The Mom Test

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Customers own the problem, founders own the solution. "The Mom Test" is a book about asking the right questions to avoid false validation. Here I've set out to explore whether everyday people actually want home diagnostics tools, and if they do what would they like and want to pay for.

To test the idea, I created a set of questions to learn about people's real behaviours and frustrations with health monitoring and not just their opinions. I stood outside a garden centre in Cardiff as was able to talk to 8 people.

Questions (Results are at bottom)

1.      Do you currently monitor your health, for example using a smart watch or getting blood tests?

a.      If yes – How do you currently monitor your health, especially in terms of detecting potential health issues early?

2.      What are your primary health concerns or conditions you monitor regularly?

3.      How often do you use health monitoring devices or services, and which ones do you currently use?

4.      How comfortable are you using technology, for medical diagnosis?

5.      What factors influence your decision when purchasing health monitoring devices (i.e. price, brand reputation, ease of use, accuracy?)

a.      Are there brands you trust more than others, why?

6.      What problems or frustration have you experienced with current health monitoring solutions

Note: these questions were asked before learning about "the mom test" book and the subsequent questionnaire reflects these learnings. Future questions will be more past orientated rather than future leaning.

Commercial Market Research

The world health organisation reports women are more likely that men to seek preventative care and use digital health tools. Another study also found that trust inaccuracy, privacy and peer recommendations are the top driers for digital health adoption. People abandon apps and devices if data entry is manual or cumbersome. Fitbit and wearables confirm long term use correlates with seamless integration. The UK wearable market was worth $1.2B in 2022. Private health check packages range from £150 - £800 (Nuffield, Bupa).

Reviewing the Answers

Despite the small sample size a few patterns stood out. Women appeared to be more engaged with health monitoring and more concerned about specific risks like cancer. Men often deferred to the NHS and avoided home devices. Trust, accuracy and ease of use came up repeatedly. People look for recommendations and reviews more than anything.

I also ran into a ZOE user, ZOE is a health and nutrition technology company offering a personalised program that uses at home gut health and blood fat tests, along with a 2 week blood glucose monitoring to provide tailored dietary advice via an app. They described their frustration with the time needed to log data. Another individual brought up the fact that their health monitoring equipment just sits unused.

Providing a device that requires minimal setup, is passive and low effort whilst providing easy to understand insights is ideal.

Results

Person 1 (female)

• Monitoring: Weight, general feeling

• Concerns: Skin cancer, breast cancer

• Tools: None

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Time for test results

• Frustrations: Uses Zoe, but too long to enter data → loss of enthusiasm

Person 2 (female)

• Monitoring: GP visits

• Concerns: Blood pressure

• Tools: Blood pressure monitor at home

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Ease of use, accuracy, recommendations

• Frustrations: None

Person 3 (female)

• Monitoring: None

• Concerns: None

• Tools: N/A

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Price, accuracy, £10/month

• Frustrations: N/A

Person 4 (female)

• Monitoring: Heart rate, sleep

• Concerns: Sport injuries, back pain

• Tools: Physio (no devices)

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Price, ease of use, up to £100

• Frustrations: None

Person 5 (male)

• Monitoring: Only if something happens

• Concerns: None; sees GP every 3–6 months

• Tools: None

• Comfort with tech: Prefers NHS/GP, won’t buy devices

• Purchase drivers: N/A

• Frustrations: “Equipment just sits there”

Person 6

• Monitoring: Medical checkups

• Concerns: None currently

• Tools: Yearly medical

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Recommendations, ease of use

• Frustrations: None

Person 7

• Monitoring: Blood tests at work

• Concerns: CVD, malignancy

• Tools: N/A

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Ratings, ease of use, accuracy

• Frustrations: N/A

Person 8

• Monitoring: None

• Concerns: N/A

• Tools: N/A

• Comfort with tech: Comfortable

• Purchase drivers: Ease of use, accuracy

• Frustrations: Access and trust