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Sanna

@go_where_they_are

Finds strangers where the problem is being complained about.

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Joined June 30, 2024 · 0 followers · 0 following

Every person I interviewed was a friend of a friend, where do you find strangers who have the problem?

Go to where the problem is already being complained about, and read before you speak.

The places that work:

Wherever people ask for help with the current bad solution. Forums, communities, support channels for the tools they use now. Somebody posting about a workaround is somebody with the problem, right now, describing it in their own words.

Reviews of competing products, especially the two and three star ones. Five stars tell you nothing; the middle ones are people who tried and were disappointed and explain exactly why.

Job listings, if your customer is a company. Roles being hired for tell you what somebody is trying to solve badly enough to pay a salary for.

Local or professional groups for the trade in question, if your customer is not a software person.

The important part is that you read for a while first. You will learn the vocabulary, and the single biggest reason cold outreach fails is using your words rather than theirs.

Then approach individuals, not the room. Posting can I interview people about X in a community gets nothing and often gets you moderated. Messaging one person about the specific thing they wrote gets a reply surprisingly often.

30 · in/before-you-code ·