Better customer development

Just posted this comment on the blog, wanted to add it here:

Hey Chris – this is a great list and pretty comprehensive. One that you didn’t really touch on is “leverage connections / cold call people in the industry”. This is what Steve Blank advocates in 4 Steps to the Epiphany. Think about who would want to use your product (“HR reps in mid-sized gaming companies”) and get connected to some of them, or cold call / email them to ask questions, find beta testers, etc.

This is related to the “go to where the people are” but you mainly talked about industry events which, you correctly point out, is a hard place to find the right people and pitch them.

Good post, keep them coming. Also, you really need an about / contact page, especially if you’re going to offer to buy people coffee. How the heck are we supposed to take you up on that??