Many founders make the mistake of thinking they have validated their idea when they actually have not.

Friends often describe the idea as brilliant. Family members claim they would purchase it. Potential customers respond with enthusiasm.

Yet, no one makes a purchase.

This problem is so common that Irish entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick wrote a book about it called The Mom Test.

The main idea is simple:

• People generally want to be supportive.
• They aim to avoid causing disappointment.

So when you ask whether your idea is good, people often say what they think you want to hear rather than what you really need to know.

Even close family members are likely to say your business idea sounds promising.

That’s why the book is called The Mom Test.

The Problem With Asking for Opinions

• Would you use this?
• Do you like this idea?
• Would you pay for this?
• What is the issue?

The problem?

These kinds of questions make people guess what they might do in the future. But people are usually not very good at predicting what they’ll actually do.

A customer might genuinely think they will buy your product, but when it comes time to buy, their priorities can change.

This leads to a false sense of confidence. Founders might see positive feedback as proof of product-market fit, even when it isn’t really there.

Here’s a real-world example: Before launching Dropbox, founder Drew Houston faced a big challenge.

Cloud storage was a novel concept, and many people found it difficult to understand.

Instead of building an expensive product right away, the team made a simple demo video that explained the problem and how Dropbox could solve it.

The response was highly positive. Thousands of individuals joined the waiting list.

Instead of just asking for opinions, Dropbox looked at what customers actually did.

Customers took concrete action.

This gave the team real confidence that the problem was real and worth solving.

Here’s the main takeaway:

Actions tell you more than opinions ever will.

What Should You Ask Instead?

According to The Mom Test, effective customer conversations focus on past behavior rather than future intentions.

Instead of asking:

“Would you use this?”

Ask:

“How are you solving this problem today?”

Instead of asking:

“Would you pay for this?”

Ask:

“What have you already spent money on to solve this problem?”

Instead of asking:

“Do you like this idea?”

Ask:

“Tell me about the last time this problem happened”

Good customer interviews are more like investigative journalism than sales pitches. The goal is to find out the facts.

You’re not there to collect compliments.

This results in many startups failing because they build solutions before really understanding the problem. Founders often get attached to their own ideas.

Customers, however, value solutions to their own problems.

These perspectives do not always align.

Successful founders spend time trying to understand:

• What frustrates customers?
• How frequently does the problem occur?
• How expensive is the problem?
• What are people currently doing to solve it?
• What happens if they do nothing?

Three Questions Every Founder Should Ask

1. What are customers doing today to solve this problem?
2. How much time, money, or frustration is the problem causing?
3. Have customers already tried to solve it themselves?

If customers are already spending time, money, or effort to solve a problem, there’s a much better chance that a real market exists.

The Scaling Lesson

A major risk in business is developing a product or service that lacks demand.

The Mom Test makes it clear that positive feedback isn’t the same as real validation.

Validation is demonstrated through customer behavior.

• People joining a waiting list.
• People introducing you to others.
• People investing time.
• People spending money.

Businesses that grow successfully do more than listen to feedback. They pay attention to what customers say and watch what customers actually do.

Your Challenge

Rob Fitzpatrick says founders learn the most when they stop trying to prove their ideas and start focusing on understanding their customers.

The next time you speak to a potential customer:

• Don’t tell them about your solution.
• Don’t ask if they like your idea.
• Don’t ask what they would do in the future.

Instead, ask them about a recent time they experienced the problem you are trying to solve.

Listen carefully for:

• What happened?
• How often does it happen?
• What did they do about it?
• What did it cost them in time, money, or frustration?

At the end of the conversation, ask yourself:

Did I learn something new about the problem, or did I spend the conversation trying to prove my idea was right?

The best customer conversations don’t just confirm what you already think.

They challenge your assumptions.