How to talk to users

Eric Migicovsky
YC Partner
Good founders maintain a direct
connection to their users.
No middleman!
Write code.
Talk to
users.
Three common errors you
probably make when talking to
users…

From The Mom Test

by Rob Fitzpatrick
The Mom Test
1. Talk about their life, not your
idea
The Mom Test
2. Talk specifics, not hypotheticals
The Mom Test
3. Listen, don’t talk
Five great questions you can ask in
every user interview
1. What’s the hardest part about
[doing this thing]?
2. Tell me about the last time you
encountered that problem...
3. Why was that hard?
4. What, if anything, have you done
to try to solve the problem?
5. What don’t you love about the
solutions you’ve tried?
Talking to users is useful at all stages:
- Got idea?→find users with problem
- Built prototype→best first customer
- Launched→find product market fit
Idea Stage

Find first users with problem

- Friends, coworkers, intros
- Drop by in person!
- Industry events
Idea Stage

Tips
- Take notes
- Keep it casual
- Careful with their time
Prototype Stage

Identify best first customers

Prototype Stage

Find numerical answers to:

- How much does this problem cost
them?
- How frequent is the problem?
- How large is their budget?
 Severity of Pain Frequency
(ROI, Savings) (Daily, Monthly)

Prototype
Stage
Ability to Fix?
(Budget, Authority)
Prototype
Stage
Prototype Stage
Launched Stage

Iterate towards Product Market Fit

measure the percent who answer
“very disappointed.”
 measure the percent who answer
“very disappointed.”

Achieved PMF when value is >40%

Launched Stage

Tips:
- Ask for phone # during sign up
- Don’t design by committee
- Discard bad data
Questions?