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How real startups in the valley quickly nail the product that sells. A Sep 2011 presentation to Brad Barbeau's students at CSUMB.
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The Smart Fast Startup
How to Quickly Nail
the Product that Sells
Hypothetical Startup
Theoretical Successful Startup
• Unproven emerging market
• Fuzzy target customer profile
• No repeatable business model
• Unclear solution requirement
Typical Technology Startup
Now Entering:
The Land of Extreme Uncertainty
Theoretical Successful Startup
Real Startup
1. Idea
2. Product
3. Business plan
4. Product Spec
5. Development
6. Launch
Traditional Path
Problem – “buyers are liars” – we suck at predicting what we will use or buy
1. Target customers
2. Like it?
3. Pay for it?
4. Build it
5. Still like it?
6. Credit card ?
Real Startup
Failure Avoidance Syndrome
Amount of Perceived Failure
Time Spent Building Something
Time and Money Spent
Time and Money Spent
Less Risk First Time
Stronger Company
Better terms
More money
More fun
Less Trauma
Venture Investors Co-Founders
Famous Startup Epitaphs
Hammer looking for a Nail
Feature looking for a Product
Before our Time
Nice to Have
Very cool, but no one would Pay
The Problem
Merely Interesting
Monetizable
“Monetizable Pain”
Measure monetizable pain
B2B
50%Monetizable Pain Threshold
B2C
Two Bridges
Monetizable PainMarket Sweetspot
MessagingCAC
Famous Startup Epitaphs II
More Money
More Partners
More Engineers
More Marketing
More ………..
Minimum Feature Set
Product Roadmap
Minimum Feature Set
•Buying panel•Breakthrough Q’s
•Mockups•Product tests
Two Bridges
Monetizable PainMarket Sweetspot
MessagingCAC
Min Feature SetCustomer Validated
Product SpecBeta Sites
Early AdoptersRevenue
• VC’s invest in the new, new thing
• Truth: VC’s invest in a good business
What does this mean for you?
What is Google’s best innovation?
What is Google’s best innovation?
Monetizable Pain
PassFail
MinFeature
Set
Pass
Fail
408-771-8585
Recommended Reading:
Nail It Then Scale ItBy Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom
The Lean StartupBy Eric Ries
Key questions
• If I do this will I get funded?
• What about competition
– Makes prospective investors nervous
– I say its not as important as you think
• Already doing what you are doing
• Could do it, or have the idea– Nearly every startup has someone in this category
– Execution is what matters
Two Bridges
Monetizable Pain Min Feature Set
