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The Mom Test Playbook
Ever launched a feature you’re excited about that lands with a thud?
Me too.
But the problem began before you even started to write code.
It started when you talked to your first potential customer.
When you mention your idea, people switch into "supportive friend" mode.
They want to encourage you, so they exaggerate pain points and promise they'd definitely use your solution.
Or worse — they promise they’d pay for it.
You walk away with false confidence, go discuss your “learnings” with your team, and invest everyone’s time in new features.
Then, when you release them after weeks of hard work, something interesting happens…
The features customers "desperately needed" have 3% adoption. The workflows they "couldn't live without" remain untouched.
The gap between what people say and what they do is where good products go to die.
Let’s fix that gap.
The Mom Test
The Mom Test is a book by Rob Fitzpatrick.
It’s actually a book that every founder who joins YC receives.
Rob discovered that the worst person to validate your business idea is someone who loves you.
They'll lie to protect your feelings, or even fool themselves into thinking they’ll use something they actually won’t.
But if you ask the right questions, even your mom can't lie to you.
Here are the three rules that changed how I approach customer interviews:
1. Talk about their life, not your idea
The best research calls don’t feel like research calls.
They feel like chats with an old friend.
The moment you mention what you want to build, people switch into "support mode."
Instead, enter the conversation genuinely curious about their current reality.
Who are they? What problems do they have?
If you already have a product they’re using, why are they using it? What do they wish it could do that it currently fails at?
❌ "I'm building a task management app for remote teams. What do you think?"
✅ "How does your team currently track tasks? Walk me through your process."
2. Ask about scenarios, not hypotheticals
Getting actionable, authentic insights is hard.
Extracting that signal from the rambly noise during customer interviews takes real skill.
As a result, it’s easy to fall into the trap of asking what ifs.
But if you ask a user to imagine some potential future state, the stakes are instantly reduced.
Instead, drive the conversation towards their actual life experience.
That’s where you’ll get something real.
❌ "Would you pay $50/month for better analytics?"
✅ "What are you currently paying for analytics? Why that particular tool?"
3. Talk less, listen more
You have a limited amount of time with these customers.
Are you going to learn anything from the time you’re speaking?
No, it’s about what they say.
Maintain a 70/30 ratio. They talk 70% of the time.
When you catch yourself talking too much, go into recovery mode.
"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. You were saying about your current process..."
After all, your job is to ask questions and think strategically about when to ask them for more information on something vs moving onto a new topic.
You job is not to pitch your idea and try to explain what you think it should be.
Instead, see if they arrive at that “on their own.”
If they do, you might actually be onto something.
❌ "How often would you use this feature?"
✅ "Tell me about the last time you needed to do this. How did you handle it?"
Score every conversation
Not all problems deserve solutions.
A scoring system helps you to know which ones are worth solving. After you wrap up, score each conversation on:
Pain intensity (1-5): Are they losing sleep or just slightly annoyed?
Current investment (1-5): Are they spending significant time/money on workarounds?
Urgency (1-5): Hair on fire or "nice to have someday"?
Only pursue opportunities scoring 12+ total.
This single filter will save you from building vitamins when the market wants painkillers.
Mistakes to avoid
❌ Pitching → Once you start selling, they stop sharing the truth. Save the pitch for when you’re doing marketing and sales later.
❌ Confirmation bias → Don’t only talk to happy power users, or any one type of user too much. Variety will help you better understand your full customer base.
❌ Taking enthusiasm as validation → "That's brilliant!" means nothing without follow-through and actual commitment. Real customers prove interest through action and money.
Bottom Line
You're probably sitting on assumptions that will kill your business.
Every leader is.
The difference between success and failure is who's willing to face those assumptions head-on.
The Mom Test methodology transformed how I approach product development.
Instead of wasting weeks on features no one wants and false positives from polite people, I get hard truths that guide real decisions.
But this newsletter only scratches the surface. Rob Fitzpatrick's book contains dozens more techniques, scripts for difficult situations, and frameworks for turning raw conversations into actionable insights.
If you're serious about building products people actually use, I highly recommend giving The Mom Test a read.
Until next week,
David Lobo
Head of Growth, Workmate
P.S. What's the biggest assumption about your customers that you're afraid to test?
P.P.S. Once you're having the right conversations, don't let scheduling logistics slow you down. Workmate handles the back-and-forth so you can focus on learning what matters. Join the waitlist.
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