Customer Discovery template — free

# CUSTOMER DISCOVERY — HYPOTHESIS DOC Initiative: [Name] Owner: [Name] Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] ## Customer Hypothesis We believe our customer is: - Role: [specific job title] - Company: [size, industry, stage] - Geography: [region, language] - Behavior: [what they do today that shows fit] ## Problem Hypothesis We believe their problem is: - Description: [1-2 sentences, specific not generic] - Severity: [why it's painful, not just annoying] - Frequency: [how often it happens] - Current solutions: [what they do today + why it falls short] ## Solution Hypothesis We believe our solution will work because: - Mechanism: [how our solution addresses the problem] - Differentiator: [why us vs alternatives] - Why now: [why this is timely] ## Falsifiable claims (ranked by risk) 1. [Most risky claim — if false, kill] 2. [Second-most risky claim] 3. [Third-most risky claim] 4. [...] 5. [...] ## What would falsify each claim 1. [Specific evidence that would kill claim 1] 2. [...]

# CUSTOMER DISCOVERY — INTERVIEW GUIDE Interviewee: [Name] Role: [Title @ Company] Date/Time: [YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM] Recording consent: [✓ / Not given] ## 0–5 min: Warm-up - "Tell me about your role and what your week typically looks like." - "How long have you been doing this work?" ## 5–20 min: Context - "What's the biggest challenge you're dealing with right now?" - "Walk me through how your team is structured." - "What does success look like in your role this quarter?" ## 20–45 min: Past behavior (THE MEAT) - "Tell me about the last time [problem] happened. Walk me through the day." - "How often does this come up?" - "What did you do about it?" - "What worked? What didn't?" - "What was the cost when this isn't solved?" ## 45–55 min: Current solutions + WTP - "How do you currently solve this — even as a workaround?" - "What tools or methods have you tried?" - "How do you currently spend money or time on this?" - "What's the budget process for tools like this?" ## 55–60 min: Wrap + commitment - "Anything I should have asked but didn't?" - "Who else faces this problem that I should talk to?" - "Would you be willing to try an early version when we have one?" - "Would you put down a deposit / book a follow-up?" ## Notes during interview (live) [Capture key quotes verbatim here]

# SYNTHESIS MATRIX | Interviewee | Date | Problem severity 1-5 | Frequency | Current solution | Spending today | WTP signal | Commitment? | Key quote | Tags | |-------------|------|----------------------|-----------|------------------|----------------|------------|-------------|-----------|------| | [name 1] | | | | | | | | | | | [name 2] | | | | | | | | | | | ... ## Theme tags (build organically as you go) - problem-severity-high - problem-severity-low - workaround-spreadsheet - workaround-existing-tool - wtp-strong (deposit / LOI / calendar) - wtp-weak (verbal interest) - wtp-zero (free alternatives sufficient) ## Pattern tracking After every 5 interviews, write 2-3 sentences: - What new theme emerged? - What theme got reinforced? - What hypothesis is starting to break?

# CUSTOMER DISCOVERY — DECISION RECORD Initiative: [Name] Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Interviews completed: [N] Decision: PROCEED / PIVOT / KILL ## Hypotheses outcomes | Original hypothesis | Status | Evidence | |---------------------|--------|----------| | [hyp 1] | Confirmed / Falsified / Mixed | [quotes / counts] | | [hyp 2] | ... | ... | ## What we learned (3 bullets, surprising) - [Insight 1] - [Insight 2] - [Insight 3] ## What we got wrong (1-2 bullets) - [What we believed that wasn't true] ## Decision rationale [2-3 paragraph rationale tied to evidence above] ## Next steps (if PROCEED) - Move to Customer Validation phase - MVP scope: [...] - Pricing hypothesis: [...] - Activation milestones: [...] ## Pivot direction (if PIVOT) - New customer hypothesis: [...] - New problem framing: [...] - Re-run Discovery with [N] more interviews ## Postmortem (if KILL) - Saved [estimated time/money] - What this rules out for related ideas - Where we'll look next