I highly recommend the Mom Test book by Rob Fitzpatrick. But I know many tech founders are too busy and often don't want to read non-technical books. I am guilty of this but am trying harder to escape that habit. As I read the Mom Test, I quickly realized that asking the right questions to potential users/customers is a crucial way to validate the business idea or the product or service. The book spends considerable time on examples that teach the readers how to frame the questions in the correct tense and perspectives.

So, I had a bright idea: What if I ask ChatGPT to generate a user/customer interview question set based on this book? I did, and it was very good. So, I figured I should develop a generic prompt template that others can use to benefit from LLMs that have the core knowledge of the book and help the founder at least get a good sample of the questions in their niche.

So here is the prompt I generated:

Prompt:

I am a founder in the [insert niche market here] industry. I am developing a product/service called [insert product/service name here] that aims to [briefly describe the product/service and its intended benefits]. I aim to validate the need for this product/service, understand the potential customer's pain points, and assess the demand within this niche market.

Please generate a set of customer interview questions that will help me:

1. Understand the current practices and tools my potential customers use.
2. Identify the challenges and pain points they face related to [specific problem your product/service solves].
3. Explore their experiences and the impact of these challenges on their work/life.
4. Introduce my product/service concept without pitching, and gauge their interest and perceived value.
5. Determine their willingness to pay for a solution like mine.

The questions should follow the principles of The Mom Test, focusing on uncovering real problems and past behaviors rather than hypothetical scenarios. They should also be specific to the context of [insert niche market here] and relevant to professionals within this industry.

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As a founder, I'll continue researching this topic and sharing valuable insights to help mitigate such challenges in the future.  Here are some of my current thoughts on this.

Comprehensive Digital Presence

Maintaining a robust and consistent online presence is crucial in the age of AI-driven product discovery. Founders should ensure their product information is available across multiple platforms, including websites, social media, and product listings. Regularly updating digital content helps maintain relevance and accuracy, providing AI systems with current and reliable information to draw from.

Structured Data Markup

Implementing schema.org markup on your website is essential for providing clear, structured information about your product. This technical optimization helps search engines and AI models better understand and categorize your product information, improving its visibility and accuracy in AI-generated responses.

Content Quality and Depth

Producing high-quality, in-depth content about your product is more important than ever. This includes detailed specifications, use cases, and comparisons with similar products. Creating comprehensive FAQ sections addresses common questions and potential misconceptions, giving AI systems a rich source of accurate information to reference.

Third-party Validation

Encouraging customer reviews, seeking out independent product reviews, and participating in industry awards all contribute to building credibility. This third-party validation provides AI systems with diverse and trustworthy sources of information about your product, enhancing its representation in AI-generated content.

AI-friendly Content Creation

Adapting your content strategy for AI consumption involves using clear, concise language and organizing information in easily digestible formats. Including relevant keywords and phrases that AI models might use when discussing your product category can improve the accuracy of AI-generated product information.

Proactive Misinformation Management

Regularly monitoring mentions of your product across various platforms, including AI-powered ones, is crucial. Setting up alerts for your brand and product names allows for quick identification and addressing of any misinformation, helping maintain accurate representation in AI systems.

Engage with AI Companies

Proactively contacting major AI companies to provide accurate, up-to-date information about your product can significantly impact its representation. Exploring partnerships or collaborations with these companies ensures your product is accurately portrayed in their knowledge bases.

Create an AI Information Pack

Developing a comprehensive, easily accessible information pack about your product designed for AI consumption can be a game-changer. This pack should include key features, specifications, pricing, comparisons, and frequently asked questions, serving as a reliable source for AI systems.

Leverage Open-source Datasets

Contributing accurate information about your product to open-source datasets that AI models might use for training can improve the overall quality of AI-generated product information. This proactive approach helps ensure your product is represented accurately across various AI platforms.

Educational Content

Producing educational content about your product category establishes your brand as an industry authority. This can include how-to guides, industry insights, and trend analyses, providing AI systems with rich, contextual information about your product and its market placement.

By exploring these strategies, new product founders can effectively navigate the challenges posed by AI in product discovery and comparison. Remember, this field constantly evolves, and staying adaptable and informed will be crucial to success in the AI-driven marketplace.

So, you've decided to grow your X account and become a force to be reckoned with. Good call! Growing an account takes a mix of strategy, consistency, and a bit of finesse. Let's dive into how you can do it effectively without turning it into a full-time job.

First things first, you've got to optimize your profile. Think of it as dressing for success. Subscribe to X Blue for those extra perks, upload a sharp headshot, and create a cover that screams, "I'm here to make an impact." Don't forget to link your landing pages in your bio, but steer clear of linking your X business account directly – you want to keep it personal yet professional.

Now, let's talk about followers and the following ratios. The X algorithm loves to play matchmaker based on user behavior. Keep your follower list clean: unfollow anyone who doesn't follow you back and those who don't post content relevant to your niche. Follow accounts with a solid follower count but don't follow many themselves – these are the movers and shakers.

Engagement is your best friend on X. Make a list of followers who consistently engage with your content and reciprocate. Also, keep tabs on accounts of your size that post daily, and be bold in engaging with the big players in your field. But remember, focus less on new accounts and more on established ones that can boost your visibility.

Regarding time allocation, consider it a workout routine for your account. Dedicate 30-40 minutes daily, with a balanced split: 30% creating content, 20% engaging with big accounts, 20% replying to your followers, and 30% handling notifications. Always aim to give more than you take—it's the secret to building a loyal community.

Let's not forget the power of visual content. Images and videos are eye-catching, so use them whenever possible. Rename your files with relevant keywords before uploading. For example, if you're targeting startup founders, include those keywords in your file names. Content with numbers tends to perform better—it's all about that visual punch.

Your post structure should be a slippery slide that keeps readers hooked until the end. Keep it brief but impactful. Sprinkle in a few keywords naturally and focus on topics you're passionate about. Authenticity is critical; share your unique perspective and let your personality shine through.

When it comes to links and hashtags, tread carefully. External links can shadow-ban your post, so stick them in the comments instead. Limit yourself to one hashtag to train the algorithm to recognize and boost your content. For instance, using "buildinpublic" frequently can help you reach the right audience.

The first hour after posting is crucial. To prevent splitting your impressions, avoid engaging with other accounts' posts three hours before and after you post. After posting, reply to comments and add flair with gifs or images.

In the next 24 hours after posting, if your post is gaining traction, hold off on posting anything new. The algorithm likes to give your content some breathing room. If you must post again, ensure there's at least a six-hour gap.

Growing your X account is a marathon, not a sprint. With these strategies, you're increasing your numbers and building a community that values what you bring. Ready to take your X game to the next level? Let's get started!

I made a ShowNotes about how I am going about this for my account. You are welcome to check out the notes here:

https://shownotes.app/show/i68vv

Every startup guru, YouTube video, Product Hunt, and indie influencer tells you to build with validated ideas through social networks or other means. But what happened to building for fun or yourself?

Linus Torvalds created Linux only for himself. He didn't create Git to solve the world's software version control problem. He built it to manage Linux kernel development. Now, we have both Linux and Git.

I understand building for customers. That's consulting or work for hire. I know how to find and solve a big problem for the world market. I'm not opposed to any of that. That's the path of every startup today. But when I created my first software in my second year of college, it was for fun. It was to show a friend that Turbo Pascal was good enough to make something outside of academic use. We ended up selling this MS-DOS-based multi-user calendar and boot customization software via military FTP sites and CDROM.COM, funding our pizza parties every other week for months!

Building software for fun and personal use can be a great way to start entrepreneurship if you need help finding something big or marketable to solve or create. Getting started is the key. So many of my friends never got started. Some work for huge software companies and yet feel stuck or institutionalized.

I'm totally for solving problems that have marketability or customers. Please do. But if you can't find a problem that meets a startup's business requirements, consider a fun idea for yourself and get started. You never know what you'll end up making!

I never wanted to build the most boring franchise management software for multinational corporations. I had never known it was my calling to make money and have a niche presence for 22 years. I wanted to show other developers that a low-level framework-based object-oriented programming platform could be entertaining when starting to write code. Who knew that would lead to building a PCI-compliant web-based solution that replaced AS/400-based systems standard in a dull niche market?

In business, we don't often get to control our destinations, but we can enjoy the journey!

I've been exploring X/Twitter as my primary social media platform, along with ProductHunt and IndieHackers, for more targeted tech communities. Although I've had a Twitter account since 2008, I only became active after Elon Musk's acquisition. Like many, I was intrigued by Elon's technological achievements. However, X/Twitter has yet to resonate with me entirely.

Growing my presence through my preferred interaction style—sharing information, insights, and commentary on tech developments like the recent AI boom fueled by LLMs—has been challenging. I've observed that much of X/Twitter thrives on controversy, whether in politics or tech. As someone who prefers to avoid contentious topics, I've found this environment less conducive to meaningful engagement.

Nevertheless, social media remains crucial for tech founders promoting products and services. This realization led me to explore growth strategies that align with my values, avoiding the temptation to generate controversy in tech—a straightforward but ultimately unproductive approach.

Interestingly, I've noticed that some individuals have successfully built large audiences without resorting to controversy. Their common approach? Providing value through a simple yet effective method: sharing compiled information into bite-sized, engaging nuggets. Sharing their notes publicly has become a powerful tool for building authority and engaging audiences in the tech community.

Let's explore some practical ways tech founders can leverage public notes and note-sharing to grow their audience:

Tech Tip Tuesday

Create a weekly series where you share public notes on practical tech tips or productivity hacks. These could be shortcuts in popular software, lesser-known features of operating systems, or time-saving tools. Present these notes in visually appealing infographics or 30-second videos.

Founder's Journey

Develop a series of short, personal stories from your experiences as a tech founder. Each post should focus on a lesson learned, a challenge overcome, or insight gained. By sharing notes on your journey, you humanize your brand and provide valuable insights to aspiring entrepreneurs.

AI Explained

Break down complex AI concepts into simple, easy-to-understand explanations or analogies. Use your public notes to create illustrations or simple animations that support your explanations. Sharing notes on AI topics can position you as a thought leader in this rapidly evolving field.

Code Snippet of the Day

Share a helpful code snippet daily as part of your public notes. Please include a brief explanation of its purpose and potential applications. Sharing notes on coding can be invaluable for novice and experienced developers in your audience.

Tech News in TL;DR

Challenge yourself to summarize the day's most significant tech news in a single tweet. Sharing notes requires distilling complex stories into their essence while still providing value.

Startup Stacks 

Create visually appealing graphics showcasing the technology stacks of successful startups. Include these in your public notes to provide valuable insights into real-world tech choices.

Product Hunt Picks of the Week

Curate a weekly list of the most exciting or innovative new products from Product Hunt. Share your notes on each product, including your thoughts on their potential impact or use cases.

Tech Trend Tracker for Month, Year

Develop a monthly infographic or carousel post highlighting emerging tech trends. Public notes on these trends can help your audience stay informed about the rapidly changing tech landscape.

Founder's Bookshelf

Share concise summaries or critical takeaways from books that have influenced your journey as a tech founder. These book notes shared publicly, can provide actionable insights for your audience.

Tech Trivia Thursday

Post weekly tech-related trivia questions to engage your audience and spark discussions. Sharing notes on tech trivia can be an entertaining way to educate your audience.

By consistently sharing public notes on these topics, you can provide regular value to your audience, showcase your expertise, and build engagement without controversy. Sharing notes allows you to distribute your knowledge and insights in an easily digestible and shareable way, helping to grow your following organically.

Remember to adapt these note-sharing ideas to your specific niche and audience preferences. Pay attention to which types of public notes generate the most engagement and refine your approach over time. Also, don't be afraid to inject your personality into these notes – authenticity often resonates well on social media. For tech founders looking to grow their audience, the power of publicly sharing notes must be balanced. By consistently providing valuable, bite-sized information through public notes, you can establish yourself as a trusted source of knowledge in your field and build a loyal following.

🍪 Cookie for Scrolling Down Here 🍪

Thanks for reading or at least scrolling down here. If you create a ShowNotes.app account and create a public note that gets at least 5 minutes of view time, I will convert your account into a PRO account! Just comment below or DM me on ShowNotes.app.

When I created Show [your] Notes, I had yet to make a plan to acquire users (free) or customers (paid). It's not that I don't want them; I built ShowNotes primarily for myself. I needed a note-sharing solution I loved. I tried powerful note-taking products like Notion and built-in apps like Notes on the Apple platform, but I wanted more. That doesn't mean these aren't great products; they didn't work well for me. 

So, I scratched my itch and built ShowNotes, a web-based note-sharing platform where users control creation. AI agents assist with publishing tasks, including proofreading, SEO, classification, tagging, link safety, and recommendations.

User of One

I built ShowNotes on a straightforward foundational platform I've developed over the years. From concept to initial version, completed in a few weeks, I've been continuously improving it. January 11, 2024, is the first real version, and since then, I've been creating daily notes on countless topics.

So far, I have over 120 ShowNotes shared with friends, family, staff members, and the public (via Twitter and ProductHunt). My notes have garnered 8K unique sessions totaling over 70 hours. You can see my ShowNotes profile here:

https://shownotes.app/@mjkabir

My friends and I used travel research notes I created to plan a massive Yellowstone trip. Some friends printed the note – it was 19 PDF pages long. Others loved my notes on my 6th-grade son's summer activities, mimicking the educational aspects and informing me about courses they purchased for their kids based on my recommendations.

I created a show-note for a multicultural parent presentation at an elementary school and shared it with the principal. She distributed it to many teachers, and I received excited feedback from several. Sharing notes has been an excellent experience, which justifies creating this platform.

Getting Users and Customers

Although I didn't initially consider other users and customers, I've decided to open ShowNotes to the public for free in July/August 2024. I built it for everyday internet users who research, learn, and want to share knowledge on any topic with friends, family, and the world. Users can build an organic following they control with no platform lock-in; data ownership remains with the creator.

However, everyday folks won’t actively seek my tool, and it's not easily discoverable yet! So, I must narrow my audience to a smaller niche—low-tier content creators who struggle with social media or are frustrated by how it handles their data and followers. When I experimented with YouTube, I realized they must provide a subscriber list. Losing my channel meant losing all subscribers.  The same applies to X/Twitter and Facebook. None of these platforms give creators ownership of their data and followers.

Creating a new social media platform wasn't my goal. I wanted to share everyday research on various topics and build a valuable email list for direct audience communication.

Since most topic research is ongoing, blogs aren't ideal for sharing such information. I wanted a note-sharing communication form. I continuously add and rearrange notes as I learn, benefiting recipients by saving them time.

ShowNotes – a web app – allows note creation on any topic. I can write code snippets, share research on camera equipment, or discuss summer programs for my kids. Built-in AI agents handle proofreading, categorization, tagging, and link safety. They flag potentially dangerous code snippets, harmful links, etc. These AI agents perform all publishing checks and provide creators with information to improve their notes.

Given my B2B background, I incorporated analytics to track note views (clicks and time spent) and added social media features (comments, likes, etc.). Since January 11, 2024, I've written hundreds of notes using ShowNotes. These have been read by friends, family members, and the public for over 70 hours across 8K+ unique sessions.

Narrowing My Initial Target Audience

My vision of widespread daily ShowNotes use is ambitious but needs to be narrower. Given my budget, targeting low-tier content creators seeking organic growth is a more realistic goal. Even better, it focuses on startup founders eager to share about their products and industries through the note series. I've joined ProductHunt, IndieHackers, and relevant subreddits to engage with founders and marketers in this niche.

My First Target Users: Solo Startup Founders Needing Exposure

I can help startup founders create off-site content highlighting their products and services. They can share industry expertise as notes, benefiting them through (a) increased credibility, (b) backlink/SEO advantages, and (c) expanded reach.

I've implemented an intelligent daily digest email for all users. Rather than sending identical content to everyone, it delivers unseen public and new notes to recipients, increasing visibility for user-generated content.

My Offer to Solo Startup Founders 

If you share notes about your product/service and target industry and provide valuable insights from your experience, I'll upgrade your account to PRO-level for free for one year.

Sign up, create public notes, and identify yourself as a founder in your profile. Our system will automatically upgrade your account once you have at least three public notes with 5+ minutes of viewing time by others.

How to Reach Solo Founders

I'm active on ProductHunt and IndieHackers to connect with solo founders. I'll provide value by creating notes about your products, ranging from brief overviews to in-depth reviews, depending on the product category and my interests.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you created your entries, gaining exposure through consumer-friendly, easily digestible note-sharing with safe links, images, videos, automated classification, tagging, and SEO optimization.

About Kabir

I'm proud to be part of the American immigrant success story. After high school, I came to the US to study computer engineering. In my second year of college, I developed my first shareware, selling it for $25/license through CDROM.COM. I also built DSP benchmark software for a UC Berkeley startup, collaborating with brilliant UCB hackers who inspired me to believe in my potential.

This led me to start my entrepreneurial journey with a financial product and a web programming book contract. I have authored a dozen books on web programming and infrastructure, secured VC funding, and found myself at the top of the World Trade Center. Today, I run a 22-year-old niche B2B company that operates almost on autopilot with a small team. This freedom allows me to explore B2C tools, learn from new challenges, and share knowledge with my sons and the wider community.

We created the ShowNotes Youtube channel below to highlight ShowNotes how-to videos and more importantly user created ShowNotes! Please consider subscribing to the channel and turn on your notifications.

https://www.youtube.com/@shownotesapp

Here are the two videos that we posted so far: