The Mom Test
by Rob Fitzpatrick · 2013
How to talk to customers and get the truth.
About
A short, practical guide to customer conversations that avoid false positives.
Official summary
A set of simple rules for customer interviews: talk about their life instead of your idea, ask about specifics in the past instead of generics about the future, and talk less - so you extract honest signal instead of polite encouragement.
Why it’s an important read
Bad customer research kills more startups than bad products. This is the fastest way to run interviews that don’t lie to you.
The single most useful book for pre-product founders. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past behavior rather than pitching your idea and fishing for validation.
