When growth stalls and doubt gets loud, most founders push harder—or walk away. In this vulnerable solo episode, Joanna Trojak shares how a stretch of unsettling silence revealed not burnout, but disconnection—and how one pivotal book (Rob Fitzpatrick’s The Mom Test) plus nine honest user conversations changed her roadmap for Heart Renew from isolated journaling to shared solitude and gentle, non-performative connection.

If you’ve wondered whether your product is broken, your vision still matters, or whether it’s time to quit—this one’s for you. You’ll hear the exact questions Joanna asked, the emotional truths users shared, and the product shifts that followed.

You’ll learn:

• Why “I’m burned out” sometimes masks I’m disconnected
• How to use The Mom Test to get truth, not politeness
• The insight behind solitude + witness (attachment theory in practice)
• Product ideas for quiet connection: group journaling hours, anonymous reflections, soft presence signals
• A simple founder ritual to stay connected to users, self, and why

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro & hook — “I wasn’t burned out. I was disconnected.”
• 00:27 The silence that scared me
• 02:48 The real problem: who am I building for?
• 05:06 The Mom Test & better questions
• 07:07 9 user calls and what they actually said
• 09:33 The pattern: solitude needs a witness
• 11:58 From isolation to shared solitude (product shift)
• 14:17 Reconnecting to users before features
• 14:45 Listening vs. validation
• 15:53 If you’re stuck: do this next
• 18:05 Building for people, not metrics

Keywords (SEO): startup founder, user interviews, The Mom Test, product-market fit, customer discovery, loneliness & belonging, attachment theory, product strategy, Startup Stories & Lessons, Heart Renew.