Every founder starts with assumptions. You think you know who your customer is, what they need, and how much they'd pay. But thinking isn't knowing — and the gap between the two is where most startups quietly die.
🎯 Start with who, not what
Before you build anything, you need to know who you're building for. Not a demographic — a person. What does their Tuesday morning look like? What frustrates them? What have they already tried?
"The biggest risk for a startup isn't building the wrong thing — it's building the right thing for the wrong person."
Anna helps you structure these conversations. She'll push you to move past surface-level personas and dig into the daily reality of the people you want to serve.
🔥 The five questions that matter
Customer interviews don't need to be complicated. Focus on these five:
- Tell me about the last time you… — anchors the conversation in real behaviour
- What was the hardest part? — reveals the actual pain point
- What did you do about it? — shows whether the pain is real enough to act on
- What don't you love about that solution? — uncovers your opening
- If you could wave a magic wand… — separates nice-to-haves from must-haves
💡 Pro tip: Never ask "Would you use this?" or "Would you pay for this?" — people are terrible at predicting their own future behaviour. Watch what they do, not what they say they'd do.
🚀 From interviews to insights
After ten conversations, patterns emerge. You'll notice the same frustrations repeated, the same workarounds described, the same language used. Those patterns are your roadmap.
Clustering your findings
Group your notes by theme, not by person. Look for signals that at least 3 of your 10 interviewees share. One person's problem is an anecdote. Three people's problem is a market.
This is where Edventures' Canvas tool shines — plot your findings visually, connect insights to your value proposition, and see where the gaps are before you write a line of code.
What's next
Customer discovery isn't a phase you complete — it's a habit you build. The best founders never stop talking to customers, even after product-market fit. Start with five conversations this week. You'll be surprised what you learn.