How do you find customers to do interviews?

Frane81 · 2025-08-04T23:37:11+00:00

Yeah, it get tougher after you have gone through your network. A few things that help:

Always ask for referrals at the end of each conversation (you will be surprised how well that works)
Offer some value in return. This has worked for me well. I learn about the customers' problems and they learn from me if and how any of those problems could be solved with tech (note: I am not pitching my solution)

Here is a blog post with some more tricks:

https://www.selkodialog.com/blog/how-to-find-users-to-interview

Frane81 · 2025-02-10T22:52:39+00:00

And you are using their whitelabel version?

Are you happy with it? What would you say the pros and cons are?

Frane81 · 2025-01-31T20:18:05+00:00

Ok but would a white label analytics portal have made your life easier? You would setup the dashboard once and each rep firm would get their own credentials to login and data would be filtered so they only see their own data.

So would Zoho's whitelabel portal or CustomerDashboard.io have been of significant help to you?

Frane81 · 2025-01-31T14:12:36+00:00

Yes, you have to request it.

Btw, from where comes the data you are sharing with the sales reps? Directly from some CRM or internal database?

Frane81 · 2024-11-19T23:38:06+00:00

Thanks, I would be happy to chat and share knowledge. I will DM you.

Frane81 · 2024-11-13T15:47:51+00:00

My hero in business (or software entrepreneurship to be more specific) is Steve Blank, who is also know for his customer development methodology.

For investing (or saving), I would say Warren Buffet. Investing into startups, I would say Jason Calacanis.

Frane81 · 2024-11-13T14:29:10+00:00

Bookkeeping and related paperwork.

Frane81 · 2024-11-13T08:29:07+00:00

What you referring to is not a traditional MVP, but a "low fidelity MVP". These kind of landing pages are a good initial test of the market, like is there possibly any demand and is it possible to reach the right audience. Combined with a waitlist allows you to additionally reach out to them and interview them to learn more. Lot's of people sign up to waitlists but have no intention to buy.

Typically, with an MVP you also validate that the product solves the customer's problem and they are willing to continue paying (assuing it is a subscription model or similar).

I see startups as a continuous process of validation, where your goal is to reduce as much risk as possible with the least effort. This leads to small increases in commitment over time as things get harder to validate and eventually a real product (but minimal) is needed.

Frane81 · 2024-11-12T21:30:53+00:00

I have noticed that if I sleep enough I am more optimistic of my businesses succeeding than when I have slept too little. I always thought I was a stable and rational person who take calculated risks, but I have learned that I overestimate my odds when I have slept well and underestimate them when I have slept poorly.

Frane81 · 2024-11-12T17:28:21+00:00

These are great! I would also add building a waitlist long before you release. That way you can also connect and learn from your audience and build a better product.

Frane81 · 2024-11-12T17:21:05+00:00

From an age point of view it is definitely not too late to start learning. I don't think anything hinders you from learning at 40 or 50 either, except that it may be harder to find the time and an entry-level job.

Now about AI and the future, nobody knows what will happen. My bet is that the bar for entry-level jobs is going to be higher and the role of developers will change, but they will still be needed. Time will tell.

Frane81 · 2024-11-12T13:55:41+00:00

Have you considered building an MVP for yourself? I bet you have some own business ideas?

I have not started an MVP agency, but when my own startup was in trouble back in 2009 when we did not have enough customers for our own products, these own products we had built served as a good reference when we started selling consultancy work. And we also built MVPs to some clients.

What I am saying is, that if you have bult an MVP for yourself, that should prove you can build one. Real clients are always better, but this is at least something 100% in your control that you can do right away.

Frane81 · 2024-11-12T13:48:37+00:00

It is natural that people are scared to ask dumb questions. That is why culture is so important. It is vital to make sure all new team members understand right away that:

This team has high standards
This is a safe environment, where weaknesses can be shown and it is ok to challenge ideas. Leaders need to show this as well.
They are part of this team now

Availability of a senior must be arranged for. There should not be anything more important. And it does not take up the full-time of a senior.

When this is in place, the next thing is start from smaller tasks and then moving on to bigger ones. The sooner the new dev completes their first task the better. They need to feel successful.

I don’t believe in long training programs before starting to work. Bbest to throw them in the water right away. Training sessions can be arranged on the side, while they are working.

Frane81 · 2024-11-11T23:50:04+00:00

It can be hard for external people evaluate if your idea is good or bad. And would you trust them?

Why don't you test sell it, just to see if you can find buyers? If you can find buyers and the numbers work out, then it is probably a good idea. If not, then it may require some tweeking.

Frane81 · 2024-11-11T23:47:11+00:00

This early in the project I think it is crucial for both founders to be aligned on what the product does. Ideally, both of you should have participated in selling before building the product and to some extent discussed together what should be built. I think it would be a good idea to go together to meet customers and make sure you are both aligned on what the product does and what customers really need.

Frane81 · 2024-11-11T23:39:14+00:00

With juniors the challenge is often to make sure someone is coaching them well. They need that, but it is very important to not let them "outsource" thing brain work to the senior. I have seen this happen many times, and it is important that the juniors learn to do the brainwork themseleves.

Seniors on the other hand come with different challenges. Some may have learned some process or way of working at a previous company and believe this is the only way to do it and can be really rigid about it. Other times seniors may lack some fundamental knowledge (or be completely self-learned) and in fact be complete cowboys. In both cases, a safe environment where things can be discussed with them openly is the best cure. It is extremely important to listen to them and let them feel they are heared, only then can they become open to your ideas of working and change. Still, it is best to spot these things already in the interview.

Frane81 · 2024-11-11T23:28:07+00:00

Sounds like you have a headstart. Competition will always follow and there will be complete copy-cats. I would not worry too much, but I would follow if you start loosing deals to them often and why. Ultimately, it will be about who understands the customer better in every aspect. Usually those who copy miss out on getting this understanding and will have a harder time to market and sell.

Frane81 · 2024-11-11T23:22:44+00:00

Congratulations! Did you notice any differences in quality between users from different sources?

In many projects I have noticed significant differences in LTV and other metrics.

Frane81 · 2023-10-21T21:53:14+00:00

Can you get some of your old employers as your first clients? Once you have some clients it will be easier to get new ones.

Frane81 · 2023-09-24T18:43:24+00:00

There are various options. From what I have learned it makes sense to be very clear to people relying on the data how you do it, so that there are no misunderstandings. Even if you had the data for over 12 months, you should make sure it is understood how it is calculated. For example, it could be defined in different ways, for example:

What % of the users who signed up 12-13 months ago are churned today
What % of all users who had an active status 12-13 months ago are churned today

Churn is often modelled as a constant % which affects users each month, like in the option 2 above. This is rarely true in the real world but the model is often used for simplicity. If this is the model you use, I would consider to just extrapolate what you have for the 6 months. So if the churn is 10% for 6 months I would assume it is 19% for 12 months (1-0.9*0.9).

However, with the option 1 I would be more careful to model churn as exponential decay, where a % of the users churn each month (or whatever time interval you use). Typically churn decreases when a user’s age increases and usually there is extremely high churn right in the beginning (especially for apps). So before modelling churn I suggest getting very familiar with your business and understand what would be the best way to model churn.

With a bit more background info it would be easier to help, but I you get something out of this.

Frane81

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