The Mom Test

The Mom Test: your mother is lying to you

Never ask your mother if your business plan is a good idea. Indeed: don’t ask anyone! That’s what tech entrepreneur Rob Fitzpatrick advocates in his book The Mom Test. People in business, he says, are not always honest in their judgements, to avoid confrontation. But then how do you test your new idea? How you do find out what your customers really need is a fundamental skill for anyone involved in product development.

The comparison made in The Mom Test is extremely apt. A mother, out of love for her children, will never admit that something is wrong with their business plan. Unless you ask the right questions. The same plays out with business contacts. Based on this fundamental fact, The Mom Test offers many recognisable examples and tips to improve customer communication. Matter from The Mom Test is often used during a Product Discovery. It is always advisable to have read this thin booklet before you start developing your MVP.

Why Most Feedback Is Useless

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick delivers a simple but powerful idea: stop asking people what they think of your startup idea — especially your mom. Why? Because people want to be nice. They want to support you. And that makes their answers unreliable.

Instead, Fitzpatrick teaches you how to ask the kind of questions that lead to real insights. The book is short, direct, and packed with practical examples. For anyone working in product, innovation, or early-stage ventures, it’s a must-read before building your MVP or pitching your vision.

When you’re validating a product idea, traditional interviews often lead you in the wrong direction. People tend to avoid being critical. And even when they’re honest, they talk about what they think — not what they do.

The trap of confirmation bias

Entrepreneurs and product teams tend to ask questions that confirm what they already believe. If someone says, “That sounds great!” we feel validated. But enthusiasm isn’t evidence. Fitzpatrick warns that this kind of feedback is feel-good fiction.

Opinions are not data

The most dangerous form of validation is based on opinions. People say they “would use” a product or “might pay” for it. But unless they’ve actually solved the problem before or made a decision involving money, it’s not real validation.

What The Mom Test Teaches You

The core of the book is learning how to ask questions that avoid praise and focus on reality. Fitzpatrick outlines how to get real, useful data that reflects actual behavior.

• Ask about the past (“How have you handled this issue recently?”)
• Avoid hypotheticals (“Would you buy this?”)
• Focus on actions, frustrations, and context — not opinions

This method supports a product mindset rooted in continuous learning, something that fits with how we at GlobalOrange approach building digital products — by putting user behavior and iterative feedback at the core.

Real-Life Application of The Mom Test

At GlobalOrange, we often use the principles from The Mom Test during discovery phases and MVP validation. It’s common for teams to assume they understand their users — until they learn to ask the right questions.

Whether we’re designing a SaaS platform or modernizing legacy software, we help clients structure user conversations that lead to real insights. The goal is to replace assumptions with facts — and avoid building features no one really needs.

Building Better Products Through Honest Feedback

When working on long-term product development or code modernization, asking the wrong questions can be just as damaging as using outdated technology. Learning to ask the right questions early on can prevent years of technical debt — a principle also reflected in our content on refactoring and improving legacy code.

Ultimately, The Mom Test is more than just a book about interviews — it’s a guide to smarter thinking. It helps you develop better instincts for validating ideas, building trust with customers, and making data-driven decisions with confidence.