DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER€¦ · “A startup is not the same as a company. A startup is a temporary organisation that exists to search for a scalable and repeatable busi-ness

DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDERHANDBOOK FOR TEAMS

PATH INSTITUTE

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Copyright © 2018 Robert de Bruijn

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“Entrepreneurship is management under extreme uncertainty.”

Eric Ries, founder of IMVU & Long-Term Stock Exchange, author of The Lean Startup

vi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

ContentsMentor meetings pg. viii

Immediately after the kick off pg. x

Team charter canvas pg. xii

Development sprint 1 pg. xiv

Development sprint 2 pg. xxii

Development sprint 3 pg. xxx

Development sprint 4 pg. xxxviii

Development sprint 5 pg. xlvi

Development sprint 6 pg. liv

Development sprint lessons learnt pg. lxii

Team bonus distribution pg. lxviii

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | vii

DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDERHANDBOOK FOR TEAMS

viii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Mentor Meetings Mentor meetings are designed to give you feedback on your problem-solution fit progress. You are scored on the rigour of problem-solution fit testing and the quality of pivot-persevere decision making. Do not be afraid to pivot, back to square one if needs be, and start again, when the situation calls for it.

MEETING STRUCTURE Check-In

Discovery/ validation experiments conducted

Lessons learnt

Check-out

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | ix

“A startup is not the same as a company. A startup is a temporary organisation that exists

to search for a scalable and repeatable busi-ness model. We call this search customer de-velopment. In a startup there are no titles, all team members are equal and share responsi-

bility for the startup’s success or failure.”

Steve Blank, serial hi-tech entrepreneur, author of The Four Steps to Epiphany, and The Startup

Owner’s Manual

x | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Immediately After Kick Off

READINGCourse Manual

Disciplined Startup Founder

What is a startup? pg. 14

From startup to company pg. 14

Startup lore myths pg. 15

Double edge of domain expertise pg. 19

Is big, bigger, better? pg. 20

Start a business, not a startup pg. 21

Bootstrap yourself pg. 22

To disrupt or revolutionise? pg. 25

Technology, Idea, and Market Driven Startups pg. 27

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xi

Before the next mentor meeting do the following:

ACTING1. Form a team.

2. Agree on the spirit of your pending collaboration including individual aspira-tions, ambition and level of commitment.

3. Complete a team charter canvas to record your commitment.1

4. Read and discuss the course guide, together.

1 Download a team charter canvas at designabetterbusiness.tools/tools/

team-charter-canvas

xii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

BY DESIGNABETTERBUSINESS.COM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

DESIGN ABETTERBUSINESS

TROUBLEWhat will you dowhen the shit hitsthe “van”?

TEAM MEMBERSWho is on the bus and whatdo they bring to the team?Roles, values, skills,character traits?

EXPECTATIONSWhat do team membersexpect from eachother inorder to be(come) a successful team?

TEAM VALUESWhat are the values thatare recognized by all team members that theteam live by?

OBSTACLESWhat would prevent the team to reach their goal?

TEAM GOALSWhat is the goal the teamwant to reach? When is theeffort a success?

ENERGY SOURCEWhat generates energy inthe group? What gets every-one going?

DRIVERWho is behind the wheel? Who is the navigator? How will the team choose a direction? How will theteam take decisions?

TEAM CHARTER CANVAS

Created by DesignABetterBusiness.com

Team Charter Canvas

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xiii

BY DESIGNABETTERBUSINESS.COM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

DESIGN ABETTERBUSINESS

TROUBLEWhat will you dowhen the shit hitsthe “van”?

TEAM MEMBERSWho is on the bus and whatdo they bring to the team?Roles, values, skills,character traits?

EXPECTATIONSWhat do team membersexpect from eachother inorder to be(come) a successful team?

TEAM VALUESWhat are the values thatare recognized by all team members that theteam live by?

OBSTACLESWhat would prevent the team to reach their goal?

TEAM GOALSWhat is the goal the teamwant to reach? When is theeffort a success?

ENERGY SOURCEWhat generates energy inthe group? What gets every-one going?

DRIVERWho is behind the wheel? Who is the navigator? How will the team choose a direction? How will theteam take decisions?

TEAM CHARTER CANVAS

xiv | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Development Sprint 1 for Meeting 1READDisciplined Startup Founder

Disciplined startup founders journey

Rules For Customer Discovery

Customer watering holes

Customer Jobs-to-be-Done

DOCUMENTArtefacts vary by drive:

▢ Brainstorm results

▢ Business model(s)

▢ Conversation records

▢ Customer profile(s)

▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards

▢ Proposition demos

▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

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pg. 48

pg. 72

pg. 54

pg. 35

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xv

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven Problem discovery

Three biggest problems (20 per stakeholder)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere

Page references to the section can be found on DSF pg. 50 & 51

Product Driven Would you use it?

Solution smoke tests

Painstorm

Validate problem (20 conversations)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Segment DrivenProblem discovery

Three biggest problems (20-40 conversations)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Technology DrivenBrainstorm applications

Three biggest problems (10 conversations in each application)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Problem Driven Problem discovery

Three biggest problems (50-100 conversations)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Customer Pain DrivenPainstorm problem

Validate problem (20 conversations min.)

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


xvi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xvii

1. What are the most urgent assumptions to test?

1

xviii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Notes from Mentor Meeting 1

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xix

xx | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 1

TEAM LEARNING VELOCITYHow fast is the team turning business assumptions into validated facts?

TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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0 1 2 3Did not read sections, nor conduct required activities nor prepared

for meeting.

Read material partially, conducted some

required activities but unprepared for

meeting.

Read required material, conducted required

activities and prepared meeting in part.

Read required material, conducted required activities and fully

prepared for meeting.

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxi

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR SCORE BONUSAwarded for contributions, on mentors' discretion, when team score is three.

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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+1 +1 +1 +1 +1name name name name name

xxii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER


Hypotheses aka assumptions vs. Facts pg. 32

Problem space vs. Solution space pg. 32

The Customer pg. 33

Customer prob. vs. General problems pg. 34

Customer Pains & Gains pg. 38

Problem-Solution Fit pg. 39

Experiments aka Tests pg. 39

Pivot or Persevere pg. 40

Eight pivots pg. 40

Customer Segment Bowling pg. 41

Shark bites & Mosquito bites pg. 42

False positives & False negatives pg. 44

Test cards pg. 122

Learning cards pg.123






▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards


▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxiii

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven Zero in on customer

Validate problem (20 conversations minimum)

Profile cookie monster

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Product Driven Validate problem (20 conversations minimum)


After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Segment DrivenValidate problem (20 conversations minimum)


After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Technology DrivenZero in on customer

Validate problem (20 conversations minimum)


After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Problem Driven Zero in on customer

Validate problem (20-40 conversations)


After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Customer Pain DrivenValidate problem (20 conversations)

Problem smoke test


After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


xxiv | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxv


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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxvii

xxviii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 2


TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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for meeting.



meeting.





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxix


MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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xxx | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER


Cookie monsters

Indentifying cookie monsters

Experiment validation board

Prioritising tests

Ranking bite size






▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards


▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

√pg. 108

pg. 109

pg. 120

pg. 120

pg. 62

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxxi

READ THE EXECUTE

Vision Driven Brainstorm solutions

First pass business model

Design value proposition

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Product Driven Brainstorm solutions



After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Segment DrivenBrainstorm solutions



After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Technology DrivenBrainstorm solutions



After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Problem Driven Brainstorm solutions



After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Customer DrivenBrainstorm solutions



After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


xxxii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxxiii


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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxxv

xxxvi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 3


TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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for meeting.



meeting.





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxxvii


MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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xxxviii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER


Storyboard customer job journey






▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards


▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

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pg. 108

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xxxix

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven Advice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Product Driven Advice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Segment DrivenAdvice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Technology DrivenAdvice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Problem Driven Advice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Customer DrivenAdvice interviews (20 conversations minimum)


Solution demos

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


xl | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xli


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xlii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER


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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xliii

xliv | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 4


TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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for meeting.



meeting.





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xlv


MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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xlvi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER


Study alternatives

Calculatour

Prototypes

Concierge

Wizard of Oz/ Mechanical Turk

Second pass business model

Disruptive tech & revenue models

Revenue streams

Pricing

Channels






▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards


▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

√

pg. 108

pg. 132

pg. 91

pg. 93

pg. 93

pg. 68

pg. 101

pg. 99

pg. 95

pg.98 √

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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xlvii

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven Solution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Product Driven Solution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Segment DrivenSolution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Technology DrivenSolution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Problem Driven Solution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


Customer DrivenSolution prototype tests

After decide to:

Pivot or Persevere


xlviii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | xlix


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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | li

lii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 5


TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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meeting.





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | liii


MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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liv | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Development Sprint 6 for Meeting 6READ...






▢ Job statements

▢ Job stories

▢ Learning cards


▢ Prototypes

▢ Smoke tests

▢ Test cards

▢ Value map(s)

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lv

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven

Problem-Solution Fit

Pivot or Persevere

Product Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Segment Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Technology Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Problem Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Customer Driven


Pivot or Persevere

lvi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lvii


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HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lix

lx | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

(L)earnings 6


TEAM SCORE

MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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meeting.





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lxi


MENTOR NOTES................................................................................................................................................

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lxii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Development Sprint Lessons LearntREAD...

DOCUMENT

▢ Lessons learnt√

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lxiii

READ THEN EXECUTE

Vision Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Product Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Segment Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Technology Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Problem Driven


Pivot or Persevere

Customer Driven


Pivot or Persevere

lxiv | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lxv


1

lxvi | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Lessons Learnt Jury

name of juror:

0 +1Unsatisfied with demonstrated validated

learning.Satisfied that validated learning has been

demonstrated.

name of juror:



demonstrated.

name of juror:



demonstrated.

HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lxvii

Notes

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lxviii | DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER

Team Bonus Distribution

The team has a bonus to distribiute amoung yourselves. You receive 2x the points

of the number of team members. Thus if you have four team members you have

eight points to distribute. If you have five team members you have ten points to

distribute. Only whole points may be assigned to team members.

name of team member team bonus points awarded





HANDBOOK FOR TEAMS | lxix

Explanatory Notes

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Documents

DISCIPLINED STARTUP FOUNDER€¦ · “A startup is not the same as a company. A startup is a temporary organisation that exists to search for a scalable and repeatable busi-ness