The first step in trying to learn from the market is having an opinion about who your market actually is. I recommend thinking about a few categories: The typical customer you envision if you get traction with your idea Your early adopter, i.e. the people who will take a chance on your product before anyone else Critical partners for distribution,

Founders commonly obsess about product at the expense of understanding the customer or the business model. You need to work on it all, and you have to challenge your thinking. Behind your startup is a belief system about how your business will work. Some of your assumptions will be right, but the ones that are wrong could crater your business.

Finally, when I asked them why they were buying a pillow, the folks over 40 seemed to be in replacement mode, while the folks under 40 seemed to be reacting to a life change. Two people were moving to a bigger house

It is more effective to ask your interview subject to share a story about the past.

In a classic enterprise sale, you will often have a strategic buyer (who is excited about the change you can bring), an economic buyer (who controls the purse), a technical buyer (who might have approval/blocker rights), and then the actual users of your product.

I like to begin by understanding my most important, and most risky, assumptions. Those tend to be the areas where you need to gather insights most urgently. You can uncover your assumptions in a myriad of ways.

Sometimes observation is as powerful as interviews

An online marketplace for plumbers might consider plumbers on the sell side, and home owners on the buy side

start by talking to mid-level managers rather than the C-suite. It can be easier to get their time, it is often easier to get repeat conversations, and, most importantly, it will allow you to get better educated before you go up the chain.