Unlocking Startup Success: The Importance of Identifying Your Bullseye Customer

Michael Margolis has been a UX research partner at Google Ventures (GV) for nearly 15 years. He has developed a unique approach to helping startups identify their “bullseye customer”—the specific subset of their target market who initially is most likely to adopt their product. Michael has conducted over 300 hands-on research sprints with GV portfolio companies across various industries and helped develop the “design sprint” process made famous by the book Sprint. In our conversation, we discuss:

• The step-by-step process of running a bullseye customer sprint

• The most common mistakes founders make when picking their first customers

• Practical tips for conducting effective customer interviews

• How to create simple but effective prototypes for user research

• The power of “watch parties” in aligning teams around customer insights

• How to apply these methods beyond typical tech startups

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• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments

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• Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-your-bullseye-customer-michael-margolis

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Where to find Michael Margolis:

• X: https://x.com/mmargolis

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmargolis/

• Website: https://www.learnmorefaster.com/

• Medium: https://medium.com/@mmargolis

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Michael’s background

(09:11) Bullseye customers vs. ideal customer profiles (ICPs)

(12:32) An overview of the bullseye customer sprint

(20:56) When to use the bullseye customer sprint

(22:19) Step one: Agree on goals and key questions

(23:48) Step two: Define your bullseye customer

(25:52) The importance of a narrow target audience

(29:00) An example of step two in action

(38:24) Narrowing attributes and exclusion criteria

(43:28) Step three: Recruiting and compensating participants

(56:11) Step four: Creating effective prototypes

(01:01:10) Step five: Drafting your interview guide

(01:08:49) Step six: The watch party method

(01:19:40) Common pitfalls and final thoughts

(01:24:43) Closing thoughts and where to find Michael

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Referenced:

• Learn More Faster: How to Find Your Bullseye Customer and Their Perfect Product: https://www.learnmorefaster.com

• Alcoa: https://www.alcoa.com

• Dupont: https://www.dupont.com

• Ericsson: https://www.ericsson.com

• Google Ventures: https://www.gv.com/

• Kate Aronowitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katearonowitz/

• Vanessa Cho on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veecho/

• How to kickstart and scale a consumer business—Step 2: Identify your super-specific who: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/consumer-business-super-specific-who

• When enough is enough | Andy Johns (ex-FB, Twitter, Quora): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/when-enough-is-enough-andy-johns

• Zipline for health care: https://www.flyzipline.com/solutions/healthcare

• Jobs to Be Done framework: https://www.christenseninstitute.org/theory/jobs-to-be-done

• User Interviews: https://www.userinterviews.com/

• Respondent: https://www.respondent.io/

• Flatiron Health: https://flatiron.com/

• How to identify your ideal customer profile (ICP): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-identify-your-ideal-customer

• Gong: https://www.gong.io

• Linear: https://linear.app

• Gusto: https://gusto.com/

• Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling: https://bookshop.org/p/books/humble-inquiry-second-edition-the-gentle-art-of-asking-instead-of-telling-edgar-h-schein/14739375

• Figma: https://www.figma.com

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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