vector research partners ( aka V4RP )
How to Know if Your Idea’s the Right One — A Founder’s Guide for Successful Early-Stage Customer Discovery
Jeanette Mellinger, V4RP
Jeanette Mellinger, Head of UX Research at BetterUp and former Head of UX Research for Uber Eats, walks founders through a practical, approachable three-step playbook for early-stage customer discovery so you can actually build something users want.
Outline
You’ve got an idea buzzing in your head. Maybe you grab a coffee with a friend, ask, “What do you think?” and do a bit of casual market research. But as “The Mom Test” teaches us, those early check-ins with friends and family won’t cut it if you want to build a product that sticks. You need structured, rigorous customer discovery.
And yet, most founders don’t get there. Some skip research entirely until they’ve built an MVP. Others talk to customers early but without structure, leaving them drowning in scattered, shallow insights.
Jeanette Mellinger has seen it all. She’s spent years helping early-stage founders get this right — including time as First Round’s User Research Expert in Residence, advising founders on validating their ideas rigorously.
“The first few founders I worked with all said: ‘I care deeply about my customers, I’ve spoken with dozens of them. But wow, now I want some rigor. I didn’t get much from these conversations.’”
These are the founders who dive in unprepared, fail to check biases, and don’t carefully define who they’re interviewing. Hundreds of conversations later, they’re left with almost nothing useful. Sound familiar?
“If you’re going to spend time talking to users, do it right. It takes more time upfront, but it saves you from massive course corrections later.”
Mellinger’s playbook is built specifically for founders — you don’t need a dedicated UX researcher from day one, though healthy research habits are crucial early. Most companies only bring in UX research later, asking: “Did we build this well?” But the real value is early — shaping the product itself.
In this guide, she breaks down her three-phase process: building a research plan, conducting interviews without bias, and analyzing insights effectively. Along the way, she shares tactical tips, common mistakes, and beginner-friendly hacks like “mini research sprints” and five-minute debrief templates.
PHASE 1: FORM A RESEARCH PLAN
You’re hyped about your product, but before emailing 50 strangers, Mellinger says: pause.
“Planning your research takes longer than you want, but it saves enormous time later.”
A bit of upfront thinking prevents a scattershot approach that leaves insights floating without a thread.
Start small with research sprints: 5–8 conversations at a time. Why? Because there’s a long laundry list of things you want to learn, but limited time with participants. Narrow your focus to one ICP (ideal customer profile) or one hypothesis per sprint.
“Trying to ask 10 things at once? You’ll only scratch the surface. This is your chance to go deep. What’s the one or two things you must learn now?”
Example: A founder wants to build a fast-heating frying pan. Instead of asking everything about cooking habits, focus a sprint on: who is the right chef, and what’s the key value for them?
Step 1: Define your next decision.
“What action or decision do I want to take with what I’m building?”
Don’t ask everything at once. Narrow your scope, and imagine the debrief a few weeks later: what insight do you hope to take into that meeting?
Step 2: Prioritize quality over quantity.
“Talking to 50 unfocused people is less valuable than 5 targeted interviews.”
Use psychographics (behavior and mindset) and demographics (age, location, experience) to define your sample. For the pan, target innovative, speed-focused chefs in major hubs like New York.
Step 3: Mini research sprints.
5–6 participants per sprint ensures you gather deeper, actionable insights rather than drowning in noise.
PHASE 2: LEARN WITHOUT LETTING BIAS CREEP IN
Now, you sit down with your first participants. Here’s where founders often screw up: they look for validation instead of real learning.
“You want to hear the scary stuff. That’s how you avoid building something nobody wants.”
Check your biases.
- Confirmation bias — don’t wear ‘happy ears.’
Leading questions warp feedback. Replace yes/no or adjective-laden questions with neutral prompts:- Bad: “Do you find this easy?”
- Good: “Tell me about your experience with this.”
- Acquiescence bias — dodge people-pleasing.
People want to be nice. Don’t reveal your hand. Avoid framing recruitment emails around your product. Let participants talk about their real pain points, not just your pan. - Hindsight bias — skip crystal balls.
Don’t ask, “Would you use this?” or “How much would you pay?” Instead, focus on past behavior:- How do they currently solve this problem?
- How much are they already spending?
Structure your interviews: zoom out → zoom in → zoom out.
- Start broad: understand the person and context.
- Narrow: ask about your product/problem space.
- Finish broad: wrap with high-level questions, uncovering deeper insights you might have missed.
Tips for better questions:
- One short question at a time.
- Ask key questions in 2–3 different ways.
PHASE 3: FIND PATTERNS IN THE ANALYSIS PHASE
Customer conversations don’t end with the last interview. Now, you synthesize.
Step 1: Document everything.
Record interviews and take structured notes. Mark quotes that confirm/disprove hypotheses, and emotional reactions.
Step 2: Short analysis — 15-minute post-call huddle.
- Data: note supporting/counter evidence.
- Insights: interpret patterns.
- Action: define a follow-up step or tweak for the next call.
Step 3: Medium analysis — weekly 1-hour sync.
Synthesize findings across multiple conversations. Identify patterns and ask why.
Step 4: Long analysis — comprehensive review.
Use affinity diagramming or other visual mapping to connect insights and spot recurring themes.
“Teams often jump straight to solutions. Ground yourself in data first — conviction comes from patterns, not assumptions.”
WRAP-UP: FIND SUCCESS BY BEING INTENTIONAL
Great research balances speed with patience. Start early, go deep, and synthesize rigorously.
“Moving too fast makes you miss root problems. Don’t take every request at face value. Ask: ‘Why are they asking for a faster horse?’ The more you ground yourself in real data, the stronger your conviction in what customers truly want.”
If you want a product that hits, not fizzles, set out to deeply understand your users from day one — even if it takes extra time upfront.
