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How to turn ideas, problems, needs, frustration into opportunity for high growth tech startups.
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Opportunity Recognition
Fábio Póvoa
Fábio Póvoa
So you (think you) are/wannabe an…
…entrepreneur
?
Possible “answers”
Rich No bosses Famous All of the above
Money ?
Hate your boss ?
Wonder how it’d be with a Customer ?
Customers are not God.
God forgives.
Famous ?
Solve a problem, a painEnjoy the ride Impact, meaninfullness“There’s gotta be a better way”Trends, technologies, changesYour skills + innovation + an unmet mkt need
“There’s gotta be a better way” Impact, meaningfulness Self-growth Risk x reward attitude
“Carpe diem”
Can entrepreneurship be taught ?
Wrong question and mindset.
Entrepreneurship is so f*** hard that it
shall be...
… learned !!
What is a startup ?
Startups are not smaller versions of
large companies.
A startup is a temporary organization designed to search for
a repeatable, scalable and profitable business model.
Lean Canvas
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
How to spot opportunities ?
Find a problem, for a customer segment, that you
can solve, for which they will pay, on a large enough market.
Find a problem …
A …
1) Problem2) Need3) Frustration
is the foundation for every opportunity
Customers don’t buy what you sell.
They purchase solutions to their problems.
And needs change all the time !
Niche Technology Data Connectivity R&D
Take a car for instance.
What are the need/frustr/problems underlying that opportunity ?
Moving from A to B Stuff
People
555157843_b74db1b6e7_o.jpg
Again, find a …
1) Problem2) Need3) Frustration
Find a problem , for a customer
segment…
A problem … is on the eyes of the beholder !
Don’t try to be all things to everyone !
Find your early adopters !
Scratch your own
itch !
Key profile details
Demographics (age, sex, income, marital status, geo, etc)
Background (work, education) Pains & gains | Roles & challenges Media consumption / places most likely to
find info Influencers Role in purchase process
users / payers / regulators Other key info for YOUR CS profile
Tech awareness ??
The day-to-day
problem for those who have diabetes ?
• Empathy is…• Badge of honor:
- being kicked off
Startup’s greatest risks:
• technology ? • competition ?
Beingignored.
Find your early adopters !
Find a problem , for a customer segment, that
you can solve…
It is NOT rocket science !
Most opps do NOT demand high tech,
R&D-based solutions!
A “solution” starts with a simple app &/or website
… for which there are templates …
… and plenty of service mktplaces …
… and plenty of service mktplaces …
… and plenty of service mktplaces …
… and plenty of service mktplaces …
… but you should always have a well-balanced team. (a co-founder to
start!)
Find a problem, for a customer segment, that you can solve,
for which they will pay…
Understand the importance of a business model !
In particular, revenue streams!
RS examples
Asset sale
Usage fee (proportional to usage of service)
Subscription (continuous access)
Renting (temp access)
RS examples (cont.)
Licensing (IP)
Intermediation fee (mktplaces)
Advertising (brands in front of people)
Time (attention) and
info is a new
form of currency
!
Find a problem, for a customer segment, that you
can solve, for which they will pay, on a large enough market.
How big is this opportunity ?
Why do this matter ?
New venture payoff
> ?
toil, $weat, tear$
How big is the
universe ?
How # reachabl
e through my sales channel?
Who will be my most likely
buyers ?
A mobile appexample
Smartphone
owners worldwid
e
English speaking iPhone owners
Active Apple store customers who are interested
Total Available Market
Served Available Market
Serviceable Obtainable
Market (aka Target
Marget)
Top down:• Industry analysts• Mkt research• Competitor press
releases• University labs• Investors & customer
infosBeware: mkt research firms are great at predicting the past.
(If they were good at predicting the future, they’d be running hedge funds)
Bottoms up:Usually more realistic for startups
Map out your key metrics / drivers. Usually a mix of:4 levels of key metrics:1. eyeballs, page views, downloads, referrals,
hours, etc
2. Gain / conversion / churn metrics3. Transaction recurrence4. Ticket $ize (cross and upsell)
Validate: your numbers should be believable
• Have others grown as fast ?
• Will this startup perform similarly ?
• Do a top down sizing : are you bigger than the mkt ?
Are you f***ing growing faster than F did ?
Find a problem, for a customer segment, that you can solve, for which they will pay,
on a large enough market.
Do it better than current alternatives, grow revenues faster than expenses, and
try to avoid regulation.
