Mobile Dev Memo Podcast Season 6, Episode 14: Zero-to-one product growth (with Daphne Tideman)
Oct 21, 2025
In this chat, product growth expert Daphne Tideman shares her journey from agency to in-house roles, focusing on app startups. She explains early audience validation and why it’s vital to identify real problems. Daphne introduces tools like the painted door test for measuring intent to pay. She emphasizes the importance of continuous customer interviews and feedback, avoiding the pitfalls of over-niching, and offers insights on assessing product-market fit. Plus, she shares market sizing tips and how to estimate a product's potential.
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Validate Audience Before Building
- Do prioritize early audience validation by interviewing potential users to find desperation pains, not polite interest.
- Use competitor reviews and conversations to triangulate problems before building features.
Use Fake-Door Tests For Monetization
- Do painted-door (fake-door) tests to mimic an onboarding up to payment to measure real intent without building the full product.
- Capture emails and test angles, but be clear it's early stage to avoid frustrating users.
Interview First, Monetize Early
- Do user interviews as a non-negotiable first step to deeply understand problems and previous solutions tried.
- Validate willingness to pay with paid waiting lists, presales, or MVP subscriptions before full build.
