User interview protip: if you actually want to know what's wrong with your product, never tell people that it's your product.
At my last startup, we did user tests every week, and my cofounder was very careful never to let on which test items were made by us. We didn't have our name on the door or on the buzzer. Nothing with our logo was visible between the entryway and the user interview room. And when he started showing products, he'd always start with somebody else's.
It was great. We got some incredibly honest feedback (sometimes brutally so) on what we were building. It helped us kill a lot of bad directions early. Most people just don't want to tell you that your baby is ugly, but they'll happily dish if they think it's somebody else's.
At my last startup, we did user tests every week, and my cofounder was very careful never to let on which test items were made by us. We didn't have our name on the door or on the buzzer. Nothing with our logo was visible between the entryway and the user interview room. And when he started showing products, he'd always start with somebody else's.
It was great. We got some incredibly honest feedback (sometimes brutally so) on what we were building. It helped us kill a lot of bad directions early. Most people just don't want to tell you that your baby is ugly, but they'll happily dish if they think it's somebody else's.