Business Startups Entrepreneurship

The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea when Everyone is Lying to You (Summary)

by Rob Fitzpatrick

You've got a brilliant idea for a new app. You pitch it to your mom, and she says, 'That's amazing, honey! I would totally use it!' You feel great, but you just learned absolutely nothing. In fact, you've been lied to. The Mom Test argues that asking for opinions is the fastest way to get useless compliments, and the only way to get the truth is to stop talking about your idea and instead ask about your customers' past behavior.

Stop Fishing for Compliments

People will lie to be nice. Any question that invites an opinion or a compliment ('Do you think my idea is good?') will give you bad, misleading data. You must ask questions about their life and past behaviors to get to the truth.

Instead of asking, 'Would you buy a meal-planning app?', ask, 'What was the last thing you did to try and solve your meal-planning problem?' If they say 'nothing,' your idea isn't solving a real pain point. If they show you a complex spreadsheet they built, you've found a real customer.

Talk About Their Life, Not Your Idea

In early customer conversations, you should avoid mentioning your idea for as long as possible. The goal is to learn about the customer's workflow, problems, and frustrations. The more you talk, the less you learn.

A founder building a tool for conference organizers shouldn't start by pitching their software. They should ask, 'Could you walk me through how you planned your last conference? What parts took the most time? What went wrong?' This uncovers the real problems they face, which might be completely different from what the founder assumed.

Measure Conversations by Commitment, Not Compliments

A successful customer meeting isn't one where they say they love your idea. It's one that ends with a clear next step that requires them to give up something valuable, such as their time, reputation, or money.

Instead of ending a meeting with 'Great, thanks for the feedback!', a successful ending secures a concrete commitment. This could be, 'The next step is a pilot program that costs $100. Are you in?' or 'Can you introduce me to your boss who holds the budget for this?' A 'yes' to these questions is a real signal of interest.

Keep it Casual to Get the Truth

Pitching your idea formally puts people on the defensive and makes them less likely to share honest feedback. Framing the conversation as seeking advice or help makes them more likely to open up about their real problems.

Don't schedule a meeting to 'pitch your business.' Instead, say, 'I'm an entrepreneur exploring the challenges in [their industry], and I was hoping to get your advice on a few things.' This 'Visions & Villains' framing makes them a collaborator in your problem-solving process, not a judge of your idea.

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