3 ways to get signal faster (before you waste a sprint)

👋 Hey Friends,
 
Last week I spoke to a PM who waited 3 months to run a customer call.
Why? She was waiting for a clean prototype.

That’s 3 months of silence when she could’ve been learning.

Here’s the thing: You don’t need perfect.
You need signal.

Get 80% of the way there. Then test. Talk. Move.

Most PMs wait too long to validate an idea.
They think they’re “getting ready.”
What they’re really doing… is stalling.

Here are 3 ways to get signal, early, fast, and without burning dev time.

Use a Figma prototype like a script, not a spec.

You don’t need a finished flow to run a test.
You need a conversation starter.
Build just enough in Figma to show intent, and let the user talk.

Reuse real data from past behavior.

A goldmine most PMs ignore: existing usage patterns.
What people did > what people say.

Don’t guess.

Pull a list, tag a trend, show a stat.

Put it in front of one customer, not ten.

You don’t need a panel. You need direction.
One clear reaction from a real user beats 10 PM opinions.
Shipping is a bet. Talking is how you load the dice.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that perfect is a trap.
The faster you get signal, the faster you build something that actually matters.
Don’t wait until it’s “ready.” Share it, test it, talk about it—then make it better.

👉 Forward this to one PM who overthinks discovery (we all know one).
👉 What’s your go-to way of testing early? Hit reply I read every one.

See you next week!

— Stef