The document outlines best practices for customer discovery, emphasizing the importance of understanding customers through hypothesis testing rather than selling. Key strategies include asking open-ended questions, avoiding confirmation bias, and actively listening during interviews. It also provides tips for effective interviews and the need for practice, accountability, and collaboration in educational settings.

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Talking to Humans:
Customer
Discovery 101
Frank Rimalovski
Executive Director, NYU Entrepreneurial Institute
Managing Director, NYU Innovation Venture Fund
Adjunct Professor, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering
Instructor, National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps
May 13, 2015

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In the beginning…
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Evolution…
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Buzzword (Non)Compliance
u MVP ≠ Product
u Pivot ≠ Restart
u Customer Discovery ≠ Selling
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Customer Discovery
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Hypothesis
Design
Experiments
Test
Insight

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Goals of Customer Discovery
1. (In)validate problem/solution fit
2. (In)validate business model
component hypotheses
3. Begin to identify & test Minimum
Viable Product (MVP)
u NOT to get statistical relevance, but
pattern recognition to get insight

7. @NYUEntrepreneur7
TALKING
TO HUMANS
Success starts with understanding
your customers
GIFF CONSTABLE
with Frank Rimalovski
illustrations by Tom Fishburne
and foreword by Steve Blank

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Who do you want to learn from?3A. Who Do You Want To Learn From (Inked)
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What do you want to learn?4D. What Do You Want To Learn
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What do you want to learn?
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What do you want to learn?
u Do not sell! No demos! No presentations!
u Get stories, not speculation
u Ask open-ended questions
u Ask why? Then why? They why again!
u Create a guide (not a script)
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How do you find interview subjects?5A. How Do You Find Your Interview Subjects (Inked)
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How do you find interview subjects?
u At least one degree of separation
u Make referrals happen
u Get creative…recruiting hacks
u Fish where the fish are…
u …In the wild
u Promise to be brief
u Play the student/researcher card
u Thoughts on enterprise customers
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How to ensure an effective interview?6B. How To Ensure An Effective Session (Draft)
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How to ensure an effective interview?
u Beware of confirmation bias
u Do it in person, one at a time
u Get subjects to tell a story
u Look for solution hacks
u Understand their priority
u Follow your nose & drill down
u Listen and STFU!
u Have someone take notes
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Pro Tips: Students/teams
u Practice, practice, practice
u Don’t start with your dream customer
u Flatter subjects
u Be transparent
u Follow up/stay in touch
u Write up key insights right away
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Pro Tips: Instructors/educators
u Do exercises & practice before hand
u Hold teams accountable to >100 interviews
u Get the class/cohort to help one another
u Make them publish interview summaries
u Read & critique their summaries
u Keep them focused on the problem, not
the solution
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Resources
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TALKING
TO HUMANS
Success starts with understanding
your customers
GIFF CONSTABLE
Pre-release edition
with Frank Rimalovski
and illustrations by Tom Fishburne
bit.ly/llpcdvstalkingtohumans.com

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Questions?2B. Story
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Thank you!
fbr4@nyu.edu
@rimalovski
nyu.edu/entrepreneur
nyuentrepreneur.com
16 Washington Place, NYC
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Helping startups start up