Talk to ten
Ask before you build
Gate cleared when
Interview ten real people about the problem and come back with their exact words.
The read
About ten minutes. Written for the founder, not the parent.
You are not selling yet. Right now you are collecting, and the thing you are collecting is evidence about how people already behave.
This means there is one question you must never ask: “Would you use an app that does X?” Everyone says yes. People are kind, and imagining the future is free, so a yes to that question costs them nothing and tells you nothing. Kids build entire products on that yes and then wonder why nobody buys.
Ask about the past instead. The past is the only part of a person you can trust, because it already happened.
Write their answers down in their own words, not your summary. “She said it takes forever” is a note you cannot use. “She said, ‘I usually give up and just text the group chat and hope someone knows’” is a note that tells you exactly what to build and exactly how to describe it. Their sentences will become your product's sentences later, in module six.
And talk to strangers, not just people who love you. Your parents and your best friend will say yes to everything, because they are saying yes to you and not to the product. Aim for at least half of your ten to be people who have no reason to be nice.
Do this part safely: talk to people in person with a grown-up nearby, or through an account a parent has approved. Never publish your phone number, address, or school. If you are working through this course at home, agree the list of ten with a parent before you start.
The five questions — ask them in this order
- 1“Tell me about the last time that happened.”
- 2“What did you do about it?”
- 3“How long did that take, or what did it cost you?”
- 4“Have you already tried anything to fix it?”
- 5“What would you have to see for this to be worth paying for?”
Your mission
Now go and do this.
Do ten conversations. Five minutes each is plenty. Write the answers down as close to word for word as you can manage, and count how many of the ten actually have the problem — that number matters more than anything else you learn this week.
The trap
Explaining your idea for four minutes and then asking what they think. The moment you pitch, they start being polite, and the interview is over. Ask your five questions before you describe anything.
Definition of done
All four, honestly.
- Ten conversations logged with a name or initials
- For each one: the workaround they use today
- At least three direct quotes, in quotation marks, in their words
- One thing you learned that you did not expect and did not want to hear
Nobody is checking these but you. That is the point — this is the first thing you will ever run where the standards are yours to keep.
Saved in this browser. Tick it when the four lines above are genuinely true.