Lectures notes
Lean startup
The concept of lean startup is based on some key concepts
- Get customer input and feedback
- Startup shifts or pivots if it’s necessary
- Smaller steps for shorter falls (cheaper, less risks)
- Quick change PRODUCT and BUSINESS MODEL
- Everything that it’s know are just hypothesis that should be proved/disproved
Business model canvas
Indispensably tools for easily identify
- Value proposition: What jobs/problems do we solve with our product, what value does it bring to the customer, what is the purpose of the product we are offering, why is it worth
- Customer segments: What is the archetype of the customer, a detailed description of the ideal target customer
- Cost structure: Costs specific for making the product and cost sections for all partners. If the product is cost based, it generally require for the prices to be competitive. If the product is value based it’s generally possible to charge more
- Revenue streams: How should the produce revenue, what is the revenue model (free, assets sale, subscription, licensing, brokerage, service/usage fee, retail, rental)
- Customer relationship: What is going to be valuable for the customer, why the customer use our product
- Channels: How to reach the customer (both marketing and physically)
- Key partners: Who should we be working with, usually both parties get some gains by working together
- Key activities: Key activities that have to be performed to make the product big (testing, manufacturing, ecc)
- Key resources: Key resources necessary for the making of the product (raw materials, skills, ecc)
Interviewing customer
- Don’t pitch
- Ask to tell stories on how they solve that specific problem in the past (not ask for solutions)
- Find out if it’s really a problem and how big it is
- Use the 5 WHYs
- Why is nobody doing that?
It’s easier to have a product that solve problems that are cause of pain, instead of a product that just produce gains
MVP
The Minimum Valuable Product is a basic version of the product used to test it with the customers. It could be wrong, it should not be scalable, but since it cheap it’s possible to reiterate quickly. Necessary to test hypothesis, market interested.
Product market fit
Does the idea solve the problem the market is asking? It’s almost impossible to solve a problem by thinking about it, it’s necessary to experiment
Effective brainstorming
- Quick and simple explanation for each ideas
- Quantity it’s important
- Ideas that are crazy, impossible should be definitely be considering (they might give insight to other ideas)
Elevator pitch
We solve problem by providing advantages, services, to help customer accomplish customer’s goals. We make money by charing customer to get benefits.
Market
Market type
| New | Existing | Niche | Clone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pros | no competition | learn from other’s failures, the need is present and established | targeted, specific, if you are part of the niche you might have lot of information, generally value based | it works and we know how it works |
| Cons | convince people, find the market | competitors | hard to find new market | need may not exist in another culture, there could be better solution, laws might not allow it |
Market size
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A plan for from year 1 to 3 should also be drafted to understand how to tackle the target market
Product market fit
Is the relationship between customer segment and value proposition, it the result actually match. Analyze Product Vision, Product Features & Benefits, Minimum Viable Product and Market Type
Notes
- Move fast and break things of the last $40$ years reflect software product. Not startup work on health, food, water and it’s not possible to break things that easily