5min
Module 1: The Lean Startup Mindset
Module 2: Defining Your Vision
Module 3: The Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop
Module 4: The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Module 5: Validating with Customers
Module 6: Pivoting or Persevering
16/23 Lessons
Content
Assignment
Great Job! Now you've created a hypothesis and built an MVP, and now you have to get it in front of customers. The way you talk to them will determine if your feedback is valuable or completely misleading, remember that!. And the single most important rule of customer conversations is to "learn, not to sell".
1. The Mom Test: A Simple Framework
Rob Fitzpatrick’s book, The Mom Test, provides a simple framework for asking good questions. The core idea is that you should be able to ask your questions and get useful, honest answers even if your own mother were the one you were talking to. The trick is to avoid asking questions that will elicit a polite, positive lie.
What's the rule? Only ask about past behavior, not future opinions.
Bad Questions (hypothetical) could be:
"Would you buy a product that does X?"
"Do you think this is a good idea?"
"How much would you pay for a service like this?" These questions are bad because they are leading, and people will often give you a nice but untrue answer just to be polite.
Good Questions (specific and past-focused):
"Tell me about the last time you had this problem."
"What did you do to solve it?"
"How much did you spend on that solution?" These questions force the customer to talk about real, concrete experiences, which gives you valuable insight into their actual needs and pain points.
Let's look at an example, Imagine your idea is a new to-do list app that people can use in their daily basis.
Bad question: "Would you pay $5 a month for an app that helps you manage your tasks?"
Good question: "Tell me about the last time you were overwhelmed with tasks. What tools did you use to try to get organized?"
2. Listen and Learn, Don't Pitch
In these conversations, your job is to be a curious listener, not a salesperson. Your goal is to understand the customer’s world, their daily routine, their frustrations, and what they’ve already tried to solve the problem. Avoid talking about your idea until you’ve truly understood their problem.