firstthousandusers
  1. Idea and validation
  2. Waitlist
  3. Private beta
  4. Launch
  5. First 100 users
  6. First 1,000 users
Direct outreach

Run ten problem interviews

Talk to ten people who have the problem before writing code, and ask what they do about it today rather than what they would buy.

What's requiredAbout a week: 20–30 minutes per call plus time to find people.
Accounts
Reddit or LinkedIn to find people, a calendar link tool, a video call tool.
Assets
A one-line description of the problem, a list of 5–7 questions, a notes doc or spreadsheet.
Time
About a week: 20–30 minutes per call plus time to find people.
Cost
Free. Optionally a $10–25 gift card per call if people are hard to reach.
Prerequisites
A problem and a rough guess at who has it. No product needed.

What to do

  1. Write down who you think has the problem, in one sentence. Be narrow: “freelance translators who invoice clients in more than one currency”, not “freelancers”. A narrow description tells you where to look and makes it obvious when someone does not fit.
  2. Find people who already complained about it in public. They have the problem, they care enough to write about it, and their words are on record. Good places to look:
    • 1–3 star reviews of competitors on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, the App Store or Google Play. Reviewers often name their job and exactly what went wrong.
    • Reddit threads found with Google: site:reddit.com "how do you" [task] or site:reddit.com [competitor] alternative.
    • GitHub issues on related open-source tools, forum threads, and angry posts on X or LinkedIn.
  3. Message them with a request for advice, not a pitch. Keep it to three or four lines, mention the exact post or review you read, and ask for 15–20 minutes. People say yes to “I am trying to understand this problem” far more often than to “I am building a product”.
  4. Ask about the last time it happened. Past behavior is the only reliable data. Use questions in the style of The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick:
    • “Tell me about the last time you dealt with [problem]. What happened?”
    • “What did you do about it? What did you try before that?”
    • “How much time or money does it cost you today?”
    • “What do you use now? What do you hate about it?”
    • “Have you looked for a better way? What did you find?”
  5. Never pitch and never ask if they would buy it. “Would you use an app that does X?” gets polite yeses that mean nothing. If they ask what you are building, give one sentence at the end and move on. Stay quiet longer than feels normal; the useful details come after the pause.
  6. End every call by asking for two more people. “Who else do you know who deals with this? Could you introduce me to two of them?” One good interview often turns into two more, which solves the “I have no one to talk to” problem after the first few calls.
  7. Log each call the same day in a simple sheet. Columns: who, role, last time it happened, current workaround, what it costs them, how upset they were (1–5), exact quotes. After ten calls, look for the same workaround or complaint appearing five or more times.
  8. Keep the people who cared most. Anyone who got animated, already pays for a workaround, or asked “when can I try it?” goes on a short list. They are your first candidates for a pre-sale.

Templates

Message to someone who left a review or post:

Hi [name], I read your review of [tool] where you mentioned [specific problem]. I am researching how [role] handle this and I am not selling anything. Would you be open to a 15-minute call this week? Happy to share what I learn from other interviews.

Referral ask at the end of a call:

This was really useful. Is there anyone else who deals with this I should talk to? A quick intro to one or two people would help a lot.

Why it works

People cannot predict what they will do, but they can describe what they did. Asking about the last real occurrence shows whether the problem is frequent, painful and already costing money or time. Starting from public complaints means you talk to people who have the problem instead of friends who want to be nice.

How it gets users

Directly, only a few. Reply rates to cold messages based on a specific review or post are often in the 10–30% range, so plan to message 40–60 people to get ten calls. Of those ten, usually one to three become early users or pre-sale customers. The bigger payoff is the words they use, which become your landing page copy, and the referral chain that gives you people to contact at launch.

Common mistakes

  • Interviewing friends and family, who will tell you what you want to hear.
  • Pitching the idea and counting compliments as validation.
  • Asking hypothetical questions like “would you pay for this?”
  • Talking more than the other person. Aim for them speaking 80% of the time.
  • Not asking for referrals, then running out of people after five calls.
  • Stopping after three calls because the first ones sounded positive.

Next steps

This guide is connected to these guides on the map. Numbered ones come next.

01 Idea02 Waitlist03 Beta04 Launch05 First 10006 First 1kFind where your users already talk1Pre-sell to five people2Cold outreach to your first 20 users3This guide01 Idea02 Waitlist03 BetaFind where your users already talk1Pre-sell to five people2Cold outreach to your first 20 users3This guide
  1. 101 Idea and validation · CommunitiesFind where your users already talkList the subreddits, forums, Discord servers and Slack groups where your users ask questions, and read them for a week before posting.
  2. 201 Idea and validation · Direct outreachPre-sell to five peopleAsk potential users to pay or commit before the product exists. A small payment is stronger evidence than a waitlist signup.
  3. 303 Private beta · Direct outreachCold outreach to your first 20 usersFind 20 specific people who have the problem, write to each of them individually, and offer to set them up yourself.