity, and poor product match.”
Her recommendation for utilizing AI correctly:
- Begin with the ache. AI ought to remedy a transparent bottleneck—not simply increase your demo.
- Give attention to augmentation. Improve consumer 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 Crew Sport—However Product Leads the Playbook
Rachel prioritizes constructing techniques. And that features tight alignment with gross sales, advertising, 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 this planet.”
Whether or not it’s writing pretend press releases, testing new markets via dialog, or refining workflows to serve new use circumstances, Rachel’s strategy is all about making product technique actionable.
Dealing with Knowledge Challenges & the AI Revolution
AI is on the forefront of almost each product dialogue as we speak—however as Anne factors out, many firms misunderstand its position.
“Usually, when purchasers say they need AI, they really want higher information,” she says. “We hear, ‘We wish AI to do X,’ however after we examine, they don’t really need 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 – Firms coming into new markets don’t have historic information to investigate.
For messy information, Anne’s group helps purchasers clear and construction their datasets to enhance decision-making. For firms missing information, companies like Razorfish leverage third-party datasets (e.g., via 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 just a few key insights:
- Anticipate selection: You’ll work on totally different industries, challenges, and enterprise fashions.
- Be adaptable: Consumer priorities shift quick—it’s a must to pivot rapidly.
- Develop sturdy communication expertise: You’ll have to convey product concepts clearly to stakeholders who won’t converse “product.”
- Suppose quick, however assume good: Companies don’t have the posh of lengthy timelines, however good choices nonetheless require rigorous pondering.
“Product at an company is thrilling since you’re continually being challenged,” Anne says. “However it’s essential to know that product work isn’t all the time glamorous. The day-to-day will 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 as we speak’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 function, the trail to sustainable progress begins with higher product technique.
What’s been your greatest problem in refining product-market match? Share your ideas within the feedback or join with us on LinkedIn.
March 24, 2025
