How to Judge the Light

Customer discovery is easy, right? You just call up a dozen or so potential customers, ask them a bunch of questions, and you're done. It seems absurd but that's what a lot of founders do. No one becomes a founder because they like to research; they become founders because they like to build. But building too early often comes at the cost of building the wrong thing.

Phil and his team at Paper did real customer discovery. They moved to a different country and rented a house right next to their customers. They visited their customers every day for months.  Countless hours later, they understood exactly what was needed and built the right thing.

They took Research Mode seriously. And it paid off. In 2022, they raised $300M and became a unicorn. Clearly, their product struck a chord. If you want to learn how exactly they did it, check this episode out.

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