Shavin Peiries is a writer, designer, and engineer. He writes a newsletter that focuses on guiding product managers and founders to develop their product intuition through useful customer research.
"I've sent 47 cold outreach messages this week trying to land customer interviews. Two people replied. Neither had time to talk." Sound familiar? That's why we're building a better research system: * In part 1, we mapped Reddit's hidden network to find exactly where your target customers hang out (using community
"Looks interesting, but I wouldn't pay for it." If you're building products, you've probably heard some version of this soul-crushing feedback. You spend weeks or months crafting what you think is the solution, only to discover you're solving a problem that's just... meh. It’s not painful enough. It’s
"Is this actually a pain point for you?" That's the kind of question that puts your research dead on arrival. Here's why: When you ask someone if they have a problem, you get their sanitized, rational self. But when you catch them actively struggling with that same problem? You get
“We just scheduled a demo with a potential user. They want to see the new sales dashboard for feedback. Can you have something ready by 2PM?” That Slack message from my founders hit me like a bucket of cold water. I looked at my screen: one barely-functional dashboard card, a
Ever notice something strange about project management software? Jira dominates engineering but can't crack marketing teams. Notion captures creative agencies but struggles with traditional PMOs. Monday thrives with agencies but falters with dev teams. Basecamp endures with small teams while enterprise goes elsewhere. In this post, you'll learn the hidden
Imagine you're trying to fix an unusual noise in your car. Would you rather: A) Post in 50 different Facebook groups and forums, getting opinions from casual drivers, people who owned a different model 10 years ago, and 'car enthusiasts' who've never touched your specific make? B) Talk to 12
You've seen the promises: AI will “revolutionize” your customer research, generating deep insights in seconds. But when you dive into the results, disappointment hits. The insights feel thin, lifeless—like something's missing. It's not just you. Recently, Matt Lerner from SYSTM talked about this exact problem. In his experiment (Can
Ok, here's something ridiculous about customer research. (The good kind of ridiculous.) You know all those insights you're breaking your brain trying to find? They're literally just... sitting there. Already collected. Already organized. Just waiting for you to grab them. I'm serious. Here's what I mean: Go to G2 or
You know what used to drive me nuts? I'd sit there staring at my customer research thinking, "Well, if someone has a problem, they have a problem, right? Why complicate it?" Man, was I wrong. See, I used to think that if someone was struggling with their weight, the pain
User Research and Customer Insights
You've spent weeks, maybe even months, validating your product idea. You've watched all the videos, read all the advice, and conducted countless user interviews. Everyone agrees: "Make sure it's something people want." But now you're left wondering, "Apart from validating the problem, what is left to do?" You've followed the
User Research and Customer Insights
I started learning design and strategy to get people to buy and use the projects I had spent months coding. Thanks to my extroverted co-founder, Mayun, I had the opportunity to approach anyone and showcase a prototype. It made it easy for me as an introvert. Talking to people used
Ideation and Problem Solving
Dependency-based sequencing is a powerful technique for managing complex projects. By mapping out the interrelationships between tasks and prioritizing based on dependencies, you can minimize rework, enable smoother workflows, and achieve project goals faster.
Ideation and Problem Solving
It was the 12th day of our development cycle for the new “Leads” feature, and my tech lead looked like he wanted me dead. The team worked long hours, fueled by lattes and the pressure to deliver. Despite our best efforts, our Linear board was growing more than it was
Product Strategy and Management
“If the dev team has to go through another pivot, I don’t think we’ll survive.” — The chilling words of my tech lead at Aristotle. In the startup world, change is not just constant—it’s a matter of survival. The graveyard for most startups comes from rushing to
Product Design and Development
Learn how to identify and incorporate emotional and social motivators into your product development and sales strategy.
User Research and Customer Insights
Get tips to enhance your workflow and improve the efficiency of your research using ChatGPT.