Venture Design I Achieving Customer Relevance

Venture Design Workshop I Achieving Customer Relevance

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

AGENDA Period! Venture Design I: Achieving Customer Relevance

Deliverables! Personas Problem Scenarios-Alternatives-Value Propositions Start Business Model Canvas Storyboards Customer Discovery

Venture Design II: Iterating to Success

Venture Planning- focal hypotheses, experiments, and minimum viable ‘product’

Venture Design III: Focusing & Validating Venture Progress

Review of field work, refinements of approach, planning next steps.

Venture Design IV: Engineering Your Business Model!

Detailing your business model and remaining focal assumptions.

Venture Design V: Designing the Pairing your learnings on personas & hypotheses with high Right Product! quality, actionable inputs (stories & wireframes) for product development and product validation. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PRODUCT IDEAS?

Do you have a product idea you can use? ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PRODUCT IDEA: ENABLE QUIZ

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PRODUCT IDEA: WEDOTHAT

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PRODUCT IDEA: MY LETTER, MY STORY

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

IT’S A PROCESS

Some techniques are more effective than others.

Personas

But they all require substantial, consistent exertion. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Hypothesize

Learn

Lean StartupStyle Assumptions

Experiment

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Hypothesize

Lean StartupStyle Assumptions Business Model Canvas

Learn

Experiment

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Hypothesize

Lean StartupStyle Assumptions Business Model Canvas

Learn

Experiment

User Stories & Test Cases

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Hypothesize

Lean StartupStyle Assumptions Business Model Canvas

Learn

Experiment

User Stories & Test Cases

Product & Promotion

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

Technical Literacy Foundation Skills

SOFTWARE FUNDAMENTALS Model-ViewController DESIGN THINKING

ARCHITECTURE FUNDAMENTALS App. & Platform Integration

LEAN

...

...

...

ANALYTICS

SEO

DESIGN & UX

...

ENTERPRISE SALES

...

PHP

JAVA

PYTON

RUBY

Specialties

UNIX SYSADMIN

THE FULL STACK PRODUCT PERSON

ROLES & SYSTEMS In a Technical Team

CUSTOMER DEV.

AGILE ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

WHY IS DESIGN THINKING HARD?

Then

Now

Survival

Design Thinking

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING

Empathy

Creativity Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- APPLICATIONS

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- APPLICATIONS

Empathy

1

Entry

2

Urinate as they go

3

Edges preferred

4

Speedy

5

PB > cheese

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- APPLICATIONS Check & Repair

1

UV Validation

2

Relevant Placement

3

A Better Mouse Trap

4

Powered by Better Bait

5

Creativity

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS

Personas

Problem Scenarios Alternatives Your Value Propositions

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- PERSONAS

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

NOT A GOOD PERSONA • • • • • •

Women Age 28-45 Has kids Socialize with other mom’s Online with Facebook 86% said they’d like to be more organized • 70% said they’d use an application that organizes them Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

NOT A GOOD PERSONA This is a huge population- not exact

These responses are ‘fake actionable’- survey responses like this are unreliable

• • • • • •

Women points are almost Age 28-45 Bullet never vivid or detailed Has kids Socialize with other mom’s Online with Facebook 86% said they’d like to be more organized • 70% said they’d use an application that organizes them

Stock photo- not real Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

THE ART OF CUSTOMER DISCOVERY

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

A BETTER PERSONA

Mary the Mom Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting, but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it. But it’s not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding with other mom’s on child education and keeping track of what works. She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other moms’ items more often than that. She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly…

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

A BETTER PERSONA the use of a first name helps w/ vividness (a little)

Mary the Mom Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting, but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it.

these full sentences look like a good start towards something vivid and detailed

But it’s not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding with other mom’s on child education and keeping track of what works. She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other moms’ items more often than that.

this is a real photo of a relevant person taken with an iPhone in the real world

She has a few blogs and publications she reads regularly…

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

A LITTLE GAME FOR BETTER PERSONA DISCOVERY

Day in the Life we look at a few photos for a given persona (not a full picture, just snippets) you make some guesses about them there are no right answers BUT there is a right process: observe and infer OBJECTIVE: get a feel for what’s real; start to create something vivid

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

OUR PERSONA

Sally the Single Mom

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

WAKE UP!

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

WAKE UP!

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

GEARING UP FOR THE DAY

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

AT WORK

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

AFTER WORK

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PRE-BED

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

BED

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

GEAR

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

IF I HAD 3 EXTRA HOURS…

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

ABOUT SALLY THE SINGLE MOM… What’s her favorite kind of music? Band/composer? Where did she buy their last pair of shoes? What movie did she last see? What did she drink with dinner last night? If she had a dog, what kind? What’s her favorite magazine?

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- PERSONA CREATION List at least 3 personas Mary the Working Mom Susan the Stay-at-Home Mom Douglas the Dad Nathan the Nanny Ivan the Infant

use 1 index card/ persona

…

(4 min)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- PERSONA CREATION Which are buyers? Users? Both? Note with a ‘B’ and/or a ‘U’ on the Index Card Mary the Working Mom (B, U) Susan the Stay-at-Home Mom (B, U) Douglas the Dad (U) Nathan the Nanny (U) Ivan the Infant (U) …

(1 min)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- PERSONA CREATION Can you think of 5 real examples for each? Use the back of your index cards

(2 min) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- PERSONA CREATION Which have the most compelling need, desire? If you could only pitch 1 persona type, which? Sort top to bottom

(1 min)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: THINK-SEE-FEEL-DO

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

X

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO What job(s) are you doing for the customer? What existing need or behavior are you fulfilling?

X

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

X

ALTERNATIVE(S)

? ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

X

ALTERNATIVE(S)

?

If they currently use spreadsheets, watch them use it and get a copy of it. If they currently put notes on the family fridge, ask about it, photograph it.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

X

ALTERNATIVE(S)

?

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS

!

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DISCOVERY & LEARNING: PROBLEM SCENARIOS

PROBLEM SCENARIO

X

ALTERNATIVE(S)

?

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS Are they better enough than the alternative(s)?

!

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- VALUE PROPOSITIONS

X ? !

Brainstorm Problem ScenarioPROBLEM SCENARIO Alternative-Value Proposition Trios.

ALTERNATIVE(S)

Problem: Mary would like to be more structured and consistent in her use of allowances to teach the link between work and financial rewards. Alternative: Track the completion of chores, homework, etc. manually using paper, boards, notes on her phone.

YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS

Value Proposition: Use our app to easily and consistently implement best practices tailored to your situation.

(7 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- VALUE PROPOSITIONS Prioritize your value propositionsif you could only pitch one, which? After that? Etc.

(2 min.)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS (Key Partners)

(Key Activities)

(Key Resources)

(Cost Structure)

(Value (Customer Propositions) Relationships)

(Customer Segments)

(Channels)

(Revenue Streams)

The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

SEGMENT TO VALUE PROPOSITION MAPPING Partner_1 Partner_2 Partner_3

Activity_1 Activity_2 Activity_3

Proposition_1 Proposition_2 Proposition_3

Relationship_1 Relationship_2 Relationship_3

Resource_1 Resource_2 Resource_3

Cost_1 Cost_2 Cost_3

The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas.

Segment_1 Segment_2 Segment_3

Channel_1 Channel_2 Channel_3

Revenue_1 Revenue_2 Revenue_3

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Customer Segments

Value Propositions

(Key Partners)

(Key Activities)

(Key Resources)

(Cost Structure)

(Value (Customer Propositions) Relationships)

(Customer Segments)

(Channels)

(Revenue Streams)

The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS VS. PERSONAS

reCustomer motsuC Segments stnemgeS

Personas

≈ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE- MAPPING PERSONAS, VALUE PROP’S 1. List your prioritized personas (Customer Segments block) and Value Propositions 2. Map your personas to your Value Propositions

Activity_1 Activity_2 Activity_3

Proposition_1 Proposition_2 Proposition_3

The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas.

Persona_1 Persona_2 Persona_3

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

(3 min) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

AND NOW THE PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS A certain PERSONA exists… … and they have a certain PROBLEMS(S) …

X

… where they’re currently using certain ALTERNATIVE(S) …

?

… and I have a VALUE PROPOSITION that’s better enough than the alternatives to cause the persona to act (purchase, use, etc.).

! Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE: YOUR PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS A certain PERSONA exists… … and they have a certain PROBLEMS(S) …

… where they’re currently using certain ALTERNATIVE(S) … … and I have a VALUE PROPOSITION that’s better enough than the alternatives to cause the persona to act (purchase, use, etc.).

Enable Quiz example: ‘HR and functional managers are in charge of technical hires and they struggle to effectively screen for technical skill sets, making the hiring process slower and more labor intensive and producing worse outcomes than they should reasonably expect. Currently they implement a patchwork of calling references and asking a few probing questions. By offering an easy, affordable, lightweight technical quizzing solution, Enable Quiz can acquire and retain these customer personas, delivering material value.’ (4 min.)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PEER PRESENTATIONS PREP! For [target customer] who [statement of the need or opportunity], the [product name] is a [product category] that [statement of key benefit/ key reason to buy]. unlike [primary alternative], our product [statement of primary differentiation]. EXAMPLE For [hiring managers] who [need to evaluate technical talent], [Enable Quiz] is a [talent assessment system] that [allows for quick and easy assessment of topical understanding in key engineering topics]. Unlike [formal certifications or ad hoc questions], our product [allows for lightweight but consistent assessments of technical talent]. (4 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE: PEER PRESENTATION

As Presenter 1) What is this? (Use positioning statement) 2) Who is the persona? What kind of shoes do they wear? 3) What problem scenario(s) are you looking at? What alternatives does the persona use now? 4) What’s your value proposition? 5) What’s your product hypothesis? 6) What do you need to learn more about?

As Audience - Focus on the process; avoid editorial - Ask a lot of questions - Think about it like an investor

(5 min./ each) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

STORYBOARDING: ORIGINS

copyright Fred Moore & Disney Pictures

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

STORYBOARDING EXAMPLE

Personas Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

STORYBOARDING EXAMPLE

Personas Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

ENABLE QUIZ: EXAMPLE PROBLEM SCENARIOS PERSONA

Helen the HR Manager

Frank the Functional Manager

PROBLEM SCENARIO

“It’s hard for me to screen on technical skill sets and I end up sending Frank unqualified recruits.”

“I have limited time and I don’t want to be a jerk. It’s hard to screen for all the relevant technical skill sets.”

ALTERNATIVE(S)

- Call references - Take their word for it

- A few probing questions - Take their word for it

VALUE PROPOSITIONS

New ability for meaningful screening of technical candidates, increasing % of successful hires and lowering Frank’s workload on recruiting.

Less time doing interviews, and better hires sooner.

X

? !

Copyright Cowan Publishing Copyright 20142014 Cowan Publishing

STORYBOARDING A PROBLEM SCENARIO BEFORE

BEFORE (using the Alternative) AFTER

AFTER (with the Value Proposition)

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

EXERCISE: BEFORE AND AFTER BOARDS Using the squares, create a before and then after storyboard- 3 panels each BEFORE (using the Alternative)

AFTER (with the Value Proposition)

(10 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

DESIGN THINKING- USING PERSONAS

MAKING STUFF

What does the user (most) want?

SELLING STUFF

What does the user actually do?

Who are we selling to? Where do we reach them? With what proposition?

Personas

Problem Scenarios Alternatives Your Value Propositions

Who’s buying?

Where?

Why?

Foundation in Design Thinking Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONAS- DISCOVERY & VALIDATION

MVP

Interviews

Tell me about yourself. What do you do? How often? How does it make you feel?

AdWords, etc. + Landing Page Tests

What language, propositions resonate? What is the customer prepared to do?

Real-Time Analytics & Recording

What do users actually do?

Minimum Viable Product

Do customers like it? Buy it? Use it? Tell others about it? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VENTURE DESIGN

Hypothesize

Lean StartupStyle Assumptions Business Model Canvas

Learn

Experiment

User Stories & Test Cases

Product & Promotion

Foundation in Design Thinking

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

BY THE NUMBERS

Scale? Who?

What?

What if?

X

!

Tell me…?

How?

/ Pivot?

PERSONAS

PROBLEM VALUE CUSTOMER USER PRODUCT & SCENARIOS & PROPOSITIONS DISCOVERY & STORIES & PROMOTION ALTERNATIVES & ASSUMPTIONS EXPERIMENTS PROTOTYPES Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

CUSTOMER CREATION HYPOTHESIS

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

Does this person exist? Can you identify them? Do you understand them really well? What do they think-see-feel-do in your area?

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

‘Everyone is my customer!’

Possibly true at some point, but you need to nail early adopters to get traction.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

‘There are a few customers to focus on- I’m not sure which one’. Pick the one with the most compelling need and choose. Or guess. But don’t diffuse your focus.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

‘I can’t find anyone to interview’ Then I would step back. This almost certainly means you’ll have trouble with the next steps as well.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PERSONA HYPOTHESIS

‘I think I get this persona, but I’m not sure about the whole think-see-feel-do thing.’ Think-see-feel-do is not the only way to go but it’s pretty good. Solid personas are the stitch in time that saves 9.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

Have you identified a discrete problem/need? How important is it to the target persona(s)? What alternatives do they use today? How?

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘During customer discovery interviews, the subjects consistently mentioned our problem scenario’ Excellent! That’s a good preliminary validation you’re on the right track.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘We did a questionnaire and >80% of subjects said they wish [our problem area] was better.’ Don’t trust questionnaires, especially with leading questions. Focus on face-toface.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘I am in this business/I am one of these personas and I know I have this problem- and I’m sure it exists for most others like me.’ Good start but approach discovery like you know nothing.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘Our product doesn’t really address a problem, exactly, so this isn’t relevant for us.’ There are no new problems or habits. Make sure you know what you’re after.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘Our product is so fundamentally novel that there are no current alternatives.’ (see previous)

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS

‘We’ve mapped out the alternative and observed or key personas in action with them.’ Excellent! You’re ready to synthesize, tune and test your value proposition!

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

How much better than the best alternative is your product? How obvious is that to the customer?

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘Over 80% of the people we asked said they’d buy our product!’ Can’t trust it- Yellow Walkman data

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We did a concierge test and [got paid, got asked by the customer when they could buy our product].’ Excellent! You’re on the fast track of iterating to a successful outcome. Time to look at an actual MVP.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We finished our concierge test. They liked it but as a result it was a long way to conclusive.’ Now that you know how, could you get paid for the next one? Try other test and then if negative, consider pivot.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We made a bunch of pre-release sales, but they’re non-binding.’ That’s OK (as long as you made the agreement with a real decision maker). You’ve got a reasonably good validation of value hypothesis. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We couldn’t make any pre-release sales.’

Why not? No interest? That’s bad. Need to sell real product (and that’s really why), consider what’s behind that.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We found a few AdWord-landing page combinations that had better than expected click through and conversion rates to email sign-up’s.’ Excellent! That’s a good validation of your value hypothesis and you’re gotten a jump start on your Customer Creation Hypotheses. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

VALUE HYPOTHESIS

‘We tried a few things with AdWords and landing pages, but the results weren’t great.’ What happens when you try the same thing out in the real world? Search is a good way to connect with existing demand but not necessarily learn about its fundamentals. ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

CUSTOMER CREATION HYPOTHESIS

How will you get the customer’s: attention, interest, desire, action, onboarding, retention? How will you know if it’s working?

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

CUSTOMER CREATION HYPOTHESIS

Most of these results are pretty definitive.

ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

WHERE ARE YOU NOW? MVP

Product-Market Fit(?)

Scale

PIVOTAL ASSUMPTIONS

Nascent

Test, revise, test...

Validated- now tactical

Validated- now tactical

PRODUCT

N/A

MVP

Focus: efficiency, extension

What would a startup do??

ORG.

Founders

Customer dev. team

Full functional organization

Scalable organization

PARTNERS, CHANNELS

Probably too soon

Probably too soon

Yeah, maybe?

Yeah, definitely! Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

AGENDA Period

Deliverables

Venture Design I: Achieving Customer Relevance

Personas Problem Scenarios-Alternatives-Value Propositions Start Business Model Canvas Storyboards Customer Discovery

Venture Design II: Iterating to Success

Venture Planning- focal hypotheses, experiments, and minimum viable ‘product’

Venture Design III: Focusing & Validating Venture Progress

Review of field work, refinements of approach, planning next steps.

Venture Design IV: Engineering Your Business Model!

Detailing your business model and remaining focal assumptions.

Venture Design V: Designing the Pairing your learnings on personas & hypotheses with high Right Product! quality, actionable inputs (stories & wireframes) for product development and product validation. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS

“Homework” 1. Draft a working set of personas Pick the most important buyers and/or users. More is not necessarily better- you can always add more (re-segment) later. Finish think-see-feel-do. Find a photo. 2. Draft a working set of problem scenario-alternative-value proposition trios. 3. Finish a working product hypothesis and positioning statement. 4. Finish a working interview guide to validate your persona and problem hypotheses and complete a few customer interviews.

GOOGLE DOC TEMPLATE FOR ABOVE: http://bit.ly/venturetemplate Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS

Follow-On Workshops 1. For Creating Strong Personas Day in the Life Workshop: http://bit.ly/daynthelife 2. For Structuring Your Product Value Propositions into Testable Assumptions Venture Design II: Iterating to Success: http://bit.ly/vdesignII 3. For Designing a Profitable Business Model Venture Design IV: Engineering Your Business Model: http://bit.ly/vdesignIV 4. For Linking the Above to an Effective Product Development Program Venture Design V: Designing the Right Product: http://bit.ly/vdesignV Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing

bit.ly/vdesignI

www.alexandercowan.com/venture-design

www.alexandercowan.com/startup-sprints

@cowanSF

[email protected] Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing