Another common question we get at Office Hours is how do I find potential customers for discovery? Let’s assume you already have an idea, and are exploring who to speak with to vet the idea.

Who is your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)?

Let’s start with making sure you can define your ICP. Too broad and there are too many options, too narrow and there are not enough. Once you define a focused ICP, then figure out where do they hang out … online, at a physical store, at conferences, etc. Go to those places to speak with them. Setup a landing page or build a community, of which anyone who engages can be a discovery conversation. You can also leverage referrals from connections to speak with people that fit your ICP.

What are you listening for?

Please read The Mom Test. Do not ask them questions about your idea, rather ask them about what they currently do and have done in the past. What are their biggest challenges? How have they tried to solve them? When was the last time it happened? Have they considered buying a product to solve the problem (why/why not)? How did it work? Be careful listening to someone be kind to you and tell you that you have a great idea, they would use the product, and they would pay for it … they are probably just being nice. Pay far more attention to what they do.

How easy are the conversations?

If you feel like people are easy to find, take your conversations, and 15 min calls go on for an hour (with the customer doing most of the talking), those can all be great signs you could be on to something. If you can’t find potential customers, nobody wants to talk, and they answer most of your questions quickly with yes/no answers that can be a sign you might need to pivot the idea.

Customer discovery is a key component of starting a business and making sure you truly find authentic demand. Be careful flying past this stage in order to build an MVP before truly understanding your ICP, their problem, what they already do to solve it, and why the current way is not good enough.