1. Pick one person and one browser task
Write down the exact job title and the task your extension touches. For example: a recruiter copying LinkedIn profiles into a spreadsheet, or an SDR switching between Gmail and HubSpot 40 times a day. If you can't name the task in one sentence, your interviews will drift.
2. Find people in places they already complain
Search Reddit for the task, not your product. Try r/recruiting, r/sales, r/productivity or r/webdev with searches like "copy paste LinkedIn every day" or "is there an extension that". Read the Chrome Web Store reviews of competing extensions too. One-star reviews list unmet needs and give you people to contact.
3. Send a short, honest ask
Message people who posted or reviewed. Example: "Saw your post about copying candidate info from LinkedIn by hand. I'm building a small tool for that and want to understand how you do it now. Could I ask you 5 questions over a 15 minute call this week? No pitch." Send 20 to get 4 or 5 calls.
4. Ask about the last time, not the future
Start with "Walk me through the last time you did this. What tabs were open?" Then ask "What did you do right before and right after?" and "How long did it take?" Past behavior is evidence. "Would you use this?" is a polite guess.
5. Ask about current workarounds and extensions
Ask "What have you tried to fix this?" and "Which extensions do you have installed right now? Can you show me?" Then ask "Why did you uninstall the last one?" Ask them to share their screen and look at the extensions menu. You learn what they trust, what annoyed them, and who you compete with.
6. Check permissions and work rules early
Ask "Does your company limit which extensions you can install?" and "Would you be okay with an extension that reads pages on this site?" Many sales and healthcare teams block unapproved extensions, and broad permissions scare people off. Find this out before you build.
7. Test willingness to pay before you hang up
Ask "What do you spend on tools for this today, and who pays?" Then make a real offer: "I'm opening a beta at $9 a month for the first 10 users. Want a spot?" A yes with a card, or a clear "my manager would need to approve it", tells you more than any compliment.
8. Write it down the same day and repeat
After each call, note the exact words they used, the task steps, the workaround, and their answer on paying. After 5 calls, look for the same complaint showing up 3 times and build only that. Hulby, an AI cofounder, does this every day for founders: it finds the right people, drafts the outreach, and tracks what you hear.
Mistakes to skip
- Pitching the extension in the first five minutes instead of asking about their current workflow.
- Asking "Would you install this?" and treating yes as validation.
- Interviewing other founders or friends instead of people who do the task daily.
- Skipping questions about company install policies and browser permissions.
Want this done for your Chrome extension, every day?
Hulby finds the people asking for what you built, writes every reply and email, and keeps you on it until they pay. Free to start.
Find my first customersQuestions
How many interviews do I need?
Start with 5 to 10 people in one role. Stop when you keep hearing the same problems and workarounds.
Should I show a prototype during the call?
Not until the last few minutes. Learn their workflow first, then show it and watch where they get confused.
What if no one replies to my messages?
Make the ask smaller and more specific. Quote their own post or review and ask for 15 minutes, not a demo.
Can I interview people through Chrome Web Store reviews?
You can't message reviewers on the store, but many use the same name on LinkedIn, Reddit or X. Search for them there and mention the review.