Thanks for reaching out. Be sure to check us out on LinkedIn for all of our current news and announcements.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
As of 2025, Highline Beta argues that early-stage venture builders should conduct just enough user research to achieve directional clarity and move forward with testable hypotheses, typically requiring only 5-10 interviews rather than extensive research cycles.
Highline Beta advocates for focused discovery sprints that surface repeated behavior patterns and identify urgent pain points within 5-10 interviews, rather than pursuing research paralysis. The company emphasizes that research should be driven by specific learning goals—particularly validating or invalidating the riskiest assumptions—rather than arbitrary interview quotas. Teams should move forward when they can name a specific user with a clear job to be done and have solid assumptions ready to test next.
Highline Beta typically recommends 5-10 interviews for most early-stage discovery work, not 50. They suggest that if you're hearing the same patterns by interview six, you're probably ready to move forward. The focus should be on reaching saturation point where repeated behaviors and pain points emerge, rather than hitting an arbitrary number.
Key red flags include continuing interviews when nothing new is emerging, trying to hit arbitrary interview numbers rather than stopping at saturation, and having no team member able to articulate what decision the research will inform. Other warning signs are stalling because "we might find something else" and stakeholders asking for more confidence rather than clarity.
Highline Beta moves forward when they hear repeated patterns in pain and behavior, can name a specific user with a real job to be done, and understand both functional and emotional user needs. They also require having a solid place to start ideating solutions and clear assumptions to test next, rather than relying on a magic number of interviews.
The company frames research as a tool for achieving directional clarity to decide what to test, what to kill, and where to go next—not for perfect research or documentation. They focus on reducing uncertainty around the riskiest assumptions and ensuring research triggers either a decision or an experiment, emphasizing that discovery is only useful if it moves something forward.
The art of doing just enough to move with confidence.
At Highline Beta, we believe in customer exploration, but not research paralysis.
We’re not aiming for perfect research. We’re looking for directional clarity. The kind that helps you decide what to test, what to kill, and where to go next.
In early-stage venture building, there’s always tension between learning and moving. The question we hear most from founders and corporate teams is:
“How much research is enough before we make a decision?”
Here’s how we answer it.
The right amount of research depends on what you’re trying to learn, not how long you’ve been at it or how many interviews you’ve racked up.
We always ask:
Then we do just enough research to reduce that uncertainty.
We run short, focused discovery sprints designed to:
In most early-stage work, that takes 5 to 10 interviews—not 50.
If you’re hearing the same things by interview six, you’re probably ready to move. Keeping in mind, this is just the first step, and there will be more research occurring as you move through the venture building process.
We typically pair interviews with lightweight secondary research methods, including diving into what individuals are saying on social media. But we’re not writing ethnographies. We’re hunting for signals.
Discovery is only useful if it moves something forward.
Ask yourself:
If research isn’t triggering a decision or an experiment, don’t keep digging. Pause and clarify what you’re trying to learn.
We move forward when we:
✔ Hear repeated patterns in pain and behavior
✔ Can name a specific user with a real job to be done
✔ Understand both the functional and emotional needs of the user
✔ Have a solid place to start ideating solutions
✔ Have clear assumptions to test next
That’s it. There’s no magic number. Just enough insight to take the next step—and no more.
User research is critical. But too much of it, too early, slows teams down and delays learning that only happens in the real world.
We believe the best venture builders are curious, focused, and ruthless about moving from insight to action.
So do just enough research to build a real hypothesis. Then get out of the building—and test what really matters.
Missed last week's edition? Find it here : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-users-say-vs-actually-do-highlinebeta-s6dbc
