Why I made the Reddit Audience Research guide

Most advice about finding startup ideas sounds a lot like, “Just talk to customers!” as if the perfect problem is waiting patiently for you to ask the right questions.

But that advice is way easier to tweet than to actually do.

If you've ever stared at your blank outreach spreadsheet thinking, "Who am I even supposed to call? And why would they tell me anything real?" this guide is for you.

But here's why I wrote it in the first place.

Why getting the raw answers is so hard

First, let’s talk about the real bottleneck to having great ideas: actually getting people to open up about real problems.

There’s a reason The Mom Test is one of the most recommended reads in our circles.

It’s all about digging into what people actually do (not what they say), and why you need to hunt for genuine demand, not just surface-level validation.

But the books rarely share the really messy part: getting people on the phone in the first place.

In 2025, cold outreach feels a lot like yelling into the void. It's likely not going to change.

Sure, you can send a hundred LinkedIn messages. But almost nobody wants to jump on a call with a stranger unless there's something in it for them.

Even if you do get through, their walls are up (is this a competitor fishing for strategy? Are they secretly writing a blog post about my failures?).

If you don’t have a warm network, the anxiety on both sides is real. Most folks would rather talk to their dog about trade secrets than spill them to a random person on the internet.

So what happens? You end up burned out on cold DMs, with zero insight and a growing suspicion that everyone else knows some secret technique you don’t.

Why Reddit (and forums like it) are a cheat code

This is when things started to click for me: Most workflow problems aren’t hiding in private calls. They’re being ranted about online, right now.

Reddit (and other niche forums) are full of people sharing exactly where they get stuck.

With total anonymity, you get the real stuff: the messy, emotional, “I’m so done with this” frustration points that's hard to get from a polite interview.

You don’t have to beg for 30 minutes of their time (or hand out Amazon gift cards like candy just to get ghosted after one call).

You’re studying the “unfiltered” record of people venting in the moment they feel the pain.

And let's be honest, most industries aren't exactly warm and fuzzy about chatting with outsiders (especially if the market is competitive, territorial, or full of folks who view "market research" as code for "stealing secrets").

How this flips your early outreach upside down

Armed with evidence from real user posts, you skip the cold-calling/email/DM lottery and head straight for targeted, high-value problems.

You know exactly which workflow moments are truly painful before you ever reach out.

Now, when you need to talk to users, your pitch lands differently:

Here’s an example of the kind of message that works, inspired by exactly what I’ve learned from doing this the hard way:

Hey [name],

I run a startup trying to [problem you’re working on / what you’re trying to solve].

I’m having a hard time figuring out how all the pieces of the industry fit together and where I can best fit in.

You know more about this industry than anyone and could really save me from a ton of mistakes (I’m trying to avoid yet another rookie move).

I’m still in the [stage your startup is at], but I promise this isn’t a sales meeting. This industry is genuinely new to me and I could really use your expertise.

Would you have 10–15 minutes for a quick chat to point me in the right direction?

This works for a few reasons:

• You’re leading with humility, not a sales pitch
• You’re clear about what you’re struggling to figure out
• You put the spotlight on their expertise (who doesn’t like being the expert?)
• You set expectations about your stage - no pressure, just genuine curiosity
• You frame it as a short, focused ask, making it easy to say yes

Bonus: If you add a tangible "what's in it for them" (like a coffee gift card, or even just a promise to share what you're learning with them), it moves the needle even more.

The big idea here is you’re not guessing. You reference the exact pain and context they recognize from their own day-to-day.

It’s not, “Can you give me 30 minutes for vague research?” It’s, “I think you know more about this pain than anyone, and I want to make sure I’m not missing the nuance. Even 10 minutes would be gold.”

It’s even better if you've already built a landing page (as my guide suggests) and you're getting early signups, those people are much warmer leads, since they've already shown interest.

Talking to them feels more natural and less forced. (And yes, offering a small incentive like a month free or discount never hurts in the early stages.)

TL;DR: Why I built “Scratch Their Itch”

I created this guide because it's exhausting chasing interviews when the real answers are right under our noses, waiting in online conversations.

"Scratch Their Itch" walks you through turning internet rants into research gold.

You'll learn:

• How to find where your potential customers are hanging out online
• How to find those "shut up and take my money" problems
• How to analyze your first Reddit thread for insights
• How to create targeted offers and sell before you build

If getting people on the phone still feels impossible, start with where they're already talking. Let Reddit (or your community of choice) do half the hard work for you.

Once you can point to a truly painful workflow problem, the rest gets way easier: your offers, your outreach, and even your interviews all benefit.

Ready to get unstuck?

Read the guide and start spotting the high-signal struggles your audience is actually facing.