Customer research for early-stage founders
Understand customer problems before you build.
Tell ClarifyWhy about your startup idea. It designs a research study with you, interviews the people you invite, and helps you understand their problems so you can decide what to build.
Maya’s story
Maya designs a study with ClarifyWhy.
- ClarifyWhy · Study Designer
Hi, I’m ClarifyWhy’s Study Designer. We’ll design your study together. You share it with people you want to learn from, and our AI interviewer explores their experiences. What’s your idea?
- Maya · Founder
A bookkeeping subscription for freelancers. I think preparing their records takes too much work, but I haven’t spoken to anyone yet.
- ClarifyWhy · Study Designer
What do you most need to learn before building it?
- Maya · Founder
Whether their current tools leave a problem worth solving, and which part matters most.
- ClarifyWhy · Study Designer
Let’s understand how they do it today. Which freelancers could you invite?
- Maya · Founder
Designers who prepared records last month, including people who already have a bookkeeper.
- Later in the conversation
- ClarifyWhy · Study Designer
I’ll suggest a study about their last experience: what took effort, what worked, and what they’ve already tried.
Maya’s study brief
- Who to learn from
- Freelancers who prepared records last month.
- What to explore
- Recent experiences, existing tools and what takes effort.
Maya shares her study in a WhatsApp group.
Your study is live
Send this link to the people you’d like to hear from.
clarifywhy.com/s/mayas-studyNext, Maya sends it to her freelance WhatsApp group.
WhatsApp · Maya’s phone
Freelance circle
24 members · 6 onlineHi everyone! I’m exploring how freelancers handle bookkeeping. I’d love to hear about your experience. Talk or type here:
Research with MayaAlex sees Maya’s message and opens her study.
WhatsApp · Alex’s phone
Freelance circle
24 members · 6 onlineHi everyone! I’m exploring how freelancers handle bookkeeping. I’d love to hear about your experience. Talk or type here:
Research with MayaAlex opens Maya’s study
ClarifyWhy interviews Alex for Maya.
Alex chose voice and agreed to take part.
- ClarifyWhy · AI Interviewer
Hi Alex, I’m ClarifyWhy’s AI interviewer. What happened the last time you prepared your bookkeeping records?
- Alex · Freelance designer
Last Friday, my bookkeeper needed missing receipts. I searched my email and apps. It took about forty minutes.
- ClarifyWhy · AI Interviewer
What made it take that long?
- Alex · Freelance designer
An app needed a password reset. Usually it’s quicker. Last month took fifteen minutes.
- ClarifyWhy · AI Interviewer
What have you tried to make collecting receipts easier?
- Alex · Freelance designer
Email rules help. But I still forget the receipts inside apps.
- Later in the conversation
- ClarifyWhy · AI Interviewer
Which parts of your current arrangement work well?
- Alex · Freelance designer
My bookkeeper and bank feed handle most things. It’s finding the missing receipts that takes the extra time.
- ClarifyWhy · AI Interviewer
Thank you, Alex. Your conversation will be available to Maya.
Maya frames her idea around a real problem.
A clearer focus
Help freelancers collect their bookkeeping receipts.
From Alex’s interviewHow it works · Example study
How ClarifyWhy helps Maya
investigate her startup idea
A conversation, a research study, and a more specific problem to explore.
Maya + ClarifyWhy
Maya shares her startup idea with ClarifyWhy.
She’s considering a bookkeeping subscription for freelancers and wants to understand how they manage their records today.
ClarifyWhy · AI Study Designer
“Which freelancers have a recent bookkeeping experience you could learn from?”
ClarifyWhy designs the study
ClarifyWhy turns their conversation into a research study.
It drafts who to learn from, what to investigate, and what would support or challenge her idea. Maya reviews it.
ClarifyWhy · Research study
- Who to learn from
- Freelancers preparing their records
- What to understand
- The effort involved in bookkeeping
- What to check
- What already works, and what doesn’t
Maya invites participants
Maya shares her ClarifyWhy study link.
She publishes the study and invites freelancers from her network, including through LinkedIn.
ClarifyWhy · Study invitation
How do you handle your bookkeeping?
A study link Maya can shareClarifyWhy + participants
ClarifyWhy interviews the people she invites.
Participants talk or type about recent experiences. ClarifyWhy asks follow-up questions based on their answers.
ClarifyWhy · AI interviewer
“What happened when you looked for those receipts?”
ClarifyWhy reviews the evidence
ClarifyWhy helps Maya understand where the problem is.
Its evidence review shows that bookkeeping already works for this participant. Gathering missing receipts is where the extra effort happens.
“Two were inside apps I rarely open.”
ClarifyWhy · Evidence review
- What works
- The bank feed and bookkeeper already work well.
- Where effort remains
- The extra work is finding missing receipts.
Maya frames her idea
Maya focuses her idea on receipt collection for freelancers.
She uses ClarifyWhy’s findings to focus on a concrete problem: helping freelancers collect scattered receipts for bookkeeping.
ClarifyWhy · A clearer focus for Maya’s idea
A receipt collection tool for freelancers.
Collect and organise receipts for bookkeeping.
Start with your idea. Work with ClarifyWhy to understand the problem.
Why founders use ClarifyWhy
Detailed customer interviews through one study link.
People take part when it suits them, by voice or text. ClarifyWhy follows up on their answers and reviews each conversation for evidence that supports or challenges your assumptions. You can use those findings to focus your idea before committing to build.Our research approach draws on The Mom Test and MIT’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship: ask about real experiences, examine assumptions, and learn before building.
ClarifyWhyDepth, for more peopleWho takes part, and who invites them?
You choose and invite people who have experience relevant to your study. You publish the study and share its link with them. ClarifyWhy provides the study design and conversation tools; finding participants is part of your research.
What do I receive after a conversation?
You can read each written transcript in your workspace and download transcripts. When available, a per-conversation AI evidence review describes how the responses relate to your hypothesis and where the evidence is limited. You review the conversations and draw your own conclusions; the product does not produce an automatic report combining all interviews.
Can participants speak or type?
Yes. When both formats are enabled and available, participants can talk it through with the AI interviewer or type their answers. Voice offers a natural back-and-forth conversation; typing lets people write at their own pace. Voice needs a microphone, and neither format needs a camera.
Is the beta free, and how do I get access?
The private beta is free within the access and usage limits provided to each creator. Join the waitlist to request access. We’ll email you when we can invite you; joining the list does not immediately open a creator account.
Free private beta
Bring your next
research question.
Join the waitlist for an invitation to ClarifyWhy. We’ll email you when we can offer access.
Beta access and usage limits apply.