Customer Discovery Kit: The Zero-BS Guide to Validating Your Idea
Most founders build first and ask questions later. This usually results in a beautiful product that absolutely no one wants to buy.
This kit is designed to do one thing: Help you run 5 to 10 high-quality discovery interviews this week, figure out if your idea is dead on arrival, and decide whether you should start writing code or throwing the idea in the trash.
This kit is designed to do one thing: Help you run 5 to 10 high-quality discovery interviews this week, figure out if your idea is dead on arrival, and decide whether you should start writing code or throwing the idea in the trash.
- Who this is for & When to use it
- Who this is for & When to use it
- Who: Technical founders, domain experts, and second-act operators in the zero-to-one phase.
- When: Before you write a line of code. Before you run paid ads. Or right after a major pivot when you realize your V1 isn't selling.
2. Who to Interview & Who to Avoid
Stop talking to people who want to be nice to you.
- AVOID: Friends, family, your mom, other founders (unless they are your ICP), and "visionaries" who love talking about the future of tech but don't control a budget.
- INTERVIEW: People who actively experience the specific workflow bottleneck you are trying to solve. Look for people who are currently spending money or wasting hours trying to fix it right now.
3. The Outreach Scripts (To get them on a call)
Never ask to "pitch an idea" or "show a demo."
Ask for their expertise on a broken process / system / problem itself.
If it pains them, they will talk about it.
Script 1: The Warm Intro / Referral
"Hey [Name], [Mutual Connection] mentioned you're the smartest person they know regarding [Niche Workflow/Problem]. I’m trying to figure out why [Specific Process] is still so broken in 2026. Are you open to a 15-minute chat? I have nothing to sell, just want to hear how you currently handle it."
Script 2: The Cold LinkedIn / Email Drop
"Hey [Name] — jumping right in. I’m an engineer mapping out the backend of [Specific Industry/Process] and trying to figure out why the [Specific Task] step is always a bottleneck. Since you run this at [Their Company], I'd love to get your blunt take. Open to a 10-minute audio call next week? No pitch, researching."
Ask for their expertise on a broken process / system / problem itself.
If it pains them, they will talk about it.
Script 1: The Warm Intro / Referral
"Hey [Name], [Mutual Connection] mentioned you're the smartest person they know regarding [Niche Workflow/Problem]. I’m trying to figure out why [Specific Process] is still so broken in 2026. Are you open to a 15-minute chat? I have nothing to sell, just want to hear how you currently handle it."
Script 2: The Cold LinkedIn / Email Drop
"Hey [Name] — jumping right in. I’m an engineer mapping out the backend of [Specific Industry/Process] and trying to figure out why the [Specific Task] step is always a bottleneck. Since you run this at [Their Company], I'd love to get your blunt take. Open to a 10-minute audio call next week? No pitch, researching."
4. The 12 Golden Questions
Rule #1 of discovery: Never ask about the future.
People lie about the future. Ask about the past.
Past Behavior & The Pain
The Workaround & The Urgency
4. What are you currently doing to solve or bypass this problem?
5. Show me exactly how you do that right now. (Crucial: Get them to share their screen and show you the messy solution... or at least tell you in detail).
6. What happens if you just don't fix this? Does it cost you money, or is it just an annoyance?
Buying Context & Budgets
7. Have you ever paid for a tool or hired a contractor to try and fix this?
8. (If yes) What didn't work about that solution?
9. (If no) Why haven't you looked for a paid solution yet?
10. (B2B only) Whose budget does this specific problem fall under at your company?
11. If you found a magic wand that completely automated this, what would it actually improve?
12. Who else should I talk to that deals with this exact same headache?
People lie about the future. Ask about the past.
Past Behavior & The Pain
- Talk me through the last time you had to do [Specific Task].
- What is the absolute hardest or most annoying part of that specific process?
- How much time did that take you last time?
The Workaround & The Urgency
4. What are you currently doing to solve or bypass this problem?
5. Show me exactly how you do that right now. (Crucial: Get them to share their screen and show you the messy solution... or at least tell you in detail).
6. What happens if you just don't fix this? Does it cost you money, or is it just an annoyance?
Buying Context & Budgets
7. Have you ever paid for a tool or hired a contractor to try and fix this?
8. (If yes) What didn't work about that solution?
9. (If no) Why haven't you looked for a paid solution yet?
10. (B2B only) Whose budget does this specific problem fall under at your company?
11. If you found a magic wand that completely automated this, what would it actually improve?
12. Who else should I talk to that deals with this exact same headache?
5. The Synthesis Worksheet
After each call, fill this in wherever comfortable:
Once you have 5-10 interviews, line them up and look for the overlaps.
- The Trigger: (What causes the problem to happen?)
- The Workaround: (How are they duct-taping it together today?)
- The Cost: (Quantify it: "Losing 4 hours a week" or "Burning $2k a month")
- The Emotion: (Were they annoyed, apathetic, or angry?)
- Exact Quote: (Write down the exact 5-word phrase they used to describe the pain. You will use this in your marketing later.)
Once you have 5-10 interviews, line them up and look for the overlaps.
- The Universal Pain: Did at least 60% of them complain about the exact same specific step?
- The Status Quo: Are they all using the same broken workaround (e.g., Excel)?
- The Dealbreaker: What is the one feature they all said was missing from current market solutions?
6. Decision Matrix
Ignore compliments. Compliments are polite lies.
You are looking for active pain.
🔴 Weak Signals (Polite Lies - DO NOT BUILD)
🟢 Strong Signals (Active Pain - START BUILDING)
❓What to do next
Look at your Synthesis and your Signals. You have three options:
You are looking for active pain.
🔴 Weak Signals (Polite Lies - DO NOT BUILD)
- "That sounds like a great idea."
- "I can see a lot of people using this."
- "Let me know when it's finished and I'll take a look."
- Verdict: They don't care. The pain isn't sharp enough.
🟢 Strong Signals (Active Pain - START BUILDING)
- They physically showed you their messy workaround on a screen share.
- They complained about how much money/time they are currently losing.
- They asked, "When can I use this?" or "How much will this cost?" before you even brought up a product.
- Verdict: You found a bleeding neck.
❓What to do next
Look at your Synthesis and your Signals. You have three options:
- 🔴 Red Light (Apathy): They use a workaround and they are fine with it. Throw the idea away. Pivot to a completely different problem. Do not write a single line of code.
- 🟡 Yellow Light (Wrong Wedge): The problem exists, but you are talking to the wrong person, or your proposed solution is a "vitamin," not a "painkiller. Change the ICP. Run 5 more interviews with a different job title (e.g., talk to the CFO instead of the Marketing Manager)
- 🟢 Green Light (Bleeding Neck): You got strong signals from at least 5 people. They are actively losing money/time. Stop interviewing. Go back to the 3 strongest interviews and say: "I am building exactly what we talked about. If I give you early access to fix [Specific Pain] in 3 weeks, will you be a design partner and pilot it for me?"
Book a free strategy session - in 45 minutes we will:
- Break down where your startup is bleeding focus and resources.
- Figure out what to do next: ICP, hypothesis, validation approach.
- Pick the right set of channels for your early-stage acquisition.
- And, if necessary, I'll help you abandon an idea that won't fly - in time.
This will not be a presentation and it will not be therapy. It will be a conversation between founders.
If you want to move faster - don't go at it alone.
This session will save you at least 3 months and a couple of hundred thousand dollars on useless iterations.
This session will save you at least 3 months and a couple of hundred thousand dollars on useless iterations.
Why can you trust me?
Everything I give in this guide has been tested in practice: both on my own launches, and in the hundred conversations with founders I have mentored, tracked, and supported.
For 13 years, I've been helping founders find their focus and get to product-market fit – earlier, as an employee:
Now, as a founder advisor.
This is not theory. This is real experience that you can adapt to your situation.
So sign up for a strategy session.
I conduct a limited number of such sessions to dive as deeply as possible into each founder.
To book a spot for a strategy review, click the button below ↓
For 13 years, I've been helping founders find their focus and get to product-market fit – earlier, as an employee:
- Launched a psychotherapy marketplace that reached $7M ARR in Eastern Europe.
- Helped a hardware team prepare for the largest IPO in UK history.
- Relaunched a SaaS product, leading to +$30M in annual sales.
Now, as a founder advisor.
This is not theory. This is real experience that you can adapt to your situation.
So sign up for a strategy session.
I conduct a limited number of such sessions to dive as deeply as possible into each founder.
To book a spot for a strategy review, click the button below ↓
Client results
— «Working with Dmitry means making real forward progress. He knows how to hold the strategy, even when there are a million voices around. Revenue growth, product growth - that's his contribution.».
Olga Kitaina, Co-founder of Alter, TED Fellow (B2C/B2B Marketplace, EMEA)
— «Our team was looking at dozens of directions and didn't want to get stuck in one niche too early. In 2.5 months, Dmitry's team researched 20 segments and helped us make a decision based on data, not feelings. Plus, his dark humor is the best tool for reaching consensus».
Daniil Sigal, Head of R&D at Palta AI (B2C mobile, US)
— «With Dmitry, we had two sessions that leveled up our marketing and sales. He knows how to listen, get to the core of the issue, and gently - but precisely - ask the uncomfortable questions. The result was a clear strategy and concrete actions».
Ngozi Cadmus, Founder of Frontline Therapist, TEDx Speaker (B2C SaaS, UK)
— «Dmitry helped me quickly validate a new product hypothesis for the US market. I genuinely saved budget, energy, and ended up changing my direction. I will definitely come back for a second opinion».
Ivan Trufanov, CPO at Ex-human, Forbes 30 under 30 (SaaS, US)
— «Dmitry is an amazing mentor. He very effectively helped me navigate a framework towards continuing to work on a current business vs. maintaining/dropping it in order to pivot from scratch and work on another business where the odds of success are higher.».
Mihai Avram, First-time Founder (B2C Freemium, US)
— «We came in torn between two paths (B2B vs. B2C), with traction, but a lot of emotional and energetic weight around the decision. Dmitry not only helped us break it down logically, but also challenged our assumptions in a way that felt productive and energizing, not heavy. You’re talking to someone with deep expertise, but it never feels intimidating.».
Margarita Varaksa, First-time Founder (SaaS Legal Tech, US)
Olga Kitaina, Co-founder of Alter, TED Fellow (B2C/B2B Marketplace, EMEA)
— «Our team was looking at dozens of directions and didn't want to get stuck in one niche too early. In 2.5 months, Dmitry's team researched 20 segments and helped us make a decision based on data, not feelings. Plus, his dark humor is the best tool for reaching consensus».
Daniil Sigal, Head of R&D at Palta AI (B2C mobile, US)
— «With Dmitry, we had two sessions that leveled up our marketing and sales. He knows how to listen, get to the core of the issue, and gently - but precisely - ask the uncomfortable questions. The result was a clear strategy and concrete actions».
Ngozi Cadmus, Founder of Frontline Therapist, TEDx Speaker (B2C SaaS, UK)
— «Dmitry helped me quickly validate a new product hypothesis for the US market. I genuinely saved budget, energy, and ended up changing my direction. I will definitely come back for a second opinion».
Ivan Trufanov, CPO at Ex-human, Forbes 30 under 30 (SaaS, US)
— «Dmitry is an amazing mentor. He very effectively helped me navigate a framework towards continuing to work on a current business vs. maintaining/dropping it in order to pivot from scratch and work on another business where the odds of success are higher.».
Mihai Avram, First-time Founder (B2C Freemium, US)
— «We came in torn between two paths (B2B vs. B2C), with traction, but a lot of emotional and energetic weight around the decision. Dmitry not only helped us break it down logically, but also challenged our assumptions in a way that felt productive and energizing, not heavy. You’re talking to someone with deep expertise, but it never feels intimidating.».
Margarita Varaksa, First-time Founder (SaaS Legal Tech, US)
(c) Dmitry Trofimets
2026
2026