The Mom Test book club questions

1. 1.

   Fitzpatrick argues that most customer conversations are worthless because founders ask the wrong questions. Which questions have you asked in the past that now seem like they were fishing for validation?

2. 2.

   The book says compliments are the enemy of real learning. What's the most encouraging thing a potential customer has said to you that, in retrospect, meant nothing?

3. 3.

   Good questions are about past behavior, not hypothetical futures. What would change about how you talk to customers if you committed to only asking about what they've actually done?

4. 4.

   Fitzpatrick says the only real signal is commitment — money, time, introductions. Have you ever mistaken enthusiasm for commitment? What happened next?

5. 5.

   The Mom Test suggests that most people are too polite to tell you your idea is bad. In which areas of your life do you rely on polite feedback instead of honest data?

6. 6.

   Fitzpatrick recommends stopping interviews when you start hearing repeated patterns from strangers. How would you know when you've reached that point in a real research project?

7. 7.

   The book covers how to handle someone who is too helpful — giving you what you want to hear. Who in your professional or personal life fills this role for your ideas?

8. 8.

   Fitzpatrick argues that running a demo before understanding the problem is a mistake most founders make. When have you rushed to show something before you understood what the other person actually needed?

9. 9.

   The distinction between facts, emotions, and commitments shapes what's worth writing down after a conversation. How do you currently document what you hear from customers or users? What's missing?

10. 10.

    Bad questions telegraph the answer you want. "Don't you find X frustrating?" "Wouldn't something like this help?" Write down three questions you've recently asked that have this problem.

11. 11.

    Fitzpatrick says you should be uncomfortable running a great customer interview because you're not pitching. How comfortable are you with silence and with questions that don't point anywhere?

12. 12.

    The book is short enough that its advice is specific and hard to misapply. What part of it do you think you would ignore in practice, and why?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.