Ask HN: I'm lost. How can I define ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)?

kamphey · 2026-06-18T23:31:58.000Z 1781825518

Ask the customer for a referral to someone who has the same pain point. Let them reach out to your future customers for you. What you should do is just talk to users. People who are actually using what you're building.

If you're searching for more, there's search points all around their role, their pain point, their industry. Find very specific words that people with your pain point actually use to search. Not just "best app to do X" but really what are they posting about and how do they talk in public? IF not then you'll have to do some cold emailing, cold DM's, You'll have to talk to people.

Get on their laptops and install something for them or sit down at their desk and see what they are doing and how you can help.

spgorbatiuk · 2026-06-18T22:10:33.000Z 1781820633

It would help if you could provide a bit more details on what you're building and in which domain.

But from what you provided, I would make sure you really get to the bottom of why this pilot happened with your customer: did they have a problem specific enough? What changed right before they came to you (a new hire, a new regulation, a system that broke)? Who felt the pain, and who signed? Write those down as attributes, and your ICP becomes "companies that match the trigger," which is often not the same as "companies in that vertical."

mmarian · 2026-06-18T18:32:22.000Z 1781807542

It's too vague to give advice. And probably hard for an outsider to give you an answer; if there was, it means it's obvious and one of your competitor would've done it.

All I can say is that, for most startups, narrowing the ICP is good advice; but I've seen one tool where it wasn't.

lasky · 2026-06-18T23:30:39.000Z 1781825439

Ask Claude what customers have this same problem and not solving it is costing them money

brudgers · 2026-06-19T04:34:55.000Z 1781843695

But it’s difficult for me to reach out to other customers.

What makes it difficult?

What else is more important?

gigatree · 2026-06-19T02:50:24.000Z 1781837424

Can you not cold call, or is the LTV too low?