This is a debate that will never be settled. Plenty has been written about how to define product/market fit. The consensus seems to be: (a) it’s generally easier to identify when you don’t have it, and (b) when you do, it’s hard to objectively point to why. It’s just a hunch. A feeling.
But, let me propose another way of thinking about it, which comes from my good friend Nicolas Colin of The Family. Nicolas takes a very different approach to helping people thinking about when product/market fit is or isn’t happening, using a story from politics.