Varun Jain

Varun JainJul 22, 2026

I like to travel. I really do, and fortunately my wife likes it too. And that is why we spend a lot of time planning, researching and finally living the experiences in different parts of the world. And so, we have put together an Instagram account where we share our experiences from places and activities we do. If you are based in Europe, love travelling and would like to get inspiration, tips and learn about amazing beautiful places, please do follow us and help us spread the word. Follow DesiBerliner for amazing travel experiences. #content #travel #instagram

Varun JainJul 26, 2026

Last month, I pitched MrktGenie at an event. It’s a product I have been wanting to build for almost 10 years but could never manage to build it, until now. The conversations were amazing. People smiled. They said things like, Wow, this is really cool. I'd definitely use this. This solves a real problem. I went home feeling like I'd just validated my product. But just a single person had signed up. 😒 That's when it hit me. I hadn't validated anything. I had collected compliments. And that's when I realised... The biggest mistake in customer discovery isn't skipping it. It's asking the wrong questions. When founders finally speak to customers, the conversation usually goes like this. Would you use this? Do you like this idea? Would you pay for this? The customer smiles. Says, Yeah, sounds interesting. Of course. The founder walks away thinking, "We've validated our idea." Except... Nothing was actually validated. Most people don't lie. They predict. And humans are surprisingly bad at predicting their future behaviour. Especially when they aren't spending money today. Instead of asking people to judge your solution... So instead try understanding their reality. Ask questions like: - What have you already tried? -What's the hardest part of your day? - When was the last time this happened? - How are you solving it today? - What's frustrating about that approach? Notice something? Not one question mentions your product. Because great customer discovery isn't about proving you're right. It's about discovering where you might be wrong. The best founder conversations leave you with fewer assumptions... ...and more evidence. The goal isn't to hear, "Your idea is great." It's to discover why it might fail before you spend six months building it. That's a much cheaper lesson. Have you ever mistaken enthusiasm for validation? Ps: If you are an early-stage founder, and can spare 30 minutes to answer a few questions about your marketing challenges, let's talk #startup #founders #customerdiscovery #buildinpublic #productmanagement

Varun JainJul 28, 2026

I have built products like JustSMS, which crossed 1 million+ users, and faded out after a couple of years There was one simple reason for its decline. Founders don't fail because they ask too few questions. They fail because they stop asking questions too soon. When I started building products, I thought customer discovery had a finish line. Talk to 10 people. Validate the idea. Build the MVP. Looking back, that's not how it works. The founders I've learned the most from don't stop discovering once they start building. They keep asking questions. Every feature is a question. Every prototype is a question. Every sales call is a question. Every customer complaint is a question. The moment we think we have all the answers... ...we stop discovering. Probably that's also one of the reasons JustSMS didn't go beyond it and lost the battle to WhatsApp when it arrived in India. We stopped discovering; we thought we reached a finish line. We were obviously wrong. 🤪 And that's usually when we start building things customers never asked for. One question has changed how I approach every product: "What would have to be true for this to succeed?" Then I go looking for evidence. Not opinions. Not compliments. Not predictions. Pure Evidence. Can customers describe the problem without me explaining it? Have they already tried solving it? Are they frustrated enough to change? Will they actually pay to solve it? Every answer removes one assumption. Every assumption removed reduces the risk of building the wrong thing. I've realised customer discovery isn't a phase before building. It's a habit that should continue long after your product goes live. The founders who stay curious the longest usually build the best products. What's one assumption about your product that you're trying to prove right now? What are you doing to validate it? I am Varun Jain, I build products and help early-stage founders during their journey by sharing my experience of building 100+ startups since 2009 Ps: If you are looking for a domain suggestion tool for your startup checkout Namebury: Domain Search Made Easy #founders #startup #customerdiscovery #productmanagement #buildinpublic