Questions to ask people to get ideas for products
I'm reading Start Small, Stay Small and the author mentions to make a list of the people I know, their jobs and hobbies, and try to come up with ideas for businesses and products based on that.
He mentions asking your friends and acquaintances about most time-consuming things they have to do often and think about if the software could automate it. After you come up with ideas, then you go and check the demand etc. but let's stick at creating a list of ideas for now.
Has anyone tried this approach? What kind of questions do you ask people to come up with ideas?
There's nothing wrong with the process, it's a good one @dr4go
Something to keep in mind, friends and close connection might not be the best source to get honest feedback. Try to talk to strangers online too.
When you ask questions. Ask more Why, Why now, How much, How often etc
It's said that people have a hard time articulating their true frictions - much like the 'faster horse' parable. That does not mean you can't snoop about in their workflows to witness those frictions yourself (from a fresh, 3rd party perspective). I've had luck simply asking if I can shoulder-surf as people go about their recurring tasks. This is great because you can also do it remotely (or while on quarantine). You can usually ask questions along the way, things like 'What have you tried doing before you found this solution?' or 'Have you looked into X/Y/Z?'
@matteomosca is triangulating on a solution with www.pain.land, where users detail frictions they experience. The community votes on them, and entrepreneurs can learn more about problems by getting connected to these users/OP.
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Thanks Ovi, I would also recommend this book about how to interview early adopters and potential customers http://momtestbook.com/