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Unpopular opinion: Product Market Fit isn't a thing. I'm not even sure it's a useful concept for startups.
First, nobody can define "market" in this equation - what are the boundaries of said market? How do you know if prospects fall out if it? Pro tip - SMBs is NOT a market. AI is NOT a market.
Most entrepreneurs I meet that say they have product market fit have simply sold some stuff to folks that love it. That's it! They can't tell me the characteristics of a prospect that make them more/less likely to buy.
But even if a stsrtup could tell me why certain customers love them I would call that an actionable segmentation. You have figured out who loves your stuff and why. Not some magic hoo haw startup lifecycle stage.
When we call Product Market Fit a "thing" we trick startups into thinking that it's just a gate to pass through and they can go nuts and pour cash into customer acquisition. But if you don't have an actionable segmentation, those efforts will fail (or be hugely wasteful).
Everyone smart will also say "yes you can lose product market fit" but the concept doesn't have room for that - How will I know? Because customers are less happy? That's your product bias talking.
If you don't have a clear grasp on what your value is, who it resonates with and why - product market fit isn't a helpful concept to get you there.
Also - I gave a keynote talk in the middle of writing this thread.
