Caitlin Sullivan

Helping Product Teams get customer insights they can trust | Tweets about Product Discovery in startups | Ex. Head of User Research in SaaS.

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

*Is there a reliable path to Product Market Fit?*

I'm collecting sources and thoughts around this for an article. ✌️

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

3 startup Product teams I worked with last week made the same 3 mistakes with Continuous Discovery:

- Talking to the wrong users (yes, really)
- Creating discovery objectives that were too broad for where they are right now
- Using really useless session summary templates

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

>70% of UX Researchers and Product teams say they're trying AI now to figure out customers (multiple sources).

Are *YOU* using any AI tools to understand your customers? Which ones?

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

What do *you* think will be the state of early-stage startups and PMF if funding is drying up?

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

What's the future of Product Market Fit in a world where easy money is drying up?

In the past decade, there’s been a lot of easy money flowing to startups. Now, it's ≈half what it used to be.

Here's what I think will happen to early stage startups....

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

Here’s what I think will happen:

1️⃣ Reaching PMF will take longer
2️⃣ Startups will fail faster if they get attached to early ideas. They won't have funding to support them despite lack of market fit)
3️⃣ Early-stage co's will charge for products sooner - the end of free tiers?

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

Got questions about choosing your toolkit for Product Discovery? Just ask ✌️

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

Setting up Product Discovery from scratch? You need a toolkit.
Here's a list of the tasks you need to set up tools for:

1. Outreach + recruiting
2. Unmoderated testing
3. Transcribing sessions
4. Live moderated sessions
5. Synthesizing notes
6. Linking discovery to OKRs

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

@adele_bloch Thanks for sharing that! Such a nice example of the fear most of us feel about sending something "live" even though we know we're supposed to test ideas in the market, etc. Sometimes, the smallest possible test is with one really close person. And you can still learn so much.

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

If you did these 6 free things first, then interviewing prospects with the right focus and useful questions becomes a lot easier.

What would you change about your customer discovery if you started your business or product from scratch?

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

If I were to start Product Discovery today for a new business, I would NOT interview potential users first.

I’d take 2 weeks to do 6 free things
(that lead to better customer interviews) -

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

5. Have open non-interview conversations with anyone I know who I believe is my target audience. Not going in with a script.

6. Read reports about the market I intend to launch in. Look for where the growth is.

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

@khemaridh Clarity on the ONE thing you’re trying to accomplish

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

If if missed a tool you love - that can specifically speed up Product Discovery workflows - please comment and I’ll check it out. 🙏

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

AI tools that claim they'll help me do Product Discovery faster (and better)?

I am *not* an early adopter. I'm often the last to try new tools.

But I’m testing all the AI tools I can find for speeding up Discovery.

Here's the list of tools I'm testing so you can test, too

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

I’m curious to see how AI tools can help me:

> Identify the top customer pains
> Highlight patterns I've missed
> Act as unbiased(?) “eyes” to compare with my analysis
> Show which patterns we have most evidence for
> Visualize parts of the journey we understand most/least

[Caitlin Sullivan @caittests]

@e17chrisfleming No worries at all! I'm just so glad you found it useful. 🥳