An 86-minute guide to finding PMF | Rob Snyder (Author, The Power of Pull)

An 86-minute guide to finding PMF | Rob Snyder (Author, The Power of Pull)

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An 86-minute guide to finding PMF | Rob Snyder (Author, The Power of Pull)

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An 86-minute guide to finding PMF | Rob Snyder (Author, The Power of Pull)

The founder who helped over 50 startups hit $1M ARR shares his PULL framework for finding real product-market fit

Lenny Rachitsky

Oct 25, 2026

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Paid

Transcript

Rob Snyder is the author of The Power of Pull and writes the newsletter The Physics of Startups . He has advised more than 50 startups on growing from zero to $1 million in ARR, drawing on his own experience as a founder who spent two years pushing a product the market didn’t want before accidentally stumbling onto what actually works. In this episode, we walk step by step through his framework for finding product-market fit, from coming up with an idea to closing your first handful of deals.

Listen on YouTube , Spotify , or Apple Podcasts

We discuss:

• The PULL framework: Project, Unavoidable, List of options, Limitations

• Where the best startup ideas come from

• Tactics for cold outreach and running your first sales call

• Why Rob advises against design partners

• Goblin mode: what to do when nothing is working

• How to apply the PULL framework inside larger companies

Brought to you by:

WorkOS —Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more

DX —Engineering intelligence for the AI era

Where to find Rob Snyder:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1

• Newsletter: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com

• Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Cic56E1UEbU25P3v14Vkq

• Website: https://robsnyder.org

Referenced:

• The PULL framework: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/p/the-pull-framework

• The ultimate guide to JTBD | Bob Moesta (co-creator of the framework): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-jtbd-bob-moesta

• How to find work you love | Bob Moesta (Jobs-to-be-Done co-creator, author of “Job Moves”): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-find-work-you-love-bob-moesta

• Jump: https://jump.ai

• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu

• Josh Woodward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshwoodward/

• Clearly AI: https://clearly-ai.com

• Emily Choi-Greene on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilycg

• Spanx: https://spanx.com

• Floodgate: https://www.floodgate.com

• Snoop Dogg on X: https://x.com/SnoopDogg

• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

• Linear: https://linear.app

• “Sell the alpha, not the feature”: The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-enterprise-sales-playbook-1m-to-10m-arr

• How to close $100K+ enterprise deals, step by step | Jen Abel: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-close-100k-1m-deals-step-by

• Teero: https://www.teero.com

• A guide for finding product-market fit in B2B: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-product-market-fit

• Retention is the hard part: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/p/retention-is-the-hard-part

• Mark Roberge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/

• Ali Ghodsi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alighodsi/

• Pride and Prejudice : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414387

• Penguins of Madagascar : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1911658

• Muse: https://muse.ai

• Lessons from 1,000+ YC startups: Resilience, tar pit ideas, pivoting, more | Dalton Caldwell (Y Combinator, Managing Director): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-1000-yc-startups

• Lemlist: https://www.lemlist.com

Recommended books:

• The Power of Pull: What You Need to Know About Customer Demand to Build a Successful Startup (and Why Most Founders Get It Wrong) : https://www.amazon.com/Power-Pull-Customer-Successful-Founders/dp/1541705955

• The Nature of Order, Book One: The Phenomenon of Life: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHLGZHHD

• The Nature of Order, Book Two: The Process of Creating Life: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe : https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Order-Book-Two-Creating-ebook/dp/B0F2SMKQT8

• The Nature of Order, Book Three: A Vision of a Living World: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2SS62LG

• The Nature of Order, Book Four: The Luminous Ground : https://www.amazon.com/Luminous-Ground-Building-Alexander-Christopher/dp/B00CB5JTI6

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ . For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected] .

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

My biggest takeaways from this conversation:

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