Two different sources of evidence

Almost every founder ends up with two streams of information about their users.

What users say — in interviews, surveys, support tickets, online comments.

What users actually do — sign-ups, usage, payment, drop-off, referrals.

Both are useful. They’re also often in disagreement. People will tell you they care about something they don’t use. They’ll tell you they don’t care about something they use constantly. They’ll claim they’d pay for things they’d never buy.

Learning to read both streams, and to trust the right one in the right moment, is one of the most important parts of product judgement.

Why words and actions diverge

It isn’t that users are dishonest. The reasons are simpler and more human.

People are bad at predicting their own behaviour. Asked “w...

Understanding what people say vs what they actually do