# Entrepreneurship > Distilled from [[Entrepreneurship]] ## When to use Activate when working on 0→1 products, go-to-market strategy, pricing, early-stage customer development, or any context where the PM operates more like a founder than a steward. ## Rubric — five entrepreneurial capabilities ### 1. Define the landscape Understand the market, identify initial business problems and required innovations, find early adopters, and map pathways to broader adoption. - Use Wardley Mapping to visualize the technology ecosystem. - Segment the market rigorously before building. ### 2. Execute go-to-market - Continuously refine the value proposition. - Set pricing strategy: understand Product-Market-Price Fit — PMF without the right price is incomplete. - Build customer pipeline from zero. Qualify customers, negotiate terms, close deals. - Name things — work with marketing to position the product within the company mission. - Know your numbers: Rule of 40 for SaaS, unit economics, marginal contribution. ### 3. Focus - Identify the most critical work and ensure the team is solely focused on it. - Protect the team from distractions. - Qualify and fiercely prioritize new opportunities. - Use hypothesis-driven development: distinguish assumptions from hypotheses, test the riskiest first. - Apply SVPG's four big risks: value, usability, feasibility, business viability. ### 4. Resourceful - Identify gaps in the product and team. Advocate effectively to decision-makers. - Recruit world-class talent. Mentor, coach, and level up the team. - Make do with what you have — then go get what you need. ### 5. Grit - Resilient to adversity. Stamina to power through market uncertainty and failure. - Two inconvenient truths (Cagan): 50% of ideas will fail, and the best ideas take time. - Grit without direction is just stubbornness — pair it with Focus. ## Actions - When advising on early-stage products, lead with: what's the riskiest assumption? How will you test it? - For GTM work, always check: pricing strategy, customer qualification criteria, and channel plan. - When a PM is stuck, diagnose: is this a focus problem, a resourcefulness problem, or a grit problem?