I'm curious about how do YC top performers do on these stats? So that I might improve myself.
Thanks in advance, Santy
1. Quality over quantity. "Talk to users" works best when you have a well-defined market or ICP. Talking to 10 users in your ultra-specific niche is way better than talking to 100 users across multiple niches.
2. Your script matters a lot. Asking leading questions will get you results you can't trust. I think The Mom Test (https://www.amazon.com/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/...) is a great intro on this topic.
3. Talk to enough users that you start being able to predict their answers. If you are running interviews and still getting new/surprising answers to your questions, then it means you either haven't spoken to enough people or have a poorly defined ICP... If you need #s, I generally find that after 10 interviews in a very focused ICP, you should start seeing patterns.
Finally, there is an exception to every rule. Your specific market might need more interviews, or you might have such a good insight that you skip formal interviewing all together.
Just kidding. I'm not YC -- I bootstrapped. But never did cold calls.