User research is not a luxury for startups with time and money to spare. It is a necessity for startups that cannot afford to waste either. Every week spent building the wrong feature is a week you will never get back. Research reduces that risk dramatically.
Customer Interviews (15-30 users)
The foundation of all user research. Conduct 30-minute interviews with current users, potential users, and churned users. Ask open-ended questions: 'Walk me through how you currently handle [workflow].' 'What is the most frustrating part?' 'If you had a magic wand, what would you change?'
Session Recordings and Heatmaps
Tools like Hotjar, FullStory, or PostHog let you watch real users interact with your product. You will discover friction points, confusion, and workarounds that no interview or survey would reveal. Review 10-20 sessions per week.
Jobs-to-Be-Done Interviews
JTBD interviews focus on the context and motivation behind product adoption. Ask users to walk you through the moment they decided to try your product: What were they doing? What triggered the search? What alternatives did they consider? This reveals the real competitive landscape and your true value proposition.
Prototype Testing
Before building a feature, create a clickable prototype and test it with 5-8 users. This is enough to identify the major usability issues. Use tools like Figma for high-fidelity prototypes or even paper sketches for early concepts.
Surveys for Quantitative Validation
Use surveys to quantify findings from qualitative research. Once interviews reveal a pattern, validate it with a survey to 100+ users. Keep surveys short (5-7 questions), include one open-ended question, and offer an incentive for completion.
The Research Cadence
Build research into your regular workflow: 2-3 customer interviews per week, weekly session recording review, monthly JTBD interviews, prototype testing before every major feature, and quarterly satisfaction surveys.
