Blog - The Mom Test

What?

This is a pretty famous book by Rob Fitzpatrick. Supposedly, it talks about customer sales and is life changing. I'll be the judge of that.

Ok, so they're right. This is AMAZING. Here's my Notes:

What is The Mom Test?

  1. Talk about their life instead of your idea
  2. Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future
  3. Talk less and listen more

General Points

  • When pitching ideas, don’t talk about your idea if you want actual insight and not useless pity.
  • Rule of thumb: You're shooting blind until you understand their goals.
  • There’s a difference between*: “I-will-pay-to-solve-that” vs “thats-kind-of-annoying-but-I-can-deal-with-it”*
  • Watching someone do a task will show you where the problems and inefficiencies really are, not where the customer thinks they are.
  • Ignore ALL compliments—this shows that you went into pitch mode. Redirect by asking questions.
  • While using generics, people describe themselves as who they want to be, not who they actually are.
  • SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN—don’t interrupt, it is bad manners and loses valuable perspective and information.
  • Start broad with questions, only zoom in if you realize that it’s a problem.
  • 3 BIG QUESTIONS should be READY before interview
  • Product risk vs. Market Risk — if you have a product that people actually want, the risk isn’t “market”, its whether the product itself can be created
  • Keep it casual—don’t waste time scheduling long meetings initially, you can get information in a couple minutes.
  • Meeting “Currencies”—the success of a meeting depends on how much they’re giving up (e.g. time, money, or connections)
  • Create your own meeting places: gives you credibility and easy connection to industry experts.
  • Calls are terrible: no body language, more formal, and casual vibes.
  • Meetings—Keep having them until you stop learning new things.
    • If you don’t know what you’re trying to learn, what’s the point?
    • Have a cofounder on call to take notes and make sure you’re not tripping.
    • Take NOTES and REVIEW meetings
  • Don’t have broad customer segments, as that makes your product less specialized.
    • Always start specialized, and then generalize.
    • Reachable, profitable, and rewarding
    • “Startups don’t starve, they drown”
  • Sometimes, you can just “Hack the Knot”. Don’t get too caught up on this.