Around a year ago I watched Ole Lehmann prepare for a launch in the most exhausting way possible. He blocked out an entire week - nothing but customer calls. Back to back, dawn to dusk.
I remember messaging with him during that week. He was absolutely shattered.
"This seems excessive," I thought at the time "Surely a few calls would do?"
Then he launched. The numbers were insane. Product-market fit from day one.
Why? He'd listened. Really listened.
And then built in everything they'd told him. The product was like a custom suit - fitted perfectly because he'd taken every measurement.
Let's get started:
You cannot build a successful business without talking to customers. Full stop.
Sorry! I know…if you’re like me you’d probably prefer to hide behind a computer. But we can’t!
Good news is we can make it painless. That’s what we’re doing today.
Not talking to customers leads to big expensive mistakes. And lots of wasted time.
Even a giant like Google makes this mistake. Remember AI Overviews from May 2024? They forced AI summaries on everyone's search results without asking if anyone actually wanted them.
The results? Catastrophic. The AI told people to add glue to pizza. It gave dangerous medical advice. Users hated the messy interface that made finding real sources impossible.
Google basically broke their main product: Google Search.
Google - with infinite resources and data - assumed they knew what users wanted. They built first, asked questions never. Quick rollback and public outrage followed.
But at least we ate some yummy rocks in the meantime as it suggested.
If Google can fail this badly by skipping customer validation, what hope do we have?
I don't care how good your research is. How obvious the problem seems. How confident you feel. Until you've heard real people describe their real problems in their real words, you're guessing.
And here's the thing - it's not about asking "would this be useful?" That's leading the witness. People will say yes to be polite.
Instead it's about listening. Really listening. To their language. Their emotions. The specific words they use when something drives them crazy.
Before you talk to real prospects, let's practice with fellow builders.
In the WhatsApp group, we're doing interview exchanges. Just drop a message like "I'm exploring [market/problem]. Anyone willing to do a 15-min practice interview? Happy to return the favour for your market if I’m part of it!"
This gives you:
It’s stress free practice to ease you in. Try to make sure that they are still someone who is a potential customer though - ie. if you are looking at the accountancy market ask for accountants!
Before you talk to real prospects feel free to practice with fellow builders. In the WhatsApp group, we're doing interview exchanges:
Your post: "I'm exploring [market/problem]. Anyone willing to do a 15-min practice interview? Happy to return the favour for your market!"
This gives you:
And most of all confidence! We make the first one super friendly so that doing subsequent calls feels more natural.
Make sure the people you talk to are actually in the market though! If you are exploring the accountancy market make sure they are an accountant!
When we’re moving to find “real” people it’s much easier if you have an audience in place.
When Ole did his 50+ calls, many were from his existing audience. They already trusted him. They wanted to help. Some even became beta testers and first customers.
This by the way is why Week 2 focuses on building in public - we're growing an audience while building our product. Because launching with even a small audience is 10x easier than launching to crickets.
If you already have an audience? Brilliant. Offer them beta access or a future discount for their time. They'll queue up to help. It’s a genuine game changer.
No audience yet? That's fine - but it shows why we start building one immediately! Every day you're not building an audience is a day you're making your future launches harder. And any audience you gather during this building and launching process you can talk to for your next launch too…it becomes a valuable asset.
Just saying “go build an audience” isn’t helpful if you don’t have one!
So…here’s a neat technique technique that works whether you have an audience or not - the one question post. Drop this prompt in:
You are a customer development expert. Help me craft ONE powerful question to post in communities where my target market hangs out.
My market: [Your market]
My problem hypothesis: [Your specific problem]
Create three versions of this question for:
1. LinkedIn (professional tone)
- Posted to relevant industry groups
- Positions me as researching, not selling
2. Reddit (casual, community tone)
- Fits the subreddit culture
- Encourages detailed responses
3. Twitter/X (concise, engaging)
- Under 280 characters
- Likely to get responses
The question should:
- Focus on their experience, not my solution
- Encourage specific stories, not yes/no answers
- Feel like genuine curiosity, not market research
Example format: "For those in [industry], what's the most time-consuming part of [process]? Curious about everyone's different approaches."We’re going to take the results and post where our customers already hang out: LinkedIn groups, industry sub-Reddits on Reddit, forums etc. Places where you don’t need to build an audience but instead can tap into one.
We also don’t post a whole litany of questions. I have startups do this to me a lot - asking me for feedback on their product and then sending me 10 pages of survey questions. No way am I taking the time to do that.
Instead ask ONE solid question and people are much more likely to answer.
Post this question in 3-5 places. Those who give detailed, passionate answers? Those are your interview targets. Reach out to them for calls.
This works because:
After practice rounds and social posts, it's time for the real validation.
First up let’s get you a basic script so you aren’t wondering what on earth to ask. I’m trying to remove as much friction as possible for you here! I know this stuff is hard…but it’s so important.
Use this prompt with your AI, preferably below everything else you’ve been working on. Or pull in the relevant details:
You are an expert at customer development interviews. Create a conversational interview script for validating my market entry strategy.
My market: [Your chosen market]
My wedge: [Specific problem you're solving]
My hypothesis: [Your one-sentence positioning from yesterday]
Create a 15-minute interview script that:
1. Opens warmly (not pitching)
"Thanks for taking the time. I'm researching [problem area] to understand it better - not selling anything, just learning from people who deal with this daily."
2. Gets them telling stories
- "Can you walk me through the last time you dealt with [problem]?"
- "What does your current process look like?"
- "How long does that typically take?"
- [Include probing follow-ups for each]
3. Uncovers emotional triggers
- "What's the most frustrating part of this?"
- "How does it feel when [problem occurs]?"
- "What happens if this doesn't get done right?"
4. Explores costs (without being pushy)
- "How often does this come up?"
- "Who typically handles this?"
- "Have you tried any tools or solutions?"
- "What would fixing this be worth in time saved?"
5. Tests commitment subtly
- "In an ideal world, how would this work?"
- "What would need to be true for you to try a new approach?"
- "Can I share what I learn with you?"
Include reminders to:
- LISTEN more than talk
- Ask "tell me more about that" often
- Note exact words they use
- Watch for emotional reactionsThis gives you the outline of what you’ll cover in the call. Remember though that you are primarily listening. If someone just talks then let them! Listen to the language they use, what makes them emotive and what topics they keep circling back to. Often how they say something will be more important that what they are actually saying.
Remember: Do NOT lead them to your solution. You're not validating your idea - you're understanding their reality.
Listen for:
Red flags:
Green flags:
Here are a few basic templates that have worked for me in the past to get people onto calls.
LinkedIn/Professional: "Hi [Name], I noticed you work in [industry] and might face [problem]. I'm researching how professionals handle this - would you be open to a brief chat? No pitch, just learning. Happy to share my findings with you."
Reddit/Community: "Hey, saw your comment about [specific problem]. I'm researching this exact issue - mind if I ask you a few questions? Can do it here or quick call, whatever works."
Twitter/X DM: "Your tweet about [problem] really resonated. I'm researching solutions in this space - could I ask you about your experience? 15 min call or happy to do it async here."
The main thing is that they don’t think you are trying to sell them anything! And that’s true - right now you don’t have anything to sell! Tell them that! It’s just informational. Also, keep the calls tight - 15 mins or so tops. People are busy so don’t ask them for 1 hour calls or any madness like that!
By end of today:
Share your validation commitment:
"Day 5: Time to stop guessing and start listening.
This weekend:
Feel scary but how else will I know what people actually want? Who else is ready to actually talk to customers?"