A handful of honest conversations can save you months of work. Talking to potential customers before you build anything is the cheapest way to find out whether your idea solves a real problem. It also feels uncomfortable, which is why many founders skip it.
Why conversations beat guessing
Eric Migicovsky, a partner at Y Combinator and the founder of Pebble, argues that the best founders keep a direct line to their users at every stage. He also singles out a common mistake: asking people whether they would use or pay for a feature you might build. Answers to hypothetical questions are easy to give and hard to trust.
Even research teams take this seriously. The National Science Foundation expects teams in its I-Corps program to complete at least 100 interviews with potential customers and other stakeholders. That target is meant for scientists commercializing new technology, and a corner store does not need 100 interviews. But it shows how much weight experienced programs put on hearing from customers directly.
Decide who to talk to
Talk to people who actually have the problem, not people who are likely to be polite. Your cousin will tell you the idea is great. A stranger who paid someone to solve the problem last month will tell you what really happened.
In a small town, good places to find them include:
- Local business owners you already see at the chamber of commerce or the farmers market.
- Members of community Facebook groups, church groups, and civic clubs.
- Customers waiting in line at the places that serve your target group today.
- Staff at the community college, extension office, or library who work with your customers.
Ask for a short conversation
Keep the request small and honest. Something like: I am researching how local shops handle scheduling, and I would value 20 minutes of your time. I am not selling anything. Meeting in person or on a short call usually works better than a survey, because you can follow up on the interesting answers.
Questions that work
Ask about the past, not the future. People are much better at describing what they did than predicting what they would do.
- Tell me about the last time you dealt with this problem.
- What did you do about it?
- What did that cost you in time or money?
- What have you tried before, and what did you not like about it?
- What is the hardest part?
- Who else should I talk to?
Questions to avoid
- Would you buy this? Most people say yes to be kind.
- Do you think this is a good idea? You are asking for a compliment.
- Leading questions, such as “Don’t you hate waiting for repairs?”
- Pitches. The moment you start describing your solution, people start reacting to it instead of describing their own situation.
Listen for signals of a real problem
Strong signals include a workaround they built themselves, money already spent on a partial fix, frustration in their voice, and a specific story about the last time it happened. Weak signals include vague agreement, comments like “someone should do that,” and enthusiasm with no story behind it.
Asking consumers yourself can give you a nuanced understanding of your specific audience, but the SBA also cautions that direct research can be time consuming and expensive. That is a good reason to keep your first round small and focused.
How many conversations are enough?
Aim for ten to fifteen to start. You will probably notice patterns by the sixth or seventh. When you keep hearing the same stories and the same complaints, you have learned most of what a first round can teach. If every conversation sounds different, the problem may be too vague or you may be talking to the wrong group.
Write it down and decide
Within an hour of each conversation, write down what the person said in their own words, what they do today, and what surprised you. After ten conversations, read your notes together and answer three questions:
- Did most people describe the same problem?
- Are they already spending time or money on it?
- Would at least a few of them let you try a simple solution?
If the answers are yes, you have earned the right to build a small first version. If not, adjust the idea or the audience and talk to ten more people. Either result saves you money. If you are still choosing an idea, start with how to find a problem worth solving.