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Quiz: Discovery Interviews & the Reality Check

Test your understanding of running unbiased discovery interviews and the Reality Check with these review questions.

1. What is the primary purpose of a discovery interview, according to this chapter?

  1. To learn about a prospective customer's problem, current behavior, and unmet needs — not to pitch, describe, or sell a solution
  2. To close a sale with a prospective customer as quickly as possible
  3. To measure how many customers would click "buy" on a landing page
  4. To gather quantitative data on how many customers experience a problem
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A discovery interview is a structured conversation with a real prospective customer, designed specifically to learn about their problem, current behavior, and unmet needs — not to pitch, describe, or sell them anything. The moment a founder starts selling, the interview stops producing trustworthy data.

Concept Tested: Discovery Interview

See: Glossary

2. How does the chapter define a "customer interview" relative to a discovery interview?

  1. A survey sent to many customers at once to gather quantitative data
  2. A sales call in which the founder pitches the finished product
  3. A structured pressure test done with cohort peers
  4. Any one-on-one conversation with a customer or prospective customer conducted for research purposes, of which the discovery interview is the early-stage, problem-focused version
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. A customer interview is any one-on-one conversation with a customer or prospective customer conducted for research purposes. The discovery interview belongs to this broader category as the specific early-stage version focused on problem understanding rather than product feedback.

Concept Tested: Customer Interview

See: Glossary

3. What is an "interview question," as this chapter uses the term?

  1. Only a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no
  2. Any single question a founder asks during a discovery interview
  3. The entire prepared list of questions a founder plans to ask
  4. A question a customer asks the founder during the conversation
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. An interview question is any single question a founder asks during a discovery interview. It falls into one of two categories covered in the chapter, open-ended or leading, and is distinct from the interview script, which is the entire prepared set of questions.

Concept Tested: Interview Question

See: Glossary

4. Which of the following is an open-ended question, using the chapter's own example?

  1. "Wouldn't it be great if grooming came to your house?"
  2. "Don't you think $40 is a fair price for a driveway grooming session?"
  3. "Tell me about the last time this was a problem for you."
  4. "This would save you so much time, right?"
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. An open-ended question invites the customer to answer in their own words and can't be answered with a simple yes or no. The other three options are leading questions that already supply the desired answer and just ask the customer to agree.

Concept Tested: Open-Ended Question

See: Glossary

5. Which of the following is a leading question, using the chapter's own example?

  1. "Wouldn't it be great if grooming came to your house?"
  2. "Tell me about the last time this was a problem for you."
  3. "Walk me through what you currently do when your dog needs a bath."
  4. "What's the most frustrating part of your current routine, if anything?"
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A leading question is worded in a way that suggests the "correct" or desired answer, nudging the customer toward agreement rather than honesty. "Wouldn't it be great if..." practically demands a yes, unlike the other three genuinely open-ended options.

Concept Tested: Leading Question

See: Glossary

6. A founder unintentionally asks several leading questions during an interview and later assumes the customer's agreement reflects genuine enthusiasm. What has occurred?

  1. Interview surprise — an unexpected finding that contradicted the founder's expectations
  2. A weak assumption — a claim only partially supported by evidence
  3. Assumption dismantling — the structured process of identifying what part of an assumption was wrong
  4. Interview bias — systematic distortion of what the customer actually believes, caused by how the question was asked rather than what the customer genuinely thinks
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Interview bias is systematic distortion of what a customer actually believes, caused by how a question was asked rather than what the customer genuinely thinks. Leading questions are the most common cause, and a founder can fall into them even unintentionally.

Concept Tested: Interview Bias

See: Glossary

7. Midway through an interview, a founder starts explaining and defending their solution idea to the customer. What discipline has the founder just violated?

  1. Interview scheduling — the logistical work of setting a time that actually happens
  2. Interview recruitment — the process of finding and inviting participants
  3. Asking not selling — the core discipline of asking and listening rather than describing, defending, or pitching the solution
  4. Pattern recognition — noticing which findings repeat across conversations
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Asking not selling is the core discipline of a discovery interview: the founder's job is to ask and listen, not to describe, defend, or pitch their solution. The moment a founder starts explaining their idea, the interview stops producing trustworthy data.

Concept Tested: Asking Not Selling

See: Glossary

8. A founder prepares a short, written set of planned questions before a round of interviews, leaving room for follow-up rather than filling the entire time slot. What has the founder created?

  1. An interview debrief
  2. An interview script
  3. A reality check exercise
  4. An interview synthesis
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. An interview script is the prepared, written set of questions a founder plans to ask, kept short enough to leave room for follow-up rather than filling the entire time slot with a rigid checklist. It guides the conversation without replacing genuine listening.

Concept Tested: Interview Script

See: Glossary

9. Why does the chapter recommend doing an interview debrief within minutes of finishing each conversation, rather than at the end of the day?

  1. Because cohort rules require reporting results before the next session begins
  2. Because it is the only time a founder is allowed to recruit new participants
  3. Because it replaces the need for a written interview script
  4. Because it captures what was actually said before memory blurs it with what the founder expected to hear
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. An interview debrief is the short reflection a founder does immediately after each conversation — ideally within minutes, while memory is fresh — capturing what was actually said before it blurs with what was expected. Waiting risks losing that accuracy.

Concept Tested: Interview Debrief

See: Glossary

10. After an interview, a founder writes down: "The customer said she currently books grooming three weeks in advance." What is this an example of?

  1. An interview finding — a specific, factual takeaway from a single conversation, kept separate from the founder's interpretation
  2. An interview surprise — something that contradicted the founder's expectations
  3. Interview synthesis — a short written summary across a full round of interviews
  4. Pattern recognition — a finding that repeats across multiple conversations
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. An interview finding is a specific, factual takeaway from a single conversation, kept separate from the founder's own interpretation of it. This statement is a plain factual record of what the customer said, not yet compared against expectations or other interviews.

Concept Tested: Interview Finding

See: Glossary

11. Priya expected customers to resist her meal-prep idea because of the taste, but interviews revealed the real barrier was timing. What does this exemplify?

  1. Interview bias — distortion caused by how a question was worded
  2. A weak assumption — a claim only partially supported by evidence
  3. An interview surprise — something a customer said or did that contradicted what the founder expected going in
  4. Interview recruitment — the process of finding participants to interview
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. An interview surprise is anything a customer said or did that contradicted what the founder expected going in. Priya's discovery that taste wasn't the barrier, timing was, is the chapter's own textbook example of an interview surprise.

Concept Tested: Interview Surprise

See: Glossary

12. The chapter warns that many founders' good intentions "quietly die" at which stage of the interview process?

  1. Interview synthesis — pulling findings into a written summary
  2. Interview scheduling — the logistical work of actually setting a time that happens
  3. Pattern recognition — noticing which findings repeat
  4. Assumption testing — checking canvas claims against evidence
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Interview scheduling is the logistical work of actually setting a time that happens, which sounds trivial but is where the chapter says many founders' good intentions quietly die — recruitment alone is not enough if the conversation never actually gets scheduled.

Concept Tested: Interview Scheduling

See: Glossary

13. What is "interview recruitment," as defined in this chapter?

  1. The process of writing a short, unbiased list of interview questions
  2. The process of tallying how many customers agreed with a pitch
  3. The process of reviewing findings immediately after a conversation
  4. The process of finding and inviting real prospective customers to participate in a discovery interview
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Interview recruitment is the process of finding and inviting real prospective customers to participate in a discovery interview, through personal networks, neighborhood apps, online communities, or direct outreach. It comes before scheduling and the interview itself.

Concept Tested: Interview Recruitment

See: Glossary

14. A founder brings their canvas assumptions in front of cohort peers, who challenge each claim directly against the interview evidence gathered so far. What is this exercise called?

  1. The reality check exercise
  2. A pressure test defined only in general terms, without any reference to interview evidence
  3. An interview debrief
  4. Interview synthesis
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A reality check exercise is a structured pressure test, typically done with cohort peers, in which a founder's canvas assumptions get challenged directly against the actual interview evidence gathered — not against opinion, but against what real people said and did.

Concept Tested: Reality Check Exercise

See: Glossary

15. How does the chapter define a "pressure test" more broadly, beyond the specific Reality Check exercise?

  1. A term restricted only to the in-class exercise done with cohort peers
  2. The general practice of deliberately trying to break an idea by exposing it to hard questions before the market does it for free, but without mercy
  3. The process of scheduling enough interviews to reach a valid sample size
  4. The written summary produced after synthesizing several interviews
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. A pressure test is the general practice of deliberately trying to break an idea by exposing it to hard questions before the market does it for you, for free but without mercy. The Reality Check exercise is the specific, cohort-based version of this broader practice.

Concept Tested: Pressure Test

See: Glossary

16. A founder goes through the canvas one claim at a time, checking each one against the field evidence collected so far. What is this process called?

  1. Assumption dismantling
  2. Interview synthesis
  3. Assumption testing
  4. Weak assumption identification
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Assumption testing is checking each individual claim on the canvas against the field evidence collected so far, one assumption at a time. It is the specific target of the reality check's pressure test, and it comes before any dismantling of what turns out to be wrong.

Concept Tested: Assumption Testing

See: Glossary

17. How does the chapter relate "customer conversation" to "discovery interview"?

  1. They are unrelated terms drawn from different chapters
  2. A customer conversation is a formal term used only for paid consulting sessions
  3. A discovery interview always requires more participants than a customer conversation
  4. A discovery interview is one specific, structured form of the broader category of customer conversation, which includes any dialogue with a customer that produces useful information
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. A customer conversation is any dialogue with a customer that produces information useful to the venture, whether structured or casual. A discovery interview is one specific, more structured form of this broader category, focused on problem understanding.

Concept Tested: Customer Conversation

See: Glossary

18. What distinguishes "field research" from research conducted at a desk?

  1. Field research is evidence gathered directly from real people in their own context, collected systematically across many customer conversations
  2. Field research only counts if it produces numerical survey results
  3. Field research is any research a founder completes without leaving their home office
  4. Field research refers exclusively to the Reality Check exercise
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Field research is evidence gathered directly from real people in their own context, as opposed to research conducted at a desk. Customer conversations collected systematically across many customers become this kind of firsthand, real-world evidence.

Concept Tested: Field Research

See: Glossary

19. How does the chapter distinguish qualitative research from quantitative research?

  1. Qualitative research measures how many customers checked a box, while quantitative research explains why they did
  2. Qualitative research captures opinions, motivations, and experiences in people's own words, while quantitative research measures how many or how much
  3. Qualitative research only applies to the Reality Check exercise
  4. Qualitative research requires a formal written survey instrument
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Qualitative research is information about opinions, motivations, and experiences captured in people's own words, distinct from quantitative research measuring how many or how much. A discovery interview tells a founder why a customer feels frustrated, where a survey might only tell how many checked a box.

Concept Tested: Qualitative Research

See: Glossary

20. After conducting five interviews, a founder notices that three separate customers independently mentioned the same scheduling frustration. What is the founder doing?

  1. Interview synthesis — writing the final summary of the full round of interviews
  2. Assumption dismantling — identifying exactly which part of an assumption was wrong
  3. Pattern recognition — noticing which findings repeat across multiple, independent conversations rather than appearing in just one
  4. Interview debrief — the reflection done immediately after a single conversation
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Pattern recognition is the act of noticing which findings repeat across multiple, independent conversations rather than appearing in just one. Three customers independently raising the same frustration is exactly the kind of repetition that turns an isolated finding into a meaningful pattern.

Concept Tested: Pattern Recognition

See: Glossary

21. What is "interview synthesis," and when does a founder produce it?

  1. Pulling all interview findings together into a short written summary of what the full round of interviews showed, ready to update the canvas
  2. The immediate reflection a founder writes right after a single interview ends
  3. The list of prepared questions a founder brings into every interview
  4. The score a founder receives after a Reality Check exercise
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Interview synthesis is pulling all interview findings together into a short written summary of what the full round of interviews showed, ready to update the canvas. It happens after multiple debriefs and pattern recognition, not after a single conversation.

Concept Tested: Interview Synthesis

See: Glossary

22. A Reality Check reveals that a founder's assumption about pricing was correct for busy professionals but wrong for retirees. What comes next, according to the chapter?

  1. A kill decision — stopping pursuit of the venture idea entirely
  2. Interview recruitment — finding a new round of participants
  3. Interview bias — distortion caused by how the pricing question was worded
  4. Assumption dismantling — the deliberate process of identifying exactly which part of the weak or false assumption was wrong, so the canvas can be corrected precisely rather than abandoned wholesale
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Assumption dismantling is the deliberate, structured process of identifying exactly which part of a weak or false assumption was wrong, so the canvas can be corrected precisely rather than abandoned wholesale. A pricing assumption that holds for one segment but not another is corrected, not discarded entirely.

Concept Tested: Assumption Dismantling

See: Glossary

23. What is a "weak assumption," as defined in this chapter?

  1. An assumption that has been completely disproven by every interview conducted
  2. An assumption that interview evidence only partially supports, or supports inconsistently across different customers — not disproven outright, but not solid either
  3. An assumption that no interview has yet tested at all
  4. An assumption stated using a leading question
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. A weak assumption is one that interview evidence only partially supports, or supports inconsistently across different customers — not disproven outright, but not solid either. It is this partial, inconsistent support that makes it a candidate for assumption dismantling rather than outright rejection.

Concept Tested: Weak Assumption

See: Glossary

24. According to the chapter, roughly how many conversations are often enough to spot a real pattern in early qualitative research?

  1. At least fifty conversations, to reach statistical significance
  2. Exactly one conversation, as long as it is with the ideal customer
  3. Three to five conversations
  4. Ten to twenty conversations per customer segment
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Interview sample size is how many people a founder actually needs to talk to before treating a pattern as meaningful rather than coincidence. For the kind of early qualitative research this course teaches, three to five conversations is often enough, which is why the course's own learning outcomes call for at least three.

Concept Tested: Interview Sample Size

See: Glossary