Customer interviews and empathy

Customer interviews are the cheapest insight you can get, and the most underrated. An hour talking with someone who actually has the problem gives you more than a week of guessing in front of a screen. The goal is not to prove your idea is good, but to understand the life of the person you want to help.

Prepare an in-depth interview

An in-depth interview is a calm, semi-structured conversation — not an interrogation and not a survey. Make a simple interview guide with five to seven topics you want to cover, written as open questions. The guide is a checklist, not a script: feel free to follow tangents when the person says something interesting.

Set aside 20–40 minutes, record audio if the person agrees, and bring someone to take notes if you can. That way you avoid choosing between listening and writing. Start gently with some context about their everyday life before you move to the problem itself.

Ask open, non-leading questions

A leading question contains the answer you are hoping for. "Don't you find it annoying to book an appointment at the hairdresser?" invites a polite yes. An open question does not: "Tell me about the last time you booked an appointment somewhere — how did it go?"

The most important rule is not to pitch your idea. The moment you tell people what you plan to build, they turn polite and stop being honest. Ask about the past rather than the future. "What did you do last time?" gives you true answers. "Would you use an app that…?" gives you guesses and goodwill. Use follow-ups like "Why is that?" and "What did you do then?" to get beneath the surface.

Listen for jobs, pains and gains

A useful way to listen is to think that people "hire" products to get a job done. Someone who buys a drill really wants a hole in the wall — and really wants a picture hanging there. The job is the goal; the product is just the means.

When you interview, listen for three things:

• Jobs: What is the person trying to accomplish? Both the practical and the emotional, like not wanting to feel stupid.
• Pains: What is annoying, expensive, time-consuming or risky about the way they do it today?
• Gains: What would make the day better? What would be a pleasant surprise?

When Maria interviewed dog owners, she heard the same sigh over and over: "I barely dare to travel, because I can't find anyone I trust to look after the dog." The job was to travel with a clear conscience. The pain was trust, not walk logging. It changed her whole direction.

Document without interpreting too early

Write down what people actually say, ideally word for word, in quotation marks. Do not write "she likes the idea" — write "she said: I've tried three apps and given up on all of them." Always separate observation (what you saw and heard) from interpretation (what you think it means). The interpretation can change; the observation stands.

After each interview, spend five minutes noting the three most surprising things you heard. That way you do not lose the details, and you start spotting patterns even before you have finished all the conversations.

How many conversations are enough?

You do not need a hundred interviews. Often the patterns start repeating after just five to eight good conversations with people who genuinely have the problem. When you hear the same things over and over and stop being surprised, you have enough for this round.

Be deliberate about who you talk to. The people closest to you — family and good friends — are pleasant but far too kind to give honest answers. Instead, seek out people who feel the problem in their bones, ideally someone you have no relationship with. Also talk to people who chose not to use the solutions that already exist; they tell you why today's alternatives fall short.

Do this now

Book three conversations this week with people who have the problem you are curious about — ideally people you do not know too well, so you avoid friendly goodwill. Make an interview guide with at most seven open questions, and make sure none of them mention your solution. After each conversation, write down the three most surprising quotes. You do not need perfect questions to begin — you get better with every conversation.