Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share 027: No, don't interpret discovery interviews by feel.
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
027: No, don't interpret discovery interviews by feel.
Founders WASTE a year on bad startup ideas because they struggle to answer the question "How can I make sense of what interviewees tell me?". Today, founders typically evaluate responses using the criterion "I know a validated assumption when I see it" -- a recipe for fooling yourself. Instead, founders can use Nascent's structured approach to categorizing interviewees' Pain, which is the first step to assessing the viability of a startup idea.
Previously in Episode 26, Mike detailed Nascent's approach to capturing data. Here in Episode 27, Mike introduces Nascent's approach to analyzing data, starting with the Yardstick of Painâ„¢, a three-part scale (hurting, fine, joyous). Founders categorize each interviewee and then iterate in small batches of ~5 interviews.
This is Episode 027: No, don't interpret discovery interviews by feel. Instead, use the Yardstick of Pain. In this episode:
(00:00) Don't fool yourself
(03:33) Test systems must have consistency and repeatability
(05:02) Nascent's four-part structure: Gather, Capture, Categorize, Iterate
(05:35) The Yardstick of Pain: hurting, fine, joyous
(07:13) FAQs about the Yardstick of Pain
(10:15) Examples: Uber and a precision agriculture startup
Are you new to the Nascent podcast? Start with Episode 019
Let's connect:
Newsletter: https://nascentstartups.com
Miro board with visuals and frameworks: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVGhU2Xoo=/
Work with Mike: https://nascentidea.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikevladimer
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nascentidea
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BtFtYF6nVUkLu7d7VVnSY
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nascent-startups-podcast/id1728760830
Twitter: https://x.com/NascentIdea
Reach Mike at [email protected]
Links and sources:
Nascent Ep026: No, don't trust self-reported data from discovery interviews.
Nascent Ep023: No, don't mimic successful founders. Instead, meet the guy solving startups' biggest challenge.
Nascent Ep022: Yes, search for People in Pain. But they're invisible.
Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale: https://wongbakerfaces.org
Richard Feynman, "Cargo Cult Science": https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm
NSF I-Corps: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps
Nascent frameworks referenced:
Yardstick of Pain™ — A three-bucket emotional scale (hurting, fine, joyous) that founders apply to each discovery interviewee. Introduced this episode.
People in Pain™ — The first signal a startup might have a customer. Every customer starts as a Person in Pain.
View all episodes
By Mike VladimerFounders WASTE a year on bad startup ideas because they struggle to answer the question "How can I make sense of what interviewees tell me?". Today, founders typically evaluate responses using the criterion "I know a validated assumption when I see it" -- a recipe for fooling yourself. Instead, founders can use Nascent's structured approach to categorizing interviewees' Pain, which is the first step to assessing the viability of a startup idea.
Previously in Episode 26, Mike detailed Nascent's approach to capturing data. Here in Episode 27, Mike introduces Nascent's approach to analyzing data, starting with the Yardstick of Painâ„¢, a three-part scale (hurting, fine, joyous). Founders categorize each interviewee and then iterate in small batches of ~5 interviews.
This is Episode 027: No, don't interpret discovery interviews by feel. Instead, use the Yardstick of Pain. In this episode:
(00:00) Don't fool yourself
(03:33) Test systems must have consistency and repeatability
(05:02) Nascent's four-part structure: Gather, Capture, Categorize, Iterate
(05:35) The Yardstick of Pain: hurting, fine, joyous
(07:13) FAQs about the Yardstick of Pain
(10:15) Examples: Uber and a precision agriculture startup
Are you new to the Nascent podcast? Start with Episode 019
Let's connect:
Newsletter: https://nascentstartups.com
Miro board with visuals and frameworks: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVGhU2Xoo=/
Work with Mike: https://nascentidea.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikevladimer
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nascentidea
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BtFtYF6nVUkLu7d7VVnSY
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nascent-startups-podcast/id1728760830
Twitter: https://x.com/NascentIdea
Reach Mike at [email protected]
Links and sources:
Nascent Ep026: No, don't trust self-reported data from discovery interviews.
Nascent Ep023: No, don't mimic successful founders. Instead, meet the guy solving startups' biggest challenge.
Nascent Ep022: Yes, search for People in Pain. But they're invisible.
Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale: https://wongbakerfaces.org
Richard Feynman, "Cargo Cult Science": https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm
NSF I-Corps: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps
Nascent frameworks referenced:
Yardstick of Pain™ — A three-bucket emotional scale (hurting, fine, joyous) that founders apply to each discovery interviewee. Introduced this episode.
People in Pain™ — The first signal a startup might have a customer. Every customer starts as a Person in Pain.