Write interview questions that get honest answers

Five questions about what people have actually done and paid — plus twenty people to ask, and how to reach them.

What to ask

Two things. First, write me five interview questions: about what people have actually done and paid, never whether they'd buy a hypothetical, and nothing that lets me pitch — tell me what a good answer versus a bad answer sounds like for each. Then help me build a list of twenty people who have this problem: who I already know, where these people gather, and how to get warm introductions. Save the questions as a note and each person in People as we go.

Related

• Find out whether my business idea is any goodAn honest read on your idea — the strongest part, the weakest, and the one thing worth finding out this week.
• Work out exactly who my first customer isA specific person, not a demographic — specific enough that you could go and find ten of them.
• Learn what customers actually want, from real conversationsThe pattern across your conversations — which problem came up most, and who showed real evidence rather than politeness.
• Decide whether to go ahead, narrow it, or rethink itA straight recommendation with the reasoning — taken before you start paying to file.