Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Why do so many promising products fail to gain traction? Founder, investor, and McKinsey alumnus Rob Snyder explains why conventional thinking leads founders astray—and shares a practical framework for finding the customers who are most likely to buy.
In this edition of Author Talks, Snyder discusses his new book, "The Power of Pull: What You Need to Know About Customer Demand to Build a Successful Startup (and Why Most Founders Get It Wrong)."
Snyder explains why traditional approaches to demand, sales, and product-market fit often keep companies stuck in the “pain cave” and why a different approach to growth is a business necessity.
Rob Snyder is an operating partner at Grix Venture Capital and fellow at Harvard Innovation Labs.
*Chapters:*
00:00 – Introduction
00:35 – Why founders get stuck in the "pain cave"
02:20 – The supply and demand misconception
04:07 –The mistake founders make early on: LARPing
05:20 – The PULL framework to sell and deliver
07:22 – How do you know when you've found PULL?
09:05 – Reframing sales as a founder
10:54 – What's the first step in applying the PULL framework?
Read the conversation: mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-why-founders-misunderstand-customer-demand
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Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.
Why do so many promising products fail to gain traction? Founder, investor, and McKinsey alumnus Rob Snyder explains why conventional thinking leads founders astray—and shares a practical framework for finding the customers who are most likely to buy.
In this edition of Author Talks, Snyder discusses his new book, "The Power of Pull: What You Need to Know About Customer Demand to Build a Successful Startup (and Why Most Founders Get It Wrong)."
Snyder explains why traditional approaches to demand, sales, and product-market fit often keep companies stuck in the “pain cave” and why a different approach to growth is a business necessity.
Rob Snyder is an operating partner at Grix Venture Capital and fellow at Harvard Innovation Labs.
*Chapters:*
00:00 – Introduction
00:35 – Why founders get stuck in the "pain cave"
02:20 – The supply and demand misconception
04:07 –The mistake founders make early on: LARPing
05:20 – The PULL framework to sell and deliver
07:22 – How do you know when you've found PULL?
09:05 – Reframing sales as a founder
10:54 – What's the first step in applying the PULL framework?
Read the conversation: mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-why-founders-misunderstand-customer-demand
Subscribe to our channel: mck.co/YouTube
Subscribe to our newsletters: mck.co/Subscribe
*Find us on:*
Facebook: mck.co/Facebook
Twitter: mck.co/Twitter
LinkedIn: mck.co/LinkedIn
Instagram: mck.co/Instagram
Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.
