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The Mom Test cover

The Mom Test

How to Talk to Customers and Learn If Your Business Is a Good Idea When Everyone Is Lying to You

Ask about their life, not your idea, to get honest answers.

by Rob Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick teaches founders how to interview potential customers without biasing the answers, even when people are inclined to be polite and lie to you. The core idea is to ask about the customer's actual life and past behavior rather than pitching your idea and fishing for validation. It is a short, practical guide to running conversations that produce real, decision-grade information.

Most founders accidentally collect false validation that leads them to build the wrong thing. This book gives a simple, repeatable method for customer conversations that actually test whether an idea is worth pursuing.

Where to get it