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. A YC partner turns 'talk to users' into a repeatable 5-question interview script you can use this afternoon. It's The Mom Test... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky (YC / founder of Pebble) In 14 answers
  2. Video · ~20 min How To Talk To Users | Startup School Gustaf Alstromer In 9 answers
  3. Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky In 5 answers
  4. Michael Seibel's crisp framing of holding the problem and customer tightly while holding the solution loosely, the mindset that... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~15 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel In 4 answers
  5. Video · ~20 min How to do customer interviews? | Rob Fitzpatrick, author of "The Mom Test" Rob Fitzpatrick In 3 answers
  6. Reading about the switch interview is one thing, watching one run live is another. Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek interview an... Business of Software Video Uncovering the Jobs to Be Done (with a live switch interview) Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek In 3 answers
  7. A two-minute animation showing why building before talking to customers wastes months. Useful to send a cofounder who wants to... Steve Blank Video · 2 min Customer Discovery: The Search for Product/Market Fit. 2 Minutes to See Why Steve Blank In 3 answers
  8. Migicovsky built Pebble on hundreds of these conversations, and this lecture is the specific playbook: how to find your first... Y Combinator Library Video · ~50 min How to Start a Startup: Talking to Users Eric Migicovsky In 3 answers
  9. Video · ~20 min Customer Discovery: What Do You Ask Justin Wilcox In 3 answers
  10. Video · About 3 minutes Steve Blank: Want Your Startup to Succeed? Get Out of the Building Steve Blank (Inc. Magazine) In 2 answers
  11. Video · ~5 min Clay Christensen: The Jobs to be Done Theory (the milkshake example) Clayton Christensen (HubSpot Marketing) In 2 answers
  12. Video How to Validate an App Idea in 2026 (Customer Interviews, Landing Pages & Reddit) Varun Mayya In 2 answers
  13. A short, plain spoken walkthrough of the same mistakes in action, useful if watching an example lands faster for you than... Nielsen Norman Group Video · 6 minutes Five User Interview Mistakes to Avoid (in 5 Minutes) Therese Fessenden In 2 answers
  14. Video · ~13 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel (YC)
  15. A step-by-step, modern YC walkthrough of identifying buyers, starting conversations, and converting them into your first... YC Startup Library Video · ~20 min How to Get Your First 10 Customers Max Kolysh (Y Combinator)
  16. Video · ~50 min How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Kevin Hale
  17. Video · ~25 min How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Jared Friedman
  18. Video · ~35 min How to Pitch Your Startup Kevin Hale
  19. Video · About 55 minutes The Lean Startup | Eric Ries | Talks at Google Eric Ries
  20. Video · ~10 min How to get your first ten customers Michael Seibel
  21. Video · About 30 minutes Rahul Vohra (Founder/CEO, Superhuman) - The Product-Market Fit Engine Rahul Vohra
  22. Video · About 50 minutes Julie Zhuo: How a Facebook Designer Thinks Julie Zhuo
  23. Video · Talk, roughly 30 minutes David Rusenko: How To Find Product Market Fit David Rusenko (Weebly co-founder)
  24. Video · ~45 min Obviously Awesome: April Dunford's Positioning Do-Over April Dunford

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? 24 → 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? 2 → How specific should my target customer be when I'm just starting? 3 → What's the difference between an ICP, a buyer persona, and a target market? 2 → How do I know if I'm targeting the wrong customer? 2 → Should I focus on one customer segment or serve everyone who'll pay? 2 → 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? 2 → How do I pick which niche to go after first? 3 → 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? 2 → 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 →