Customer discovery is the systematic process of interviewing prospective customers to validate the problem, customer segment, and value proposition before building significant product. It tests whether the problem actually exists, whether you're targeting the right people, and whether your solution actually solves their problem. Popularized by Steve Blank in "The Four Steps to the Epiphany" (2005) and embedded in Eric Ries's "Lean Startup" methodology, customer discovery is the foundational practice that separates founders building from customer evidence from founders building from assumption. It is the single most-important discipline at pre-PMF startups and the one founders most often skip.
The Steve Blank framework:
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