Step 1a

Primary Market Research

PMR is the fuel that will drive the process of the 24 Steps. It is a crucial skill for every entrepreneur to have.

It is not easy, especially at first, and you will only get better by doing it. But also know there is a large body of work that can guide how to do PMR well. Never stop doing PMR because the day you stop doing it is the day your company starts to die.


Videos


Worksheets

Download Step 1a Worksheets

Examples

Content will be published as it becomes available.


Topics

Content will be published as it becomes available.


Books

By Giff Constable and Tom Fishburne
Very easy read and yet packed with practical knowledge about how to do interviews.

By Giff Constable and Tom Fishburne
The sequel to the bestseller Talking to Humans, teaches entrepreneurs, innovation teams, and product teams how to run effective experiments.

By Rob Fritzpatrick
They say you shouldn't ask your mom whether your business is a good idea, because she loves you and will lie to you. This is technically true, but it misses the point. You shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea.


Other Resources

User Innovation with Professor Eric von Hippel

Excellent, easy way to get knowledge from the originator of the concept. Great content and examples make the fundamental concept easy to understand and apply. Extensive information is available for free download.

Elaine Chen’s portfolio of primary market research materials

Elaine was on the MIT faculty and our go-to practitioner for doing primary market research. She has a long history of doing ethnographic research and using it to build products, both working at startups and as a consultant to other startups. Here is a list of her easy-to-read yet very practical materials:

Other articles

The Disciplined Entrepreneurship Toolbox

Stay ahead by using the 24 steps together with your team, mentors, and investors.

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The books

This methodology with 24 steps and 15 tactics was created at MIT to help you translate your technology or idea into innovative new products. The books were designed for first-time and repeat entrepreneurs so that they can build great ventures.

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