Business
by Rob Fitzpatrick
Why does everyone love your idea?
Tell people about your business idea and most will say it sounds great, to be kind or to end the conversation. Rob Fitzpatrick's Mom Test is a way of asking questions so good that even your mum couldn't lie to you when she answers.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
Talk about their life instead of your idea. Ask about specific things that happened in the past, rather than opinions about the future. Talk less and listen more. People are poor at predicting what they'll do, and much better at telling you what they did.
Fitzpatrick calls compliments the fool's gold of customer learning, because they feel like progress and aren't. Deflect them politely and steer back to facts, such as how the person deals with the problem today.
It sounds like data and isn't.
A good conversation ends with the other person giving something up, like their time, their reputation or their money. That might be a second meeting, an introduction to their boss, or a pre-order. If all you got were compliments, Fitzpatrick counts the meeting as a failure, however good it felt.
Everyone lies
Ask your mum if your idea is good and she'll lie to be kind. So stop asking that.
Their life
Ask about their life and their problems, and leave your idea out of it.
The past
Ask what they did last time. Opinions about the future are only guesses.
Compliments
Compliments are worthless as data. Steer the talk back to facts.
Commitment
A good meeting ends with them giving something up, such as their time, their reputation or money.
A story from the book
Fitzpatrick opens with a son asking his mum about his idea, a cookbook app for the iPad. She says it sounds lovely and she'd use it. She means well, and it tells him nothing. The book then replays the chat with questions about her actual cooking.
One thing to try
Find one person who has the problem your idea solves. Don't mention the idea. Ask them to talk you through the last time it happened, what it cost them and what they've already tried. Write down what they did, and ignore what they say they'd do.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. The Mom Test comes with a Your Move story to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy does everyone love your idea? Tell people about your business idea and most will say it sounds great, to be kind or to end the conversation. Rob Fitzpatrick's Mom Test is a way of asking questions so good that even your mum couldn't lie to you when she answers.
Three rules; Compliments are fool's gold; Anchor the fluff; Leave with a commitment.
Find one person who has the problem your idea solves. Don't mention the idea. Ask them to talk you through the last time it happened, what it cost them and what they've already tried. Write down what they did, and ignore what they say they'd do.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from The Mom Test in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Your Move story to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
