Why "The Mom Test" Should Come Before Your First Offer
Ask people whether they like your idea and most of them will say yes. Rob Fitzpatrick explains why that answer is almost worthless.
When you first describe an idea for outside work to a former colleague, the most likely response is encouragement. "That sounds great." "You should definitely do that." It feels like validation.
Rob Fitzpatrick's point is that it usually is not. People are polite, especially people who like you. If you ask whether your idea is good, you will hear what they think you want to hear.
The Mom Test is a short, practical book about asking better questions. I will be upfront about the fit: Fitzpatrick wrote it for startup founders testing product ideas. The lessons apply directly to anyone testing whether their expertise solves a problem people will pay for.
The Core Idea
The title comes from a simple test. Ask your questions in a way that even your mother could not lie to you, because the questions are about her life and her real behavior, never about your idea.
Fitzpatrick's three rules:
- Talk about their life. Ask about their work and their problems, and leave your idea out of it.
- Ask about specifics in the past. What actually happened last time is far more reliable than opinions about what they might do in the future.
- Talk less and listen more. The useful information comes from them.
What This Looks Like for You
An illustration:
A question that invites a polite answer: "Would you pay for help cleaning up your vendor contracts?"
A question that gets the truth: "When did vendor costs last come up as a problem? What did you do about it? What did that cost?"
The first gets you a "maybe." The second tells you whether the problem is real, how much it hurts and whether anyone has tried to fix it.
Fitzpatrick also argues that a good conversation should end with some kind of commitment: a next meeting, an introduction or an agreement to see a proposal. If all you got were compliments, you learned less than it felt like.
How It Fits With the Rest of This Section
The Mom Test comes first. It helps you find out whether a problem is real before you build an offer around it. Gap Selling helps you understand that problem in depth once you know it exists. Book Yourself Solid helps you keep finding people to have these conversations with.
What I Like
It is short enough to read in an evening, and you can use it in your next conversation. Fitzpatrick writes plainly and with humor.
It also takes the pressure off. You are not selling in these conversations. You are learning, which is a much easier thing to ask a former colleague for.
What I Don't Like
Startup examples. Most examples are about product companies and apps, so you will need to translate them to a service.
Light on what comes next. It helps you find out whether a problem is real. It does not cover pricing or proposals.
Easy to underestimate. The rules sound obvious. Following them in a real conversation, when you are excited about your idea, is harder than it looks.
The Bottom Line
This book will not tell you what to charge. It will stop you from building an offer around compliments.
Before your next conversation with a former colleague, write down three questions about their past behavior and none about your idea. That alone will make the conversation more useful.
Get the Book
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick
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Calculate Your GapFortune favors the bold. But fortune also favors those who ask questions that are hard to answer politely.
Scott Fulbright
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