I am a huge fan of building the first version of your product with design partners. You get several customers who are excited to put money down to pre-purchase the product and then help provide feedback as you build out the product with them. They know it will have bugs, but believe in you and provide great feedback that allows you to iterate quicker. But, what makes a good design partner?

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Leaning in during customer discovery

As you are doing customer discovery, some customers will naturally lean in. They have already tried to solve the problem themselves, have evaluated other solutions, and still are not satisfied with the current options. They show a willingness to want to build a version with you and be your testing case. They trust that anything you build will be a better step in the direction they want to go.

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Diverse

With design partners, you want to make sure you are not just getting one person’s feedback. Ideally, I like 3-5 design partners of various types. They could be from different sized companies, different industries, different geographies, etc. You just want to have enough viewpoints to understand why you get the feedback you do, and where the feedback is consistent (which can put you on the right track towards product-market fit).

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Committed

Lastly, many customers will offer to do a free pilot. But for true design partners, they will pay to build it with you. Feedback from paying customers is infinitely more valuable than feedback from someone who is not paying for the product. You also need their commitment and resources to help you quickly iterate through the inevitable product changes that help you really hone in on the right value proposition for your customer.

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I am a huge fan of the learnings you get from design partners, as well as the fact they are your first source of revenue! Find several to get started that are willing-to-pay and commit time to provide quality feedback.

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