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JUMPSTART
JUMPSTART
Point your startup in
THE RIGHT DIRECTION
by asking the right questions
Mark
Altosaar
Carefully interviewing your potential market
can lead to valuable insights that can really
help your product to stand out
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THE TWO QUESTIONS TO ASK
While a customer interview might cover many topics, I suggest
starting with these two open-ended questions.
“As a _______, what keeps you up at night?”
For example, you might ask: “As a single-parent, what keeps you
up at night?”
This type of question works well, no matter who your potential
customers might be.
By asking this question, the potential customer will describe,
in their own words, what their biggest worries are. The
responses can be surprising and can lead to a great number of
insights.
If they have talked about an interesting area, you can say “tell
me more about that,” or “I’m not sure I totally understand, can you
describe that in more detail?”
Asking a potential customer what keeps them up at night is a
great question, and can give you real understanding of their lives
and the context in which to frame your potential solution.
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The next crucial question that I ask:
CREATE SOMETHING
REMARKABLE
The purpose of any startup is to create something
remarkable. I believe that it’s very easy to create
something remarkable – all you need to do is bring
happiness to your customers.
Customer happiness isn’t a nebulous concept. The
simplest way to bring happiness to your customers is
to solve a valuable problem for them.
The challenge lies with knowing that you’re solving
a valuable problem. For that, you need to make sure
that you’re asking your potential customers the right
questions.
Once you have identified the problems, pains and
frustrations that your potential customers face, your
life as a startup gets easier. You can save time and
effort by only focusing on the features that are valued
by customers. You’ll start to find that your team is
more passionate, dedicated and excited about their
mission and, in time, you’ll be able to start attracting
people to join your cause.
Many startups begin life chasing a perceived
business opportunity, but I believe that what gets
people really excited is the prospect of innovating
and creating a solution, providing a practical
resolution to problems and improving people’s lives.
Experts
SOLUTIONS NEED TO FIT
INTO LIVES
If you’re in the business of solving problems for
people, it’s crucial to develop a deep understanding
of their lives. No products are ever used in
isolation. You need to be able to frame your solution
so that it fits in the larger context of their lives. The
way to get this information is to go out, find your
users, observe them and interview them in person.
“What are your biggest frustrations or challenges when
trying to accomplish ______?”
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For example, you might ask, “What are your biggest frustrations
when trying to give directions to a friend who is meeting you at a
new restaurant that has just opened up in your neighborhood?”
With this question, you’ll find out their pain points related to
the task they want to accomplish. As with the earlier question,
it’s a good idea to use it as a start and dive deeper into what they
tell you.
Why I also like these questions is that they are not asking the
potential customer to think about a solution. (That’s your job!)
These questions and their answers are providing you with the
raw data from which you can create insights.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mark is happiest when he’s leading the creation of products
and services that improve the lives of people. He’s
managed the product and user experience strategy for
websites and software used by millions around the world.
www.markaltosaar.com
LATHER. RINSE. REPEAT.
The process of discovering your customer’s pain points through inperson interviewing is continual throughout the life cycle of your
startup. After each interview session, share the knowledge with your
team. When the team knows that they are solving a valuable problem,
this empowers them to participate with a deeper sense of meaning