# The Mom Test

## Purpose
Extract truth from customer conversations by asking questions that even your mom can't lie to you about, avoiding the false positives that kill startups.

## When to Use
- Conducting customer discovery conversations
- Validating problem and solution hypotheses
- Gathering requirements from potential customers
- Avoiding "false positive" feedback that feels good but isn't true
- Learning what customers actually do, not what they say they'd do

## Process

### 1. The Three Rules

Three simple rules for crafting good questions:

1. **Talk about their life instead of your idea**
2. **Ask about specifics in the past instead of generics or opinions about the future**
3. **Talk less and listen more**

### 2. Good Questions vs. Bad Questions

**BAD: "Do you think it's a good idea?"**
- Only the market can tell if your idea is good—all else is opinion
- FIX: "How do you currently handle X? What have you tried?"

**BAD: "Would you buy a product that does X?"**
- Hypothetical future promises from optimistic people
- FIX: "How much do you currently spend on solving this?"

**BAD: "How much would you pay for X?"**
- Numbers feel rigorous but are still hypothetical
- FIX: "What does this problem cost you now? What's your budget for this?"

**SORT-OF-OKAY: "What would your dream product do?"**
- Good as setup, bad if you stop there
- FIX: "Why do you want those features? What would they let you do?"

**GOOD: "Why do you bother?"**
- Gets from perceived problem to real one
- Reveals the job-to-be-done behind the stated need

**GOOD: "What are the implications of that?"**
- Distinguishes must-solve from nice-to-have
- Reveals if problems have costly implications or don't actually matter

**GOOD: "Talk me through the last time that happened."**
- Specific past events reveal truth; hypotheticals invite lies
- Shows actual workflow, tools used, time spent

**GOOD: "What else have you tried?"**
- If they haven't looked for solutions, they won't look for yours
- Reveals how motivated they actually are

**GOOD: "Who else should I talk to?"**
- End every conversation this way
- If they won't intro you, either you screwed up or they don't care

### 3. Avoid the Three Types of Bad Data

**1. Compliments**
- "That's so cool!" "I love it!" "Great idea!"
- Worthless because people lie to be nice
- DEFLECT: "Thanks! How are you dealing with this currently?"

**2. Fluff (Generics, Hypotheticals, Future)**
- "I usually..." "I always..." "I would definitely..."
- Generic claims describe who they want to be, not who they are
- ANCHOR: "When's the last time that happened? Walk me through it."

**3. Ideas**
- "You should add..." "What if it also..."
- Feature requests aren't validation
- DIG: "Why do you want that? How are you coping without it?"

### 4. Deflecting and Anchoring Techniques

**When you receive a compliment:**
> Them: "That's a great idea!"
> You: "Thanks! How are you solving this problem today?"

**When you receive fluff:**
> Them: "I would definitely use that!"
> You: "Tell me about the last time this came up—what did you do?"

**When you receive an idea:**
> Them: "You should add a reporting feature."
> You: "Interesting—what would you do with the reports?"

**When you slip into pitch mode:**
> You: "Whoops—I got excited and started pitching. How are you handling this currently?"

### 5. The Currencies of Conversation

Words are cheap. Track commitment through "currencies":

| Currency | Low Value | High Value |
|----------|-----------|------------|
| **Time** | "Let's chat sometime" | Schedules specific meeting |
| **Reputation** | "I might share this" | Introduces you to colleague |
| **Money** | "I would pay for that" | Pre-order or deposit |
| **Effort** | "Send me info" | Tries your prototype |

**Rule:** Advancement = they give you something valuable (time, intro, money, effort)

### 6. Signs You're Failing the Mom Test

In the meeting:
- You're talking more than they are
- You're defending your idea
- They're complimenting you

Back at the office:
- "That meeting went really well"
- "Everyone I talk to loves the idea"
- "We're getting a lot of positive feedback"

**These are warning signs.** Get specific: Why did they love it? What exactly would they use it for? What are they doing about this today?

### 7. The Process

**Before conversations:**
- Decide your 3 biggest learning goals
- Know what commitment/next step you'll push for
- Do desk research first (don't waste their time on Googleable questions)

**During conversations:**
- Frame it (vision, where you're at, how they can help)
- Keep it casual (not an interrogation)
- Ask good questions, deflect compliments, anchor fluff
- Take notes with symbols (☇ pain, $ money, ☆ follow-up)
- Push for commitment at the end

**After conversations:**
- Review notes with your team
- Update beliefs and plans
- Decide next 3 big questions

### 8. Synthesis

After your conversation, ask:
- Did I learn facts or collect opinions?
- Did they give up something valuable (time, reputation, money)?
- Would I bet money on what I learned?
- What do I need to learn next?

## Example

**Idea**: "App that helps remote workers find great cafés to work from"

### Bad Conversation (Fails the Mom Test)

You: "I'm building an app to help remote workers find cafés. Would you use it?"
Them: "Yeah, that sounds useful!"
You: "What features would you want?"
Them: "Maybe ratings for WiFi quality? And photos of the space?"
You: "Great! Do you think $5/month is reasonable?"
Them: "Sure, I'd pay that."

**What you learned:** Nothing useful. All fluff and hypotheticals.

### Good Conversation (Passes the Mom Test)

You: "Tell me about the last time you worked from a café—how did you find it?"

Them: "I usually just go to the same Starbucks near my house."

You: "Have you ever tried finding a new place? Walk me through what happened."

Them: "Yeah, last month I wanted somewhere quieter. I Googled 'cafés with WiFi' and checked Yelp reviews."

You: "How did that work out?"

Them: "It was okay. The reviews didn't mention WiFi speed, so I had to guess. One place had no outlets."

You: "How often do you look for new places?"

Them: "Honestly? Maybe once every few months. I mostly stick to what I know."

You: "What would make you try new places more often?"

Them: "I guess if I knew for sure the WiFi would be good. But honestly, reliability matters more than variety."

**What you learned:**
- They use existing tools (Google, Yelp) - you're competing with free
- WiFi reliability is the key pain (outlets mentioned too)
- Low frequency of need (monthly at best)
- Inertia is strong - they prefer familiar places
- This might not be a big enough pain to pay for

**Insight:** The problem exists but may not be severe enough to build a business around. The frequency is low and existing free tools partially solve it. Need to find users who need this more frequently (digital nomads? traveling salespeople?) or test whether someone would actually pay before building.
