The Startup Saga Podcast - S1E4 - Product-Market Fit: How to Build What the Market Actually Wants
Most startups don’t fail because they run out of money. They fail because they build something the market doesn’t truly want.
In this episode of The Startup Saga, we explore one of the most defining stages in a founder’s journey: building the first product and discovering whether you are genuinely approaching Product-Market Fit.
This is the phase of early prototypes, difficult trade-offs, conflicting customer feedback, and the constant tension between staying true to your vision and responding to market reality.
Our guest is Dr. Swaminathan Subbiah — known simply as Subbiah — a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience scaling companies and leading product innovation. He has successfully led two major exits: • Zemax, sold for $400 million • Fluent, sold for $565 million He has also held senior leadership roles at Ansys, where he led global product strategy and operations across their simulation business.
What makes this conversation powerful is not theory, but lived experience. Subbiah has repeatedly navigated the messy middle between idea and traction. He has defined MVPs under pressure, listened to early users without losing strategic clarity, and made bold pivots when the market demanded it.
In this episode, we discuss:
• What truly makes an MVP “viable”
• The difference between building features and building value
• Early signals that indicate you may be approaching Product-Market Fit
• How to interpret customer feedback without overreacting
• When to pivot — and when to hold steady
• How experienced product leaders think about validation.
Whether you are refining your first product, navigating early traction, or preparing for a funding round, this conversation offers grounded, practical insight from someone who has built and exited multiple technology companies.
Free Founder Resource Library
We created a free Resource Library connected to every episode of The Startup Saga. Inside you’ll find practical frameworks and tools shared by our guest speakers to support your own founder journey. You can access it here: https://www.resourcestorelations.com/the-startup-saga-resource-library-subscription
The Startup Saga Podcast Hosted by Iulia Oprea, Founder Coach and CEO of Dragon Coaching House, and Nick Pearce, CEO of Alexander Daniels Global.
The Startup Saga Podcast founding sponsors:
www.alexanderdanielsglobal.com
