Understand your customers

Talk to real users, define who you're for, and read the market clearly.

What founders use for understand your customers, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. This is a catalogue of the specific ways founders sabotage their own sessions, including talking too much, asking hypothetical... Nielsen Norman Group Article Why User Interviews Fail Nielsen Norman Group In 2 answers
  2. This explains why people behave differently the instant they know you're watching, which is the deeper reason your own presence... Nielsen Norman Group Article The Hawthorne Effect or Observer Bias in User Research Nielsen Norman Group In 2 answers
  3. Wilcox gives you a literal five question script built entirely around a recent problem, not your product, which is exactly the... Justin Wilcox, Customer Development Labs Essay How I Interview Customers Justin Wilcox In 2 answers
  4. A two minute companion to the longer HBR piece above, this is the one line version of our short answer you can forward to... Harvard Business Review Article Instead of Surveying Your Customers, Interview Them Harvard Business Review In 2 answers
  5. This is the clearest playbook for show, don't ask. The five day structure ends with a rough, facade-level prototype in front of... Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Braden Kowitz Book · ~280 pages Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days Jake Knapp In 2 answers
  6. A broader companion to the leading questions piece, this covers the shape of a whole interview, from opening rapport to the... Nielsen Norman Group Article · 10 minute read Interviewing Users Jakob Nielsen In 2 answers
  7. Young pushes past surface level feedback into a customer's actual reasoning and guiding principles, which matters once you are... indiyoung.com Book · 250 pages Time to Listen Indi Young In 2 answers
  8. Julian Shapiro's handbook makes the growth marketer's case for a narrow ICP: going broad invites a competitor to pick off your... julian.com Essay · 30 min read Startup Handbook Julian Shapiro In 2 answers
  9. This piece is built entirely around the phrase super-specific who, consumer-side evidence for the same logic our short answer... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~12 min read How to kickstart and scale a consumer business: Step 2, Identify your super-specific who Lenny Rachitsky In 2 answers
  10. This framework explains why the next ring of users you are chasing often behaves nothing like your current best users, and why... Bangaly Kaba, on Andrew Chen's blog Essay The Adjacent User Theory Bangaly Kaba In 2 answers
  11. Chen's core claim, that the next big network product always looks like it is for a small, tight niche at first, is directly... Andrew Chen (andrewchen.com) Essay · 20 min read The Cold Start Problem, Chapter One preview Andrew Chen In 2 answers
  12. A short, pointed essay on why the best ideas grow organically out of the founder's own life and knowledge, the essence of... paulgraham.com Article · ~5 min read Organic Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  13. Twenty founders describe the pivotal moments on their path to fit, and a recurring theme is why the right founder for the right... First Round Review Article · ~25 min read The Only Way to Win: Advice for Founders From Founders First Round Review
  14. A free, author-written summary of the positioning framework for founders who want the core idea before buying the book, perfect... aprildunford.com Article · ~8 min read My Positioning Book 'Obviously Awesome' Launches Today April Dunford
  15. The customer-development originator's clearest statement on scoping the minimum feature set to reach your earliest believers.... steveblank.com Article · ~8 min read Perfection by Subtraction, The Minimum Feature Set Steve Blank
  16. The most accessible, practical intro to usability ever written, you can read it in a weekend and immediately fix your product.... sensible.com Book · ~200 pages Don't Make Me Think, Revisited Steve Krug
  17. The definitive text on how strong product teams discover and deliver products customers love, from the most cited voice in... Silicon Valley Product Group Book · ~370 pages INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (2nd Ed.) Marty Cagan
  18. A data-backed teardown of how companies like Figma, Gusto, and Vanta actually sourced their earliest customers. Replaces... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read How today's fastest-growing B2B startups found their first ten customers Lenny Rachitsky
  19. A tactical follow-on covering the channels and motions top B2B startups scale after the first ten. Grounds distribution... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read How to win your first 10 B2B customers Lenny Rachitsky
  20. A candid Q&A where a top sales founder answers real early-founder questions on outreach, persistence, and closing.... Stripe Atlas Guides Article · ~15 min read AMA with Steli Efti (Stripe Atlas) Steli Efti / Stripe Atlas
  21. The research-backed classic on consultative selling, the antidote to 'pushy salesperson' instincts. Its... McGraw-Hill Book · book (~200 pages) SPIN Selling Neil Rackham
  22. The definitive framework for building products people return to without paid nudges, the Hook Model, backed by a million-plus... Portfolio / Penguin (nirandfar.com) Book · Book (~256 pages) Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Nir Eyal (with Ryan Hoover)
  23. Patrick Campbell built ProfitWell on pricing data from thousands of companies, and this is the single best free deep-dive on... lennysnewsletter.com Article · long-form guide Pricing Your SaaS Product Patrick Campbell (ProfitWell), via Lenny's Newsletter
  24. Altman's condensed operating manual for founders, including sharp guidance on focus, spending your time on what only you can... playbook.samaltman.com Article · long Startup Playbook Sam Altman

Show the next 24

The questions

Talking to customers & user research 18

Learn the truth without leading the witness.

How do I talk to customers without them just telling me what I want to hear? 23 → What questions should I actually ask in a customer interview? 22 → How many customer interviews do I need before I trust the signal? 24 → Where do I find people to interview when I have zero audience? 24 → How do I run customer discovery as an Indian founder building for Indian users? 24 → All 18 questions in Talking to customers & user research →
Defining your ideal customer 18

Know exactly who you're for (and who you're not).

What is an ideal customer profile and how do I define mine? 24 → How specific should my target customer be when I'm just starting? 24 → What's the difference between an ICP, a buyer persona, and a target market? 24 → How do I know if I'm targeting the wrong customer? 24 → Should I focus on one customer segment or serve everyone who'll pay? 23 → All 18 questions in Defining your ideal customer →
Finding your niche / beachhead 17

Win a tiny market completely before going wide.

What is a beachhead market and why does everyone say to start with one? 1 → How do I pick which niche to go after first? 2 → Isn't picking a tiny niche going to limit how big I can get? 2 → How do I know when I've won my niche and it's time to expand? 1 → How do I find a defensible niche in a market full of big incumbents? 2 → All 17 questions in Finding your niche / beachhead →
Understanding the problem (JTBD) 17

People hire products to do a job, find the job.

What does 'jobs to be done' actually mean? 2 → How is JTBD different from features, personas, or user needs? 2 → How do I actually uncover the job my customers are hiring my product for? 3 → Who are my real competitors once I think in jobs to be done? 3 → How do I turn a job to be done into product and messaging decisions? 2 → All 17 questions in Understanding the problem (JTBD) →
Competitive & market research 18

Know the landscape better than the incumbents.

How do I research my competitors properly? 2 → What if my customers say they have no competitors, is that good or bad? 2 → What tools should I use to track competitors and market landscape? 2 → How do I position against a bigger, better-funded competitor? 2 → How do I size the market and figure out if it's big enough? 2 → All 18 questions in Competitive & market research →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →