Mom Test questions — 27 you can steal
Copy these straight into your interview guide. Organized by intent so you can pick the 5–7 most relevant to your hypothesis instead of trying to ask all of them.
For the methodology behind these questions — the 3 rules, what compliments to ignore, how to practice — read the full Mom Test guide.
The pattern is consistent across categories: ask about specific past events, not future hypotheticals. "What did you do?" beats "what would you do?" every single time.
Past behavior — the meat
- 01Tell me about the last time you faced [problem]. Walk me through what happened.
- 02What did you do about it? Did anything you tried actually help?
- 03How long did the whole process take from start to resolution?
- 04Who else was involved? What did each person do?
- 05When you finally settled on something, why that choice and not the alternatives?
Problem severity & frequency
- 01On a scale of 1 to 10, how painful was it the last time this happened?
- 02How often does this come up — once a week, once a month, once a year?
- 03What's the impact when this isn't solved? Lost time, lost money, lost sleep?
- 04If you could wave a magic wand and make this go away, what would change in your life or work?
Willingness to pay
- 01How do you currently spend money or time on this — tools, contractors, your own hours?
- 02What's the budget process at your company for tools like this?
- 03Have you ever paid to solve this before? How much, and was it worth it?
- 04What would you have to give up to pay for it — other tools, headcount, other budget?
- 05Who would need to approve a purchase decision of $X?
Alternatives & competition
- 01What's your current go-to solution for this — even if it's a workaround?
- 02What do you like about it? What annoys you about it?
- 03If you had to switch tomorrow, what would you switch to?
- 04Have you ever tried [closest competitor]? Why did/didn't you stick with it?
Workflow & integration
- 01Show me how you'd normally do this. (Screen-share if remote.)
- 02What happens right before this step? What happens right after?
- 03Where do you switch between tools? What gets dropped or duplicated?
- 04If you could remove one step from this workflow, which would it be?
Wrap & commitment
- 01Anything I should have asked but didn't?
- 02Who else faces this problem that I should talk to?
- 03Would you be willing to try an early version when we have one?
- 04Would you put down a deposit / book a follow-up / sign a letter of intent?
- 05How would I know if I built the right thing for you?
Practice these questions
The questions look easy on paper. Real-time, you\'ll catch yourself slipping into hypotheticals or pitch mode. We built GoNoGo as a 30-min drill — an AI strategist asks Mom Test–style questions about your idea, and gives you a transcript showing where you fell into traps.
Practice for free →30 min · No credit card · Then go talk to humans