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021: No, getting customers is the wrong goal
Asking how to get customers for a startup is asking the wrong question. In this episode, Mike explains why pursuing paying customers is the wrong first step, introduces the concept of People in Painâ„¢ as the first signal that your startup might ever get a customer and sets a ridiculously low bar for evaluating your startup idea.
In this episode:
(00:00) Hook: "Can I show you how to get customers? No. Because nobody can."
(00:51) Intro: welcome to the Nascent podcast
(01:28) This is episode 21 -- customers are the wrong goal
(01:41) Why "focus on the customer" doesn't apply to startups with no customers
(02:36) Embrace having no customers -- you have no commitments
(04:00) Trying to get customers is often a huge waste of time
(04:19) Metaphor 1: Can your airplane generate lift?
(05:50) Metaphor 2: Can you get a bat to hit a ball?
(08:02) Every customer starts as a Person in Pain
(08:31) Search for People in Pain and quantify their Pain in dollars
(09:24) People in Pain are invisible
(10:32) CTA: who are the People in Pain you're searching for?
(10:56) Payoff: reject the wrong question, embrace the right one
Nascent frameworks referenced:
- People in Painâ„¢ -- the first signal a startup might have a customer; every customer starts as a Person in Pain
- Doubtful vs. possible -- the binary assessment: is success for this startup idea doubtful or possible?
- Knowledge-creation project -- what a startup actually is; the knowledge does not yet exist and must be created by the founder
Let's connect:
- Newsletter: nascentstartups.com
- Work with Mike: nascentidea.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikevladimer
- YouTube: youtube.com/@Nascentidea
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BtFtYF6nVUkLu7d7VVnSY
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nascent-podcast/id1728760830
- Twitter: https://x.com/NascentIdea
- Contact: [email protected]
Stop chasing customers. Start searching for People in Pain. If you can find people with expensive Pain, there's a possibility your startup could succeed. If you can't, the chances are doubtful -- and another project would be a better use of your time.
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By Mike VladimerAsking how to get customers for a startup is asking the wrong question. In this episode, Mike explains why pursuing paying customers is the wrong first step, introduces the concept of People in Painâ„¢ as the first signal that your startup might ever get a customer and sets a ridiculously low bar for evaluating your startup idea.
In this episode:
(00:00) Hook: "Can I show you how to get customers? No. Because nobody can."
(00:51) Intro: welcome to the Nascent podcast
(01:28) This is episode 21 -- customers are the wrong goal
(01:41) Why "focus on the customer" doesn't apply to startups with no customers
(02:36) Embrace having no customers -- you have no commitments
(04:00) Trying to get customers is often a huge waste of time
(04:19) Metaphor 1: Can your airplane generate lift?
(05:50) Metaphor 2: Can you get a bat to hit a ball?
(08:02) Every customer starts as a Person in Pain
(08:31) Search for People in Pain and quantify their Pain in dollars
(09:24) People in Pain are invisible
(10:32) CTA: who are the People in Pain you're searching for?
(10:56) Payoff: reject the wrong question, embrace the right one
Nascent frameworks referenced:
- People in Painâ„¢ -- the first signal a startup might have a customer; every customer starts as a Person in Pain
- Doubtful vs. possible -- the binary assessment: is success for this startup idea doubtful or possible?
- Knowledge-creation project -- what a startup actually is; the knowledge does not yet exist and must be created by the founder
Let's connect:
- Newsletter: nascentstartups.com
- Work with Mike: nascentidea.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikevladimer
- YouTube: youtube.com/@Nascentidea
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BtFtYF6nVUkLu7d7VVnSY
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nascent-podcast/id1728760830
- Twitter: https://x.com/NascentIdea
- Contact: [email protected]
Stop chasing customers. Start searching for People in Pain. If you can find people with expensive Pain, there's a possibility your startup could succeed. If you can't, the chances are doubtful -- and another project would be a better use of your time.