Went through S12, and also talk to a lot of YC founders. A few thoughts:
1. Quality over quantity. "Talk to users" works best when you have a well-defined market or ICP. Talking to 10 users in your ultra-specific niche is way better than talking to 100 users across multiple niches.
3. Talk to enough users that you start being able to predict their answers. If you are running interviews and still getting new/surprising answers to your questions, then it means you either haven't spoken to enough people or have a poorly defined ICP... If you need #s, I generally find that after 10 interviews in a very focused ICP, you should start seeing patterns.
Finally, there is an exception to every rule. Your specific market might need more interviews, or you might have such a good insight that you skip formal interviewing all together.
Went through S12, and also talk to a lot of YC founders. A few thoughts:
1. Quality over quantity. "Talk to users" works best when you have a well-defined market or ICP. Talking to 10 users in your ultra-specific niche is way better than talking to 100 users across multiple niches.
2. Your script matters a lot. Asking leading questions will get you results you can't trust. I think The Mom Test (https://www.amazon.com/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/...) is a great intro on this topic.
3. Talk to enough users that you start being able to predict their answers. If you are running interviews and still getting new/surprising answers to your questions, then it means you either haven't spoken to enough people or have a poorly defined ICP... If you need #s, I generally find that after 10 interviews in a very focused ICP, you should start seeing patterns.
Finally, there is an exception to every rule. Your specific market might need more interviews, or you might have such a good insight that you skip formal interviewing all together.