Arnav Dalmia on Finding Product-Market Fit Where No One Was Looking

This article originally posted on the Momentum Mode Podcast Substack channel, featuring Impruve CEO Mike Shannon

Most founders are taught to think big, move fast, and chase exciting markets. But sometimes, the best opportunity is quietly sitting right in front of you — if you're paying attention.

Arnav Dalmia didn’t launch Cubii to serve older adults. In fact, the whole idea started as a desk pedal for office workers—born out of long commutes, missed gym sessions, and a personal desire to stay active. It was a classic scrappy founder story: recent college grads, a Kickstarter campaign, and a clever idea with early buzz.

But traction didn’t lead to scale, not right away.

The real breakthrough came not from investor advice, product iterations, or market trend reports—but from listening to unexpected users. Over time, Arnav realized something: the people who actually needed Cubii weren’t busy professionals. They were seniors.

And once the team leaned into that insight, everything changed. Here’s how he did it:

1. He built real feedback loops into the product.

Most startups talk about being “customer-centric.” Cubii actually lived it by printing Arnav’s phone number on every box. The result? Hundreds of direct conversations with users who weren’t just giving reviews—they were telling the team what the product meant to them. That kind of signal is hard to fake.

2. He challenged the default narrative.

Arnav and his co-founders were told what most early-stage founders hear: raise money, target young consumers, and optimize for scale. But money was hard to come by, their (initial) target audience wasn’t biting, and Chicago wasn’t exactly a hub for hardware startups. So they stopped trying to make the typical path work and built a business around what was working.

3. He pivoted the audience, not the product.

This wasn’t a dramatic rebrand or a teardown of the product roadmap — the hardware actually stayed largely the same. What changed was who it was for and how it was talked about. Seniors weren’t looking for wellness gimmicks. They were looking for something to help them stay mobile. Cubii met them where they were at, and the brand evolved from “clever desk gadget” to “health solution that matters.”

4. He prioritized profitability over popularity.

Without access to venture funding, Cubii had no choice but to be profitable early. And while that felt limiting in the moment, it kept the business focused. They didn’t scale teams they couldn’t afford or chase channels that didn’t convert. It made them choose what mattered.

5. He got burned by scale—and learned from it.

When COVID hit, Cubii surged. Revenue and hiring jumped. But in the rush to meet demand, they lost some of the intentionality that defined their early success. Culture diluted, training felt short, and some new hires weren’t set up for success. That showed the leadership team where they needed to focus, so they could scale the right way.

The Exit No One Predicted

Ten years after struggling to raise a seed round, Cubii sold for north of $100 million.

Not because they followed the blueprint or chasing trends, but by listening deeply, evolving slowly, and doubling down on what was real.

It wasn’t flashy. But it was smart…and it worked.

Recap: What Cubii’s Journey Reminds Us

✓ If customers are calling, pick up the phone. Insights don’t come from dashboards.
✓ The best opportunities don’t always look impressive—until you look closer.
✓ Staying profitable forces clarity. It’s not a constraint; it’s a filter.
✓ Scaling headcount too fast breaks culture faster than you can rebuild it.
✓ Don’t fall in love with your first market. Fall in love with the problem.