Essay
April 24th, 2025
Stop Listening. Just Watch.
ELLIOT CRANE
ELLIOT CRANE
567 words
4 min. read
In startup culture, “talk to your customers” has become a kind of commandment. Founders set up interviews, collect notes, and walk away convinced they now hold the blueprint for what to build. But again and again, we’ve seen those conversations lead teams in the wrong direction.
In startup culture, “talk to your customers” has become a kind of commandment. Founders set up interviews, collect notes, and walk away convinced they now hold the blueprint for what to build. But again and again, we’ve seen those conversations lead teams in the wrong direction.
The issue isn’t dishonesty. People aren’t lying in interviews. They simply don’t have clear access to the messy forces driving their own decisions. Ask them what features they want, and they’ll give you thoughtful answers that make sense in the moment—but often have little to do with how they behave later. They’ll endorse functions they never use, describe ideal workflows that don’t exist in their daily life, and predict future habits that contradict years of past behavior.
The issue isn’t dishonesty. People aren’t lying in interviews. They simply don’t have clear access to the messy forces driving their own decisions. Ask them what features they want, and they’ll give you thoughtful answers that make sense in the moment—but often have little to do with how they behave later. They’ll endorse functions they never use, describe ideal workflows that don’t exist in their daily life, and predict future habits that contradict years of past behavior.
Founders hear these stories and mistake them for validation. In reality, they’re mirages. Even worse, the structure of the questions shapes the answers. Ask someone about pain points in a process, and they’ll invent new frustrations on the spot. Bring up automation, and they’ll nod along, even if they ignore automation in every tool they already use. Interviews become subtle exercises in suggestion, with participants reflecting the frame you hand them.
Founders hear these stories and mistake them for validation. In reality, they’re mirages. Even worse, the structure of the questions shapes the answers. Ask someone about pain points in a process, and they’ll invent new frustrations on the spot. Bring up automation, and they’ll nod along, even if they ignore automation in every tool they already use. Interviews become subtle exercises in suggestion, with participants reflecting the frame you hand them.
This creates a dangerous illusion of momentum. Teams leave thinking they’ve confirmed demand, when all they’ve really done is gather well-articulated stories about how customers like to see themselves. The product that follows often ends up solving problems no one actually tries to fix.
This creates a dangerous illusion of momentum. Teams leave thinking they’ve confirmed demand, when all they’ve really done is gather well-articulated stories about how customers like to see themselves. The product that follows often ends up solving problems no one actually tries to fix.
The alternative is simpler, though harder: watch what people do. Real behavior tells you more than any carefully worded answer. When Dropbox was still just an idea, Drew Houston didn’t run focus groups to ask how people felt about file sharing. He released a short demo video. Thousands joined a waitlist, revealing intent in a way no interview could.
The alternative is simpler, though harder: watch what people do. Real behavior tells you more than any carefully worded answer. When Dropbox was still just an idea, Drew Houston didn’t run focus groups to ask how people felt about file sharing. He released a short demo video. Thousands joined a waitlist, revealing intent in a way no interview could.
Observation exposes what conversations hide. You see the improvised workarounds people rely on every day, the friction they’ve silently adapted to, the odd shortcuts they never think to mention. A user might never say they rely on screenshots instead of bookmarks—but watch them long enough and you’ll notice it. That detail speaks volumes about how they manage information, and it surfaces needs that an interview would never uncover.
Observation exposes what conversations hide. You see the improvised workarounds people rely on every day, the friction they’ve silently adapted to, the odd shortcuts they never think to mention. A user might never say they rely on screenshots instead of bookmarks—but watch them long enough and you’ll notice it. That detail speaks volumes about how they manage information, and it surfaces needs that an interview would never uncover.
For founders, this means shifting from asking to studying. Put prototypes in people’s hands and measure how they respond. Track what they actually engage with, not what they say excites them. Pay attention to the rough edges, the skipped steps, the moments when they abandon a flow halfway through. These behaviors tell you what matters, and they do it with far more honesty than the customer ever could in conversation.
For founders, this means shifting from asking to studying. Put prototypes in people’s hands and measure how they respond. Track what they actually engage with, not what they say excites them. Pay attention to the rough edges, the skipped steps, the moments when they abandon a flow halfway through. These behaviors tell you what matters, and they do it with far more honesty than the customer ever could in conversation.
It’s not that interviews are useless. They can spark ideas, surface language, and reveal broad themes. But they should never be mistaken for proof. People mean well, but they mislead themselves, and by extension they mislead you. The real validation lies in what they choose when no one is asking, in what they do when attention drifts away.
It’s not that interviews are useless. They can spark ideas, surface language, and reveal broad themes. But they should never be mistaken for proof. People mean well, but they mislead themselves, and by extension they mislead you. The real validation lies in what they choose when no one is asking, in what they do when attention drifts away.
This gap—between what customers say and what they actually do—is where many startups die. They build elegant solutions to problems that sounded important but never showed up in behavior. Meanwhile, the companies that break through are the ones that stop listening so closely and start watching more carefully. They design for humans as they are, not as they describe themselves.
This gap—between what customers say and what they actually do—is where many startups die. They build elegant solutions to problems that sounded important but never showed up in behavior. Meanwhile, the companies that break through are the ones that stop listening so closely and start watching more carefully. They design for humans as they are, not as they describe themselves.
The edge doesn’t come from gathering more interviews. It comes from paying closer attention.
The edge doesn’t come from gathering more interviews. It comes from paying closer attention.
-Crane
-Crane
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Stop Listening. Just Watch.
Essay
April 24th, 2025