In this sprint, you'll validate your understanding of customer and problems so you build something your customer wan...
Venture Design Workshop II Iterating to Success
! Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
ABOUT ME
Entrepreneur (5x) Intrapreneur (1x) ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
ABOUT ME
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
ABOUT ME
www.alexandercowan.com 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
PRODUCT IDEAS?
http://bit.ly/pconcepts ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF 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
Hypothesize
Learn
Lean StartupStyle Assumptions
Experiment
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
Technical Literacy Foundation Concepts
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
THE FULL STACK PRODUCT PERSON
Specialties
Technical Literacy Foundation Concepts
LEAN ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
THE STARTUP: THEN AND NOW Then
Now
Five Year Plan
Lean Management 01 IDEA!
45,000,000% 40,000,000%
02 HYPOTHESIS
35,000,000% 30,000,000% 25,000,000%
Revenue% Expense%
20,000,000%
EBITDA%
15,000,000%
6.a PIVOT experiments 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN disprove hypothesis 04 EXPERIMENTATION
10,000,000% 5,000,000% 0% 2012% !5,000,000%
2013%
2014%
2015%
2016%
2017%
2018%
2019%
2020%
05 PIVOT OR PERSEVERE?
6.b PERSEVERE experiments prove hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL
OLD SCHOOL
NEW SCHOOL
!?
$
?
!
?
?
?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling?
01 IDEA!
What are the key assumptions required to make this business work?
02 HYPOTHESIS
How do I definitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort? Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions? ‘Pivot or persevere?’
6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling?
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
What job(s) are you doing for the customer? What existing need or behavior are you fulfilling?
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
ALTERNATIVE(S)
X ? ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
ALTERNATIVE(S)
X ?
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
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
ALTERNATIVE(S)
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
X ? !
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
PROBLEM SCENARIO
ALTERNATIVE(S)
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS Are they better enough than the alternative(s)?
X ? !
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
YOUR PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS A certain PERSONA exists… … and they have certain PROBLEMS(S) …
X
… where they’re currently using certain ALTERNATIVE(S) …
?
… and we have a VALUE PROPOSITION that’s better enough than the alternatives to cause the persona to act (purchase, use, etc.).
!
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: YOUR VENTURE 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
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling?
01 IDEA!
What are the key assumptions required to make this business work?
02 HYPOTHESIS
How do I definitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort? Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions? ‘Pivot or persevere?’
6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ 01 IDEA!
What are the key assumptions required to make this business work? How do I definitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort?
02 HYPOTHESIS 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
ASSUMPTIONS: ORGANIZED AND PRIORITIZED Priority
Key Assumption
Needs Proving?
Experimentation
1
[A key assumption about the [Whether it needs proving business]
[Experiment to prove or disprove]
1
Hiring managers would prefer a lightweight quiz app Yes over calling references and ad hoc probing.
* Customer interviews on problem scenario * Value testing through ‘minimum viable product’
2
Managers want to be able to Yes add their questions as well
* Show prototypes with choices * Test in beta
2
Parents have smart phones
n/a
No
Focus on strategic, pivotal assumptions
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
FOCUS AND THE LEAN STARTUP
Crossing t’s Dotting i’s Doesn’t matter unless it helps prove (or disprove) your pivotal assumptions Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
FOCUS AND THE LEAN STARTUP
Subject all your activities + metrics to that litmus test. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS
VALUE HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF 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
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST ! ✔︎
Hypothesis
Experiment
This persona exists (in non-trivial numbers) and you can identify them.
- Can
✔︎
You understand this persona well.
- What
✔︎
Do you understand what they Think in your area of interest?
- What
✔︎
Do you understand what they See in your area of interest?
- Where
✔︎
How do they Feel about your area of interest?
- What
✔︎
Do you understand what they Do in your area of interest?
- What
you think of 5-10 examples? you set up discovery interviews with them? - Can you connect with them in the market at large? - Can
kind of shoes do they wear? - Are you hearing, seeing the same things across your discovery interviews? do you they mention as important? Difficult? Rewarding? - Do they see the work (or habit) as you do? - What would they like to do better? To be better? - How
do they get their information? Peers? Publications? do they decide what’s OK? What’s aspirational?
are their triggers for this area? Motivations? - What rewards do they seek? How do they view past actions? do you actually observe them doing? - How can you directly or indirectly validate that’s what they do?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Outputs
Common Pivots 1) Re-segmentation (more granular) 2) Revision of area of interest/ problem space 3) Strategic pivot
Template: bit.ly/personast Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EARLY MARKET VS. LATER MARKET
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EARLY MARKET VS. LATER MARKET
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: WHO’S YOUR EARLY MARKET? Answer each as best you can: ~ 1 min/each 1) How do they differ within your existing persona definitions? Example: At Enable Quiz, they’re startup’s doing lots of hiring 2) How will you locate them? Example: At Enable Quiz, they’ll read tech rags to see who just got funded. 3) How will they help you transition to your next segment? Example: At Enable Quiz, via case studies, references, and incented posts on LinkedIn.
(4 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: PERSONA DISCOVERY QUESTIONS (5 MIN) Question Form
Examples Questions (‘Enable Quiz’)
Tell me about [yourself in the role of the persona]?
- Tell
me about being an HR manager? did you choose that line of work? Why? - What do you most, least like about the job? - What are the hardest, easiest parts of the job? - I’ve heard [x]- does that apply to you? - Do you do screen new candidates? If not, who? - Can you tell me about the last time? What was the trigger? - Who else was involved? What was it like? - How
Tell me about [your area of interest]?
Tell me your thoughts about [area]?!
- How
What do you see in [area]?!
- Where
should it ideally be done? - How is it actually done? Why? do you learn what’s new? What others do? do you think is doing it right? - How did you make your last decision? - Who
How do you feel about [area]?
- What
What do you do in [area]?
- Would you show me your interview guide? Example notes? - What the vetting process was like on the last few candidates?
motivates you? What parts of it are most rewarding? Why? Tell me about the last time? - What would it be like in your perfect world?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
KEY TO GOOD PERSONA DISCOVERY
1) Create a level of person-ability and comfort 2) Acclimate them to the idea that you’re not just wondering about the ‘general picture’ PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
3) Assure them by demonstration that you’re not selling anything or advocating a point of view
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST !
Hypothesis
Experiment
✔︎
You’ve identified at least one discrete problem (job, desire, etc.)
- Can
✔︎
The problem is important
- Do
✔︎
You understand current alternatives
- Have
you describe it in a sentence? Do others get it? - Can you identify current alternatives? subjects mention it unprompted in discovery interviews? - Do they respond to solicitation (see also value and customer creation hypotheses)? you seen them in action? you have ‘artifacts’ (spreadsheets, photos, posts, notes, whiteboard scribbles, screen shots)?
- Do
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Outputs
Common Pivots
PROBLEM SCENARIO(S)
X
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
1) Pivot to a more material problem area 2) Strategic pivot
Template: bit.ly/personast Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: PROBLEM DISCOVERY QUESTIONS Question Form
Examples Questions (‘Enable Quiz’)
What are the top [5] hardest things about [area of interest]?!
- What
How do you currently [operate in area of interest- if you don’t have that yet]? OR Here’s what I got on [x]- is that right?
- How
What’s [difficult, annoying] about [area of interest]?
- What’s
What are the top 5 things you want to do better this year in [general area of interest]?
- What
Why is/isn’t [your specific area of interest on that list]?!
- Why is/isn’t screening for technical candidates on that list?
are the top 5 most difficult things about making good tech hires? Why?
do you currently screen for technical skill sets? does what? - How does that work? - Who
difficult about screening technical candidates? - How do you validate they have the right skill set? - How are the actual outcomes? Examples? are the top 5 things you want to do better in technical recruiting and hiring?
(5 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
KEY TO GOOD PROBLEM DISCOVERY
1) Avoid prompting, progressing to it only as a last ditch effort 2) Get them in storytelling mode- focus on specifics and details PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS
3) Focus on just getting them talking- mind the time but be careful about interrupting for course corrections ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling?
01 IDEA!
What are the key assumptions required to make this business work?
02 HYPOTHESIS
How do I definitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort? Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions? ‘Pivot or persevere?’
6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA ‘LEAN STARTUP’ 01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions?
04 EXPERIMENTATION
‘Pivot or persevere?’
05 REVISE?
6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS
VALUE HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
VALUE HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST ! ✔︎
✔︎
Hypothesis Your product is better enough than the alternative to make sales (traffic, etc.)
Customers will readily perceive this superiority if you [x]!
Experiment - You
successful execute a (paid?) concierge MVP
or - You successfully pre-sell the product or - You successfully drive drive sign-up’s online - (see above)
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Outputs VALUE PROPOSITION(S)
Common Pivots
X ! ?
1) Pivot from pre-conceived solution/ proposition 2) Pivot to new problem area 3) Strategic pivot
Template: bit.ly/personast Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: VALUE DISCOVERY QUESTIONS [most of this needs to be obtained through direct experimentation (next section); the following are useful but probably not pivotal] Question Form
Examples Questions (‘Enable Quiz’)
How do you decide on and buy [stuff in general area of interest]? !
- How
How much did you spend [last period]?!
- How
do you buy [access to recruiting services, resume searches, HR software, training, prof. ed. books]? - Who’s involved? What’s the scope of individual discretion? much do you spend on [items of interest]?
(2 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS VIA ‘MVP’
Minimum V P
What is the fastest, cheapest way to validate or invalidate this option so we give ourselves more options on future success?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS VIA ‘MVP’
Minimum Viable P
Will it give us a definitive result? What are the actionable metrics? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS VIA ‘MVP’
Minimum Viable Product
Does it really require actual product? Can we use alternative brands, channels?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS VIA ‘MVP’
Minimum Viable Product
is not necessarily actual software/product (see concierge MVP) is a first and foremost learning vehicle … vs. a project plan vs. a product development project (OK to do those things but always subordinate them to the learning mission)
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
THE MVP LITMUS TEST
output != outcome Is your MVP driving an extraordinary outcome? Or is it a vehicle to create output as usual?
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX OPPORTUNITY Underlying demand and supporting infrastructure ready for a great file sharing app. CHALLENGE Building a great cross-platform app. required VC funding. VC’s saw a space with lots of existing competitors struggling to get traction.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX Persona
Tom the Techie- early adopter who works on projects that require swapping a lot of files between a shifting network of collaborators.
Problem Scenario
It’s difficult to share files between a network of collaborators, particularly if they’re: big or numerous or change a lot.
Alternatives
Many existing products, but none of them super compelling and widely adopted. Also, custom setup’s which work but are cumbersome to set up and maintain.
Value Prop.
A file sharing service that truly feels transparent to the user across all major platforms- OSX, iOS, Windows, etc.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
THE ‘WIZARD OF OZ’ MVP Created a synthetic demo tailored for early market (techies), promoted it, and measured email sign-up’s. Result: Excellent traction and conversion to sign-up’s. Strong validation signal. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXAMPLE: ENABLE QUIZ OPPORTUNITY Hiring quality technical talent is critical for many companies, but screening for skill sets is time consuming and awkward. CHALLENGE The founding team wants to bootstrap without external funding so they need to focus on a specific technical domain, one that will get them strong early traction.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXAMPLE: ENABLE QUIZ Persona(s)
Helen the HR Manager- responsible for sourcing and screening job candidates Frank the Functional Manager- hiring manager responsible for acquiring and managing talent
Problem Scenario
Helen: hard to screen for technical skills Frank: never has enough time for recruiting and doesn’t want to be a jerk during interviews
Alternatives
Helen: call references, take their word for it (on skills) Frank: ask a few probing questions
Value Prop.
A lightweight quizzing app that has Helen can use to do quick, effective screening.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for deciding on the right first topics? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
THE ‘PRE-SALES’ MVP Ran Google AdWord campaigns across top ranking technical topics, measuring click through rate and landing page sign-up’s. Target Outcome: Informed selection of starter topics (and baseline on initial conversions). Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: LEONID SYSTEMS OPPORTUNITY Major disruption and new product opportunities among telecom providers with introduction of voice-over-IP and cloud communications. IT systems need to be rethought. CHALLENGE As a one-person startup, Leonid had actionable ideas but not enough resources to execute an end-to-end solution. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: LEONID SYSTEMS Persona
Chris the CTO- has funding and mandate to transition the business towards hosted services; many bases to cover
Problem Scenario
IT is the most expensive, most risky area when making changes to the business.
Alternatives
1) Place large, risky bets on major new system upgrades. 2) Make small incremental updates (but risk not keeping pace).
Value Prop.
Leonid will offer modular, integration-friendly applications in two critical areas: 1) services provisioning and 2) end user self-service portals.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
LEONID MVP’s: FROM CONSULTING TO PRODUCT CONSULTING
Started with consulting as a ‘concierge’ vehicle to create tactical solutions, evolving to full-fledged product.
‘PRODUCTIZED’ CONSULTING
PRODUCTS
Result: Steady step-wise growth with consistently better understanding of key customer problem scenarios. Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS OPPORTUNITY An observed problem scenario around the difficulty of finding the right shoe at local retail and a giant (but nascent) market in online retail (1999). CHALLENGE Consumers still in the early stages of adopting and habituating to online retail. Founder (Nick Swinmurn) wanted to bootstrap.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS Persona
Sam the shoe-hound- knows what he wants but not where to get it.
Problem Scenario
Sam is unable to find the shoe he wants at local retailers, wasting time and getting frustrated.
Alternatives
Possibly mail order or wait until he’s in a bigger market to go to the store.
Value Prop.
Make the shoe Sam wants accessible online and make sure he has a great experience so he’ll come back and not have to think about where to find the shoe he wants anymore.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS Photographed shoes and put them online to observe whether anyone bought them. Result: It worked and the rest is history.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: SPRIG Startup looking for early traction for investors: Whole Foods (deli) meets Uber. OPPORTUNITY Large opportunity to resegment and disrupt food prep. and delivery business. Desire to move fast and learn fast. CHALLENGE Some existing competitors and slow fundraising process. Food prep. and delivery requires infrastructure. source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2014) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: SPRIG Persona*
Paula the Professional- health conscious, short on time, moderate to high income, already uses similar services like Uber.
Problem Scenario
I want to have a nice, healthy dinner with no hassle and at a price I can afford (like $12).
Alternatives
Going to the store or an expensive, take-out, or a slow delivery service (>20 minutes).
Value Prop.
A healthy meal like you would order a cab (on Uber): “Dinner on Demand … Prep Time is 3 Taps … Delectable Prices” (Sprig Home Page)
* This is me interpolating/guessing on an item; not part of the Sprig team’s explanation.
What MVP? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2014) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
SPRIG MVP & EXPERIMENTATION Hire a chef for the day, put the offer on Eventbrite, email friends - concierge MVP. Result: Excellent uptake and valuable observations on the proposition and customer journey. source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2014) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES OPPORTUNITY Funded startup team rapidly iterating through B2C concepts with lightweight experimentation. One idea: Some people would like to know how much their stuff is worth. CHALLENGE Iterate to a successful concept while the time and money permits. source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2013) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES Persona*
?
Problem Scenario
I have a lot of stuff around that I might want to sell and/or I’m just generally curious about how much it’s worth, how much I’ve spent.*
Alternatives
Going through credit card statements or receipts.
Value Prop.
It’s interesting and possibly useful to know how much stuff you have.*
* This is me interpolating/guessing on an item; not part of the team’s explanation.
What MVP? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2013) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CONCIERGE MVP: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES Get a few sign-up’s with access to email and bank account info. Review by hand on a concierge basis and compile a statement for them. Do they care? Result: They don’t care. Time to move on to the next concept. source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2013) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: STEALTH PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP OPPORTUNITY Lots of exciting things happening in the photo-social space. CHALLENGE The team had several ideas but few resources.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CASE STUDY: STEALTH PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP Persona
Existing poster of photos. Personas: Martha the Mom, Pat the Party Planner, Teresa the Teen Social Butterfly
Problem Scenario
[I want to do something interesting with my photos so that my social graph rewards me with interest and acclaim]
Alternatives
Manually enhance photos, use alternative enhancers/amplifiers like Instagram
Value Prop.
[This is something users can do with photos that will generate engaging content for their social graph]
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
USER JOURNEY: PHOTO-SOCIAL What MVP? That you can bootstrap? That doesn’t require software at all? ASSUMPTION User’s social network will like and share the app’s output
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP: MVP & EXPERIMENTATION
MVP Create the target output by hand (concierge style) Does anyone care?
ASSUMPTION User’s social network will like and share the app’s output
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
ABOUT MVP’S AND PRODUCTS IN GENERAL You have to put the magic in the software. (Not the other way around) Concierge and other nonsoftware MVP’s can be pretty magical. Find 100 people that are really into it and you can probably grow.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
EXERCISE: YOUR (CONCIERGE) MVP Component
Notes
What is the experience you want to provide?
- What
What measurable outcome would validate your value proposition?
- How
How will you find participants and what are the core screening/qualification criteria?
- How will you know if the subjects are relevant to your core hypothesis?
are the preconditions and general steps?
will you know if it’s delivering value? could be: a) measurably better outcomes b) activity levels c) follow-on interest
- This
(5 min.) Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
LEAN AT LARGE Priority
Key Assumption
Needs Proving?
Experimentation
1
[A key assumption about the business]
[Whether it needs proving
[Experiment to prove or disprove]
1
2 2
Parents want to organize the Yes distribution of allowances with an Parents want to link app Yes allowances to chores
* Post the proposition in ads online * Measure sign-up’s on a landing page page * Show prototypes with choices * Test in beta
Parents have smart phones
n/a
No
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
VENTURE DESIGN
Hypothesize
Learn
Lean StartupStyle Assumptions
Experiment
Lean at Large
Foundation in Design Thinking
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PLANNING WITH LEAN AT LARGE
Let’s not argue
Let’s assume. Then test.
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
PLANNING WITH LEAN AT LARGE
Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
BY THE NUMBERS
Scale? Who?
THINK
FEEL
What?
What if?
X
!
SEE
DO
Tell me…?
How?
/ Pivot?
PERSONAS
PROBLEM VALUE CUSTOMER USER PRODUCT & SCENARIOS & PROPOSITIONS DISCOVERY & STORIES & PROMOTION ALTERNATIVES & ASSUMPTIONS EXPERIMENTS PROTOTYPES Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
BY THE NUMBERS (IN REVERSE) Do we understand this person? What makes them tick?
THINK
SEE
FEEL
DO
PERSONAS
!
X
Is problem relevant? Is the proposition better vs. alternatives?
!
Was the How did the implemented customer/user story relevant to react? the proposition?
Did the implementation deliver on the story?
/
PROBLEM VALUE USER CUSTOMER PRODUCT & SCENARIOS & PROPOSITIONS DISCOVERY & STORIES & PROMOTION ALTERNATIVES & ASSUMPTIONS EXPERIMENTS PROTOTYPES Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
CLASS PRESENTATIONS
As Presenter 1) What is it? Use pos. statement. 2) How are you doing on the personas checklist? 4) The problem scenarios checklist? 5) Where/how will you find interview subjects? What’s your target number? 6) Ideas for MVP? Next steps, timing?
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
POINT OF EMPHASIS
You are the most important part of the experiment
Make sure you’re learning 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
RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS
“Homework” 1. Draft a working set of assumptions 2. Design your experiments and execute.
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
FINI bit.ly/vdesignII
www.alexandercowan.com/venture-design
www.alexandercowan.com/startup-sprints
@cowanSF
[email protected] Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
