Great article that summarizes a lot of what we've found in the early 0-1 phase. Asking the right questions to pass the mom test is surprisingly hard.
One thing to note is just how *hard* the true process is, when followed correctly. The only shortcuts are starting off with something that you know people want (building something that people *already* pay for but cheaper / faster) or taking something a lot of ppl use and fitting it to a growing niche (maybe a good example here is the Overture -> Google model, but not sure).
Hey James! I think this is my favorite of the articles you've published so far, some really useful insights here. The note about click through rate being a next-to-useless metric is super interesting.
I'll add one thing. There's somebody who's super big in the copywriting world (I think Ben Settle but I don't remember exactly who) who says instead of asking "would you buy this?" you should ask people "what have you bought in the past, and how much money have you spent on it?" That's a more objective question and thus much harder for people to lie about!
-Yes, click-through-rate is a terrible metric, yet I still see a lot of founders take it really seriously without a second thought. I hope that me hammering it in at least every other article will start to turn the tide :)
-"What have you bought in the past and how much money have you spent on it?" is definitely a better question than "Would you buy this?" but I also think there are even better questions out there that provide much better information. I would check out 'The Mom Test' for more info on how to ask meaningful questions.
Great article that summarizes a lot of what we've found in the early 0-1 phase. Asking the right questions to pass the mom test is surprisingly hard.
One thing to note is just how *hard* the true process is, when followed correctly. The only shortcuts are starting off with something that you know people want (building something that people *already* pay for but cheaper / faster) or taking something a lot of ppl use and fitting it to a growing niche (maybe a good example here is the Overture -> Google model, but not sure).
Couldn't agree more. I did my best to zoom out and take a 360 view of the whole process, but it's certainly not easy to execute effectively.
Hey James! I think this is my favorite of the articles you've published so far, some really useful insights here. The note about click through rate being a next-to-useless metric is super interesting.
I'll add one thing. There's somebody who's super big in the copywriting world (I think Ben Settle but I don't remember exactly who) who says instead of asking "would you buy this?" you should ask people "what have you bought in the past, and how much money have you spent on it?" That's a more objective question and thus much harder for people to lie about!
Glad you found it helpful Theo!
-Yes, click-through-rate is a terrible metric, yet I still see a lot of founders take it really seriously without a second thought. I hope that me hammering it in at least every other article will start to turn the tide :)
-"What have you bought in the past and how much money have you spent on it?" is definitely a better question than "Would you buy this?" but I also think there are even better questions out there that provide much better information. I would check out 'The Mom Test' for more info on how to ask meaningful questions.