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The author of The Mom Test is Rob Fitzpatrick.

Entrepreneurship

The Mom Test Book Summary - The Mom Test Book explained in key points

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The Mom Test summary

Name: The Mom Test
Rating: 3.8 (222 reviews)
Author: Rob Fitzpatrick

Rob Fitzpatrick

How to Talk to Customers and Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea When Everyone is Lying to You

3.8 (222 ratings)

8 mins

Brief summary

'The Mom Test' by Rob Fitzpatrick is a guide for entrepreneurs on how to ask questions that actually validate their business ideas without bias or false assumptions. It emphasizes on asking good questions that provide genuine data and prevent the loss of valuable resources.

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Entrepreneurship Branding

Table of Contents

The Mom Test
Summary of 4 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 4

What’s in it for me? Let the Mom Test decide if your business idea is a winner.

If you have a great idea for a new business, you’ll probably want to know what your friends and family, potential investors and customers think about it before you get going. So you ask them, right?

WRONG! Friends and family might conceal what they really think about your idea because they want to be encouraging, and investors might tell you they really like your idea just to get you to stop talking.

So how do ensure that your business idea is really good when everyone around you is lying?

Enter the Mom Test, a set of rules that will tell you whether people really think your idea is good or whether they’re like your mom, who is always supportive and likes everything you do. So before you go squander your kids’ college funds on your new business, make sure you read these blinks carefully.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why asking the right questions is so important;
why investors who “love” your idea are a bad sign; and
why talking over coffee beats any meeting.

Collect useful data about your idea and customer base by asking the right kind of questions.

An important part of being a skilled entrepreneur is asking the right questions. Good questions are the key to developing and advancing your idea.

So stop talking about your idea and start asking about it. Ask your potential customers about the problems they have and the kind of solutions they’re looking for. See if you’re on the right track to offering them something they need.

Imagine your target customer base has a problem with Excel, for example. If they can find a cheap, effective way around that problem, don’t waste time and money producing an alternative application for them. They won’t need it.

Asking good questions also helps you collect the right kind of data. “Good” data is data that tells you what your customers are looking for and what they’re willing to pay for it.

Let’s say your idea is for a paid app that offers daily recipes to stay-at-home moms. It wouldn’t be effective to merely ask some moms if they’d be interested in such an app. Instead, ask if they ever have trouble finding new recipes and how they go about looking for them.

If your target customers can easily find recipes online, they probably won’t pay for your app. That’s the kind of feedback you need.

“Bad” data, on the other hand, misleads you. When coworkers or friends give you insincere compliments or tell you white lies because they don’t want to be rude, that’s bad data. They might also make vague statements about possibly investing in you in the future – don’t take these empty promises at face value.

Look for commitment from investors, not compliments.

Sometimes when you pitch your business idea to potential investors or sponsors they’re just not interested in it. And if they’re not going to invest in you, you’re ultimately wasting both your time and theirs. So make sure you’re on the right track by learning to recognize the signs of a good or a bad meeting.

There are a few tell-tale signs of a conversation gone bad. Compliments, for example, seem positive on the surface but usually indicate disinterest. When a people compliment your idea, they’re probably just being polite by avoiding outright rejecting you. Compliments allow them to divert the conversation away from the topic of investment so they can get back to doing whatever they’re really interested in. Compliments are often a polite way to get rid of you.

Focus on a small group of target customers.

Start-ups rarely suffer from a shortage of options or ideas. In fact, they usually have too many. If you pursue every possibility out there, you’ll drown in a sea of projects and have nothing to show for it in the end. And how do you avoid this? By focusing on a small group of target customers.

Imagine you’re developing a fitness app, for example. You might think it would be wise to target young men and women with jobs to work around who want to stay healthy and fit. That’s not good enough, however. Your target group should be much smaller than that.

Strive to have casual and relaxed “meetings” with your potential customers and investors.

If you’ve ever been to an awkward meeting that dragged on for hours, you’ll know those kinds of meetings aren’t productive. You don’t want your talks with customers to end up the same way, so here are some strategies for keeping meetings effective.

First off, be casual. Allow your conversation partner to feel relaxed so he’ll open up about his feelings.

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What is The Mom Test about?

The two most important types of conversation you’ll have when founding a business are those with potential customers and those with potential investors. The Mom Test (2013) offers advice on nailing the information you really need from these meetings, and ensuring your business has the best possible foundation for success.

The Mom Test Review

The Mom Test (2013) is a practical guide for entrepreneurs seeking to validate their ideas by having honest conversations with potential customers. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides a clear framework for conducting customer interviews that are focused on gathering valuable insights, rather than seeking validation.
With its emphasis on asking the right questions and understanding customer motivations, the book equips readers with the tools they need to make informed business decisions.
Through real-life examples and anecdotes, Rob Fitzpatrick brings the concepts to life, making the book engaging and relatable for entrepreneurs at any stage of their journey.

Best quote from The Mom Test

You shouldnt ask anyone whether your business is a good idea.

—Rob Fitzpatrick

Who should read The Mom Test?

Entrepreneurs just starting out
Anyone with a business idea
Anyone interested in customer communication

About the Author

Rob Fitzpatrick is a tech entrepreneur and partner at Founder Centric, where he helps universities, businesses and EU-funded start-ups design and deliver better start-up education programs.

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Entrepreneurship

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