Meta Interview Prep: Review of Ben Erez’s Approach
When a recent partner gave me feedback about how I was approaching Meta interviews, at first I thought they were helping unblock me. But the more they tried to teach me their framework, the more I felt I was getting an equal mix of good and bad advice.
This caused me to step back and seek advice from other sources. I re-discovered Ben Erez’s work on Meta prep from Lenny’s Newsletter. I don’t agree with everything he suggests and a lot of my clients get lost in his approach, but others find it very helpful. We all learn differently.
When one is stuck, sometimes looking at another person’s framework can give you a fresh perspective.
Video I found helpful: if only to remind myself, this is what I teach.
Ben’s Worksheet: Use with caution; it’s a worksheet and you can’t type all of this out on the day of the interview.
Assumptions
BEN (summary): Lock assumptions early to reduce ambiguity and anchor to a company/mission.
MY POV: I ask for permission and take a minute before locking key assumptions. Declaring role and context early can work. Geo focus and platform constraints can backfire (many target companies are global; constraints can limit thinking)—but if you tend to think too big, they can help you focus.
Stakeholders
BEN (summary): Use a clear formula so you explicitly state which stakeholder you’re focused on and why.
MY POV: We agree 100%. The explicit call-out is a useful reminder not to bury the lead.
Product Mission / Vision
BEN (summary): Assume (or choose) a company and tie back to its mission.
MY POV: I default to a startup lens when the interviewer hasn’t specified a company. My recent partner pushed me to pick a company and say why. I appreciate this—even if it isn’t my go-to—because it shows you can build within an existing mission and constraints.
Warning: Too many people try to force every prompt to “fit Meta,” which leads to impractical solutions and/or pandering.
Segmentation
BEN (summary): Segment by behaviors, motivations, context (not demographics). Prioritize via Reach × Underserved (I often use TAM × Competition).
His suggested buckets:
Primary motivations
Behavioral patterns
Context of use
Expertise levels
Resource constraints
Goals and outcomes
MY POV (cautions from experience):
People over-index on frequency/expertise, producing lifeless, overly broad segments.
You can end up splitting hairs between “primary motivation” vs. “goals/outcomes.”
Focusing too much on money constraints can slide back into a demographic spiral.
Helpful reminder (from Ben): Make sure pain points are unique across segments.
My thoughts: If key pains overlap heavily, your segmentation is still too high-level—the interviewer will ask, “Aren’t those pains shared by everyone you excluded above?”
User Journey & Pain Points
BEN (summary): Keep the journey → pain points flow.
MY POV: That sequence works well for me with Google; Meta can feel tighter.
Helpful reminders:
Ensure problems themselves are mutually exclusive (not just the users).
Problems block the product mission. I often use right-to-win (capability-oriented, still includes mission). Use whichever framing helps you.
Solutions
BEN (summary): Explore distinct angles and mechanisms (not three near-duplicates). Keep solutions practical with a path to MVP. Emphasize a walkthrough of your chosen solution and call out risks + mitigations.
MY POV: Same principle I teach—“angles/mechanisms” may help you unlock the third idea. In practice, interviewers often ask for multiple ideas, so controlling the exchange is hard.
Tactic that helps: Share your structure first, then your ideas.
“Thank you for giving me a moment to collect my thoughts. I’d like to share three high-level concepts and then walk through the one I’m prioritizing in more detail.”
What I’m Testing
Assumptions. Put a stake in the ground earlier (after asking for a minute) to narrow faster and manage ambiguity.
Segmentation. Try four concept buckets. Research suggests working memory holds ~four chunks at once (Cowan, 2001):
Motivations / Goals
Constraints
Context
Behavioral Patterns / Knowledge Level
User Journey. Keep it non-negotiable; see if earlier assumption-setting buys the time.
Solutions. Think in angles (customer, supplier, competition, technology) and methods (substitute, combine, modify, put to another use, reverse, eliminate — Yes SCAMMPER framework) to produce distinct, MVP-ready options.
Final thought
I don’t agree with everything in Ben’s approach—and that’s fine. When you’re stuck, trying on another person’s scaffolding can unlock momentum. Keep what sharpens your thinking, drop what blurs it. We all learn differently.
