Post by Yoli Chisholm

This week I learned a few things that that don't show up on analytics dashboards. Talking to customers is still one of the highest leverage things a founder can do. After launching the first public version of the Borderless Self app, https://lnkd.in/d7M4nTWR I decided to spend less time staring at metrics and more time having conversations. I took two approaches: • Created a small WhatsApp group of friends and colleagues who fit my target audience and invited them to test the app. • Started reaching out to a much larger group of globally mobile professionals using WhatsApp as a market research channel. So far: 📱 5,000+ Target list which i am slowly messaging 📬 650+ messages delivered 👀 53% read rate 💬 17% reply rate The numbers are interesting. The conversations are invaluable. Instead of asking people to complete surveys, I asked one simple question: “If you could wave a magic wand and remove one frustration from living internationally, what would it be?” The responses have been incredibly thoughtful. People talked about: • Finding housing • Taxes • Banking • Immigration paperwork • Building community • Starting over in a new country Every conversation is helping shape the product roadmap. One unexpected part of the process has been AI. After exporting my WhatsApp conversations, I’ve been using AI to identify themes, uncover patterns, and prioritize what to build next. It’s like having a research analyst working alongside me. I’ve spent most of my career building products inside enterprise technology companies. Launching something you’ve designed yourself feels completely different. It feels like putting a piece of yourself out into the world. That’s exciting. And terrifying. I’m documenting the journey as I build Borderless Self in public—sharing the wins, mistakes, experiments, and lessons along the way. I’d love to hear from other founders: What’s been the most effective way you’ve gathered customer insights before finding product-market fit? 🎥 I share the full process in my latest video. #BuildInPublic #Startup #Founder #ProductManagement #CustomerDiscovery #MarketResearch #AI #WhatsApp #ProductMarketFit #Entrepreneurship #BuildingInPublic

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