The Mom Test
Asking the opinion of your Mom.
What is The Mom Test?
The Mom Test is a customer validation framework developed by Rob Fitzpatrick that teaches entrepreneurs how to conduct meaningful customer conversations without falling into the trap of biased feedback. Despite its name, it's not about asking your actual mother for opinions, but rather about learning how to ask better questions that reveal honest, actionable insights from potential customers. The core principle is to focus on past behaviors and current problems rather than hypothetical future actions or polite opinions.
This technique is invaluable for startups because it helps founders avoid the common pitfall of collecting misleading positive feedback that sounds encouraging but doesn't translate to actual customer demand. By asking about specific past experiences, current workflows, and real pain points, entrepreneurs can gather qualitative insights that accurately reflect market needs. The Mom Test emphasizes that good customer conversations should focus on the customer's life and challenges rather than pitching your idea or asking for validation.
When to Use This Experiment
• Early-stage problem validation when you're still identifying and understanding customer pain points • Before building an MVP to ensure you're solving a real problem that people actually care about • When initial customer feedback seems too positive and you suspect people are being polite rather than honest • During customer discovery interviews to structure conversations that yield actionable insights • When pivoting or exploring new market segments to understand different customer contexts • Before investing significant time or money into product development or marketing strategies
How to Run This Experiment
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Identify your target customer segment and recruit 5-10 people who fit your ideal customer profile for informal conversations
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Prepare open-ended questions about past behavior such as 'Tell me about the last time you experienced [problem]' or 'Walk me through how you currently handle [situation]'
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Focus conversations on their world, not your idea - Ask about their current processes, frustrations, and workarounds without mentioning your solution
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Dig deeper into emotional responses by asking follow-up questions like 'How did that make you feel?' or 'What was the worst part about that experience?'
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Ask about current solutions and spending with questions like 'What are you doing to solve this now?' and 'How much does your current approach cost you?'
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Avoid hypothetical questions like 'Would you use...' and instead ask 'How are you dealing with this today?' to understand real behavior
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Document specific quotes and stories rather than your interpretations, focusing on concrete examples and measurable impacts
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Look for patterns across conversations to identify common pain points, behaviors, and language that customers use to describe their problems
Pros and Cons
Pros
• Completely free and accessible - requires no budget or special tools to implement • Reveals genuine customer needs by focusing on actual behavior rather than hypothetical responses • Builds real relationships with potential customers through meaningful conversations • Prevents costly mistakes by identifying problems worth solving before building solutions • Improves communication skills essential for sales, fundraising, and team building
Cons
• Highly unreliable if done incorrectly - easy to ask leading questions that generate biased responses • Small sample sizes limit statistical significance and broader market insights • Time-intensive process requiring multiple lengthy conversations to gather meaningful data • Subjective interpretation of qualitative feedback can lead to confirmation bias • Limited quantitative validation - doesn't provide concrete metrics about market size or willingness to pay
Real-World Examples
Airbnb's founders used Mom Test principles extensively in their early days by conducting deep conversations with both hosts and guests about their actual travel and accommodation experiences. Instead of asking 'Would you stay in someone's home?', they asked about past travel frustrations, how people currently found accommodations, and what made previous stays memorable or disappointing. These conversations revealed that trust and unique local experiences were key drivers, leading to features like host profiles, reviews, and neighborhood guides.
Buffer's Joel Gascoigne applied Mom Test methodology when validating the social media scheduling problem. Rather than pitching his solution, he asked social media managers and entrepreneurs about their current posting workflows, time management challenges, and existing tools. The conversations revealed specific pain points around consistent posting schedules and managing multiple platforms, which validated the core problem before he built the MVP. This approach helped Buffer achieve product-market fit more efficiently by ensuring they were solving real, pressing problems that people actively experienced in their daily work.