As tech scaleups evolve, so does the complexity of understanding your customer. In a recent Wisdom From Wizards episode, I spoke with Nalin Senthamil, CEO and Founder of Storylane, about a deceptively simple question:

Would you rather gather customer feedback through surveys or in-depth interviews?

His answer?
“Both are valuable — but if I had to pick one for Storylane, I’d go with in-depth interviews.”

Why Interviews Win at Scale

For product-led growth (PLG) companies like Storylane, early feedback often comes from usage data and lightweight surveys. But as you move upmarket, that approach hits a ceiling.

“Analytics can tell you what users are doing,” Nalin explains, “but not why they’re doing it — or what’s missing.” That “why” becomes critical when enterprise buyers come into the picture and sales cycles lengthen. At that point, qualitative insights trump quantitative noise.

Nalin focuses his team’s energy on real conversations — uncovering pain points, validating value props, and deepening their understanding of customer context. This approach helps Storylane shape a roadmap that resonates with decision-makers, not just users.

Strategy for Scaleup CEOs

If your company is growing beyond self-serve users into the mid-market or enterprise, consider Nalin’s playbook:

• Use analytics to spot friction, but don’t stop there.
• Schedule customer interviews regularly, not just during churn moments.
• Treat customer conversations as strategic assets, not support overhead.

Interviews aren’t just a research tactic — they’re a growth lever.

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