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. Video · About 26 minutes How to Succeed with a Startup Sam Altman (Y Combinator)
  2. Video · ~4 min The Original Dropbox Demo Video (MVP) Drew Houston
  3. Video · ~45 min Building Product, Talking to Users, and Growing (How to Start a Startup, Lecture 4) Adora Cheung
  4. Video How to Interview Your Customers, Live Demo Justin Wilcox
  5. Meesho's co-founder describes how the company's first idea (a hyperlocal shop-discovery app) failed and how the real business... Y Combinator Startup Library Video On Starting and Scaling Meesho Vidit Aatrey
  6. A short video showing exactly what neutral prompting sounds like when a participant goes quiet mid-task. Watching the actual... Nielsen Norman Group Video · ~5 min Help Users Think Aloud Nielsen Norman Group
  7. Shows an actual demonstration of a facilitator's opening script, the part of the session most founders wing and accidentally... Nielsen Norman Group Video · ~6 min Introducing a Usability Test to the Participant Nielsen Norman Group
  8. Video Customer Discovery: Who Do You Interview Justin Wilcox
  9. Nielsen Norman Group has run user research for decades, and this short video lays out plainly which questions each method... Nielsen Norman Group Video Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative UX Research Nielsen Norman Group
  10. This walks through exactly the analysis step your question is stuck on, how to go from a stack of interview notes to a small... Nielsen Norman Group Video Thematic Analysis of Qualitative User Research Data Maria Rosala
  11. Chesky describes flying across the country to personally sit in hosts' living rooms because nothing in a survey told them why... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~40 min Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky

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 →