If you don’t want to live on Fantasy Island... Step 1: Define your primary customer segment Step 2: Identify your customer segment’s (biggest) problem Step 3: Create provisional personas based on your assumptions Provisional persona layout and breakdown Step 4: Conduct customer discovery to validate or invalidate your solution’s initial value proposition Customer discovery The problem interview Phase 1: The screener questions Phase 2: The interview Two-sided markets Step 5: Reassess your value proposition based on what you learned! (And continue to iterate until you have product/market fit.) Recap 4. Conducting Competitive Research Learning Lessons, the Hard Way Using the Competitive Analysis Matrix Tool Understanding the Meaning of Competition Types of Competitors How to Find Your Competitors and Compile Your Competition List Searching for competitors Filling Out the matrix with data URL of website or app store location Usernames and password access Purpose of site Year founded Funding rounds Revenue streams Monthly traffic # of SKUs/listings Primary categories