The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
The OKR Paradox: Why Google's Goal-Setting Framework Became Its Own Enemy•
The 'Global Market' Myth: Why Local Wins First•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
The Hidden Crisis: How Silent Quitting Reveals a Broken Feedback Loop in Modern Organizations•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
The AI Revenue Illusion: GMV vs ARR•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
Agile: The Secret Behind Success vs. The Reason We Fail•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
GTM 101: Startup Revenue Architecture•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The PM Role is Evolving. Enter the Producer.•
Pricing is Power: If You Can't Raise It, You Don't Have a Business•
Get Off the Sidelines: It's Your Turn to Play•
Your Dashboard Is Lying to You (Stop Hiding Behind Data)•
The 'Glass Slipper' Trap: Why Early Retention Metrics Mislead•
Why GTM Is Suddenly Everywhere (The Shift from PLG)•
The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads•
The Hidden Cost of 'Friendly' Feedback•
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The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads

The 'Imaginary Customer' Problem: Why ICP Often Misleads

3 min read

I was in a boardroom last week.
A Seed-stage team was presenting their "ICP Strategy."
They had slides. Beautiful slides.
They had demographics. They had "Pain Points." They had "Empathy Maps."
They were described in such detail, as if these people actually existed.

I asked one question:
"Which of these personas has actually wired you money?"

Silence.

This is a common trap for modern startups.
We often replace Commercial Reality with Strategic Simulation.

The "ICP" Prison (Ideal Customer Profile)

Let's look at the reality.
ICP literally stands for 'Ideal'.

A persona who spends a lot on our service, has no complaints, adapts perfectly, and is highly loyal.
Does such a customer actually exist?

We define these targets to find our center.
But the moment we try too hard to define something so perfect, we trap ourselves in a prison called ICP.

Founders spend weeks debating whether their ICP is a "Series B CTO" or a "Series C VP of Engineering."
This is often a premature exercise.

You do not get to choose your customers initially.
Your customers choose you.

Especially in the early days, your "Ideal" customer is a hypothesis.
Your Actual customer is the only thing that matters.

The Disconnect Between "PMF" and "Pricing"

"We are still searching for PMF."

I hear this phrase often.
But most are obsessed only with the Product.

What does it mean to have Product-Market Fit (PMF)?
It means customers find value in the product.
Finding value means they are willing to pay the price.

In other words, you must carry your Pricing Strategy alongside your Product.
However, many founders are afraid to attach a price tag and only focus on feature improvements.

As a result, the product doesn't become what the market wants.
It ends up being something that only looks pretty to you, or something undefinable.

PMF is not a destination.
It is not a finish line where balloons drop and VCs hand you a check.

PMF is a feeling.
It is the feeling of the market pulling the product out of your hands faster than you can build it.
It is the feeling of your server struggling because too many people are trying to pay you.

If you have to ask, "Do we have PMF?", the answer is usually No.
If you have to send a survey to find out if people like your product, the answer is likely No.

Stop "Refining." Start Charging.

The most effective way to validate ICP or PMF is Pricing.

Free users offer limited signal.

  • They may say "I love it." (Politeness)
  • They may say "It needs feature X." (Distraction)
  • They may say "I'd pay for this." (Hypothetical)

The Credit Card is the only Vote that counts.

Instead of "refining your ICP" in a vacuum, try this:

  1. Raise your price.
  2. See who complains but leaves.
  3. See who pays anyway.

The ones who pay anyway? That is your ICP.
The reason they paid? That is your Value Proposition.

You cannot figure this out in a conference room.
You cannot figure this out in a Notion doc.
You can only figure this out in the market, with a price tag attached.

Conclusion: Rethink the Personas

Move beyond the beautiful persona slides.
Revisit the "Persona" section of your deck.

Go look at your bank account (Stripe).
Find the 10 customers who paid the most money with the least support tickets.
Clone them.

That is your strategy.
Everything else is secondary.