User Interviews Are More Important Than Ever

Once upon a time, startups gained an edge by harnessing massive data sets to drive every decision. But now, data-driven decision-making has become table stakes—everyone has the same analytics tools, dashboards, and platforms. The real advantage has shifted to discovering “unknown knowns”: the industry secrets and insider perspectives that public data doesn’t capture.

When I started building LeagueSide in 2015, one of our biggest advantages was being data-driven with every decision. We constantly asked questions like, “Can we A/B test that?” or “What does the data say?” Fast-forward to today, and data-driven decisions are no longer unique. The recent release of Deep Research platforms makes it even easier to scrape every corner of the public web—including video, audio, and text—and then synthesize it in minutes.

This trend raises a critical question: In a world where nearly everyone has perfect public information, where do truly fresh insights come from?

The Biggest Handicap of AI Models: Known Unknowns and Blind Spots

Large AI models, like ChatGPT, are trained primarily on publicly available data. That means they have blind spots for anything that isn’t posted online or easily accessible through conventional data scraping. I call these gaps “known unknowns.”

Imagine a logistics company that keeps its processes offline. It has minimal web presence—maybe no website at all—and it certainly doesn’t blog about its operational strategies. An AI model will have almost zero insight into this crucial industry player. Without real, one-on-one conversations with people in the trenches, you’d have no idea that this logistics company even exists or that it might control essential parts of a supply chain.

This is the biggest handicap of AI-driven research: it’s limited to what’s already out there. If nobody has published the details online, the model can’t magically fill in those blanks.

The Blind Spot

AI tools sometimes create a false sense of expertise. Because these models generate polished answers, we might assume they’ve captured every angle. In reality, they’re only as strong as the data they’ve processed, and much of the world’s valuable information lives in people’s heads or behind closed doors.

I know entrepreneurs and analysts who rely solely on scraping publicly available information and then asking ChatGPT to interpret it. That’s convenient, but it’s also a quick way to blend into the market noise. Everybody else is doing the same, which means you’re all swimming in the same data pool.

The contrast between public and private information becomes stark if you’ve ever been inside a “hot” company and seen the messy reality behind the hype. Publicly, it might be a darling with glowing press coverage; internally, it might be on the brink of chaos. That gap between reality and the media narrative is exactly why insider knowledge is so powerful.

Public Data = Commodity Data.

Any data you can Google is, by definition, a commodity. While it might still hold value for broad trend analysis, your competitors have the same access. Once a data point is public, it can’t give you a lasting advantage.

This is where user interviews—conversations that yield unvarnished, first-hand perspectives—become indispensable. By talking to real people, you collect asymmetric information that’s not floating around on the internet. This is your chance to uncover the “unknown knowns.”

The Shift from Big Data to Small Data

So, how do you stand out now that big data is everywhere? The answer lies in small data—the insights you glean from individual interviews or ground-level conversations. These tiny nuggets of knowledge, when combined with your own creativity, can spark innovations that your competition can’t see coming.

Example: Logistics Companies

As mentioned earlier, consider a large, unsexy logistics company. It holds together a crucial part of the supply chain but doesn’t share much publicly. After a few interviews with its employees, you might discover operational inefficiencies or demand for a niche solution that’s missing in the market. A single insight from one of these conversations can guide your product roadmap in ways that aggregated public data never could.

How to Conduct Interviews

Where to Find People

The old-fashioned route—LinkedIn plus cold emails—still works well. You might be surprised at how many industry insiders are willing to chat if you reach out with genuine curiosity. If you have the budget and you’re short on time, you can use expert interview platforms like GLG or AlphaInsights. They’ll connect you with people who have precisely the expertise you need. The cost can be high, but the payoff is often worth it.

Example Questions

When you do land an interview, dig for the contrarian opinions. I’ve found these prompts especially revealing:

• “What is a controversial opinion you have about your industry?”

• “What’s something people aren’t talking about enough?”

• “Which trend in your industry do you think is overhyped or misunderstood?”

By asking these direct questions, you’re more likely to uncover the hidden gems of insider information. Public data won’t give you that.

The Golden Era for Product People

For entrepreneurs, especially product people, we’re in a golden era. Why? Because building software has become so accessible. You can spin up a prototype in days or even hours. The real challenge—and opportunity—lies in discovering what to build.

Small Interviews, Huge Insights

One offhand remark in an interview can reshape your entire roadmap. It might spark a feature that solves a pain point no competitor has addressed. Product people who combine user research skills with basic technical know-how can implement these ideas quickly, creating a cycle of rapid validation.

Faster Validation Cycles

In the past, launching a new feature required a lengthy planning phase and heavy developer involvement. Today, you can implement changes swiftly—sometimes in real time—based on interview feedback. This speed not only reduces risk but also amplifies your ability to adapt faster than the competition.

Become an Expert

Specialization matters more than ever. If you don’t deeply understand an industry, you won’t know what questions to ask or recognize a valuable nugget of intel when you hear it. Niche industries often concentrate knowledge among a small group of insiders, so once you tap into them, your learning curve accelerates dramatically.

GTM + Product: The New Business Builder

We’re entering an age where Go-to-Market (GTM) strategies and product development are merging. Marketing teams can’t solely rely on big campaigns anymore, and product teams can’t hide away in feature-planning mode. This convergence has given rise to a new breed of technical product marketers who understand both code and customer.

Why This Role Is Essential

When one person—or a small team—manages both the user insights and the product roadmap, you eliminate a lot of inefficiency. They can talk to customers directly, spin up quick prototypes, and instantly gauge product-market fit. In a world where the barriers to starting a company are so low, how you launch and differentiate yourself becomes the new superpower.

Where I Would Go from Here

If you’re considering starting a company, here’s a quick playbook:

1. Choose an opaque industry. Look for a sector that operates minimally online and relies heavily on relationships.

2. Have conversations. Build relationships and have as many in-person or virtual chats as possible. Conferences can be goldmines.

3. Be a specialist, not a generalist. Build in stealth until you develop a specialized perspective, form strong relationships, or create a unique data moat.

4. Conquer the world. Once you have unique insights, you’re in prime position to scale up, knowing you’re not just another face in the crowded market.