talk-to-users

# Talk to users (the TAB system) > The best marketing to developers comes from talking to developers. That's it. Everything else in this repo is downstream of this skill. **Use this when:** you've never done a real user interview, your messaging is clever but unverified, or you keep debating the roadmap internally instead of asking the people who feel the pain. ## The core idea Stand up a **Technical Advisory Board**: 30-50 people who *represent your users and buyers*, not grey-haired advisors telling you how to build. You interview them, on repeat, and let their words become your positioning, roadmap, and homepage copy. A TAB call is **not a demo and not a sales call.** It's an interview. You never mention the product. ## Framework: the TAB system (Frankl) **Composition** - One+ representative of *every persona that touches the product* (see `who-is-this-for`) - Both **users** (interact) and **customers** (pay), often different people - Target 30-50 members **Cadence** - 30 minutes · one-on-one · monthly · for ~6 months - Zoom, recorded with permission, never in person - Same questions every time · never pitch **Recruitment (it's a numbers game)** - Personalize every message, never batch-and-blast - Lead with *their* problem, not your startup - Max 4 sentences - ~10% reply → plan ~500 outreaches for ~50 members - No payment: early access, influence, swag Template: ``` Dear [Name], Your post about [specific problem] was genuinely sharp. I'm building something to a...