The Mom Test
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrickby Rob Fitzpatrick
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 6 of 24 business books by recommenders
Recommended as a short, practical guide to asking customers questions that avoid polite lies; one critic called it more entertaining than useful.
Recommended as a short, practical guide to asking customers questions that avoid polite lies; one critic called it more entertaining than useful.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 10 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Teaches customer interview questions
“it helped me spot some unhelpful questions even outside startups”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “The Mom Test book is an excellent interview guide for this stage”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Should I Promote My SaaS to get first 100 Customers without budget” “Check out the mom test for asking questions about ideas.”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: What are you working on?” Changes how you think about sales
“my sales strategy changed to incorporate the lies that a business would tell you to avoid hurting your feelings”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Founders Need to Be Ruthless When Chasing Deals” “Reading The Mom Test changed my perspective on things. I cannot recommend that book enough.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: Building a solo business is impossible” Short, valuable, good starting point
“This is such a short and valuable read, that I recommend it to everyone I meet who is trying to do sales.”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “White-Collar AI Apocalypse Narrative Is Just Another Bullshit” “Recommend the Mom Test as good place to start on how you can make sales before having a product”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “How SaaS startup guys get first 100 customers first, make fkn $500k ARR fast?”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 32 | 6 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 32 | 6 | 84% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric Ries | 23 | 11 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Goalby Eliyahu Goldratt | 21 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Mom Testby Rob FitzpatrickThis page | 10 | 1 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Recommend the Mom Test as good place to start on how you can make sales before having a product”
“The Mom Test book is an excellent interview guide for this stage”
“It's more entertainment than useful.”
“Reading The Mom Test changed my perspective on things. I cannot recommend that book enough.”
“The Mom Test is a good explanation of why you don't have PMF with the client”
“my sales strategy changed to incorporate the lies that a business would tell you to avoid hurting your feelings”
“This is such a short and valuable read, that I recommend it to everyone I meet who is trying to do sales.”
“Mom Test (it's good, but for some reason I keep failing to finish it)”
“it helped me spot some unhelpful questions even outside startups”
“I've heard a lot of good things about "The Mom Test".”
“Check out the mom test for asking questions about ideas.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.