Reference table
Customer discovery hypotheses, and what proves them wrong
Six beliefs most startup ideas rest on, each with a kill line written before the first interview
A template for the first step of customer discovery: six hypotheses a startup idea usually rests on, from who the customer is to whether they would swap their current fix, each with a worked example and the result that would prove it wrong. Fill in the last column before you interview anyone, then score each interview against it. Koji can run the problem interviews async once the table is written.
Where this appears
What's in this reference table
| Hypothesis | Example | Proved wrong if |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | Ops leads at 20 to 100 person agencies feel this most | Fewer than half of them had it in the last 3 months |
| Problem | Onboarding a new client takes them over a week of admin | Most describe it as a day or less |
| Current fix | They use spreadsheets and email, and dislike it | They already use a tool they are happy with |
| Value | They have spent money or staff time trying to fix it | Nobody has spent anything on it |
| Buyer | The ops lead can buy a tool without the founder | Every purchase needs the founder to sign off |
| Solution | A checklist that fills itself in would save days | Nobody would swap their current fix for it |
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/customer-discovery-hypotheses-proved-wrong-if"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/customer-discovery-hypotheses-proved-wrong-if/customer-discovery-hypotheses-proved-wrong-if.png" alt="Table of six customer discovery hypotheses: customer, problem, current fix, value, buyer and solution, each with an example and what would prove it wrong." width="1200" height="877" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/customer-discovery-hypotheses-proved-wrong-if">Customer discovery hypotheses, and what proves them wrong</a>, Koji</p>
