Hi there -

Here is this week’s “1 principle, 2 strategies, and 3 actionable tactics” for running lean…

1 Universal Principle

“New problems worth solving come from old solutions.”

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Founders throw this famous Henry Ford quote around as an excuse NOT to talk to customers. But here’s the irony – if customers had said “faster horses,” they would be telling you something valuable about a problem worth solving.

Most founders struggle with uncovering what customers truly want because they use approaches that don’t work:

• Building an MVP and waiting for feedback (which gets you crickets in today’s competitive market)
• Directly asking customers what they want (they don’t know)
• Validating problems you think customers have (which leads to confirmation bias)

The better approach starts with understanding what I call the “Innovator’s Gift” – the simple but powerful concept that new problems worth solving come from old solutions.

2 Underlying Strategies at Play

I. Study existing solutions.

Think about why we switched from cassette tapes to CDs to MP3 players to streaming services. Was it better sound quality? Not really.

We switched from cassettes to CDs because CDs solved a specific pain point – the need to rewind and fast-forward to find your favorite song. CDs made it possible to jump to any track instantly.

Then we moved to MP3 players because they solved another pain point – the ability to buy individual songs instead of entire albums.

Finally, we embraced streaming services because “a thousand songs in our pocket” was no longer enough – we wanted access to 40 million songs we could rent on demand.

In each case, the technology that gained traction addressed familiar, specific, and compelling problems with the old technology.

II. Discover rather than validate.

When we try to validate problems, we spotlight specific issues, which tends to exaggerate customer responses. This is the spotlight effect—you’re biasing answers simply by bringing up the problem.

We’re also prone to confirmation bias, selectively filtering information that confirms our preconceived notions about what customers want.

Instead of validation, focus on discovery. Don’t ask customers what they want or about problems directly. Instead, get them to tell stories about how they use current solutions and listen carefully for the signals that matter.

3 Actionable Tactics

I. Target customers of the old way.

Instead of trying to find people who might be interested in your new solution, target people actively using popular existing alternatives.

Your true competition is usually not some shiny startup down the street that no one uses, but the current status quo solution.

Email and spreadsheets have killed more startups than other startups.

II. Study when, why, and how they use the old way.

This is the key step. Don’t ask them what they want, and don’t even ask them about problems directly.

Instead, ask them to walk you through WHEN, WHY, and HOW they use their current solution. Get them to tell you stories about specific instances when they used the product.

This interviewing approach isn’t focused on validating a list of problems but rather on discovering potential problems worth solving by detecting cues.

III. Look for pet peeves, struggles, and workarounds.

As customers tell you their stories, listen carefully for:

• Pet peeves – small annoyances that customers have grown accustomed to but still find frustrating
• Struggles – more significant pain points that make using the existing solution difficult or time-consuming
• Workarounds – creative solutions customers have developed to overcome the limitations of the existing alternative

The magic of this type of customer interview is that people are more alike than unalike.

When done well, it only takes 10 interviews for patterns to emerge.

When prospects repeatedly describe the same pet peeves, struggles, or workarounds, you’ve found a problem worth solving.

Learning good problem discovery is a key skill to master.

This is something I cover extensively in my Demand Validation Playbook (DVP), where you’ll learn how to:

• Get them to show up to the interview
• Ask them about problems without biasing them
• Know when they are politely lying to you
• Rank problems worth solving
• Gauge pricing and willingness to pay
• Size the market

DVP is included with a LEANFoundry membership. When you’re ready, you can ​join here​.

That’s all for today. See you next week.

‍

‍

Ash
Author of ​​Running Lean​​ and creator of ​​Lean Canvas​

.

.

P.S.

Here's this week's YouTube video on Talking to Customers

.

.

P.P.S.

Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1 - ​Get my Just Start course​: If you're new to this framework, you'll learn the key mindsets for building the next generation of products that matter.

2 - ​Take the Business Model Design Challenge​: If you're an aspiring or early-stage founder looking to launch a new idea in 2025, join my next Business Model Design Challenge, where you'll learn how to design and stress-test your idea without wasting resources.