IDEA VALID
ATION
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VALIDATIONThe Lean Startup method advocates that we build a basic product/prototype and get
out to test and validate our idea.
• Is anyone interested in our product?
• What features do customers care about?
• What features are missing?
• What features aren’t necessary?
We take the data we learn from customers and constantly revise the product
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCTThe minimum viable product (MVP) is “the version of a new product which allows a
team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.”
This can be:
• A prototype
• A design mockup
• A video describing your product.
The MVP is different for every startup. What works for one company may not be viable enough for another.
It’s not about doing the least amount of work necessary, it’s about doing the
least amount of work necessary to test your hypothesis. For some industries
this may require a lot of work.
THE MINI COLLECTION
THE FULL COLLECTION
WHY MVP ?
The goal of the MVP is to test fundamental business hypotheses and help entrepreneurs begin the
learning process as quickly as possible.
In LS lingo these hypotheses are called leap of faith assumptions
HOW DO WE VALIDATE?
LANDING PAGES
A landing page is a web page where visitors “land” after clicking a
link. A landing page should quickly communicate what your
product/service is about.
Anipals, a social network for pet owners, created a landing page to
give potential users a preview
BASIC WEBPAGE/ SCREENSHOTS
Beauty Box provider Wonderbox used a basic
webpage to gauge interest and test its
hypothesis that female executives in Malaysia want to keep up with
the latest beauty/fashion trends but might not have the time to do so
• 500 signups in 2 weeks
CROWD FUNDING
Crowd funding lets you know that people are willing to pay for
your product
Pebble created a Kickstarter that also served as its pre-order form
• Raised 10 million
WIZARD OF OZ
A Wizard of OZ MVP is when you put up a digital webpage that looks like a real working product, but then manually
carry out product functions
Zappos created a working website, but instead of building a warehouse the founder went to local shoe stores to
carry out the purchase orders
• Data from orders confirmed that people were interested in buying shoes
online
TESTINGYou can use testing to validate
specific features or price points
Bounce, a calendar mobile app, used A/B testing to test out different price
points.
• At $10 1.7% purchased
• At $5 1.4 % purchased
VIDEOS
A video should explain what the product does and why people should care.
Dropbox created a basic video that explained their product and uploaded it
to Hacker News.
• Got critical feedback from potential customers
• 70,000 signups for their email list
TALK TO THE PEOPLE
Sometimes taking to people is the best way to validate your
product.
CapMac started with a basic mac and cheese recipe (pasta and cheddar cheese) and through
conversations decided to rework their product to add
pimiento cheese and a topping.
RESOURCES• The Validation Board from Lean Startup Machine
• Unbounce- landing pages and A/B testing
• “Ultimate Guide on Building Minimal Viable Products” by 10steps2.com
• Twitter: #LeanStartup and #MVP
• Parts one and 2 from the Lean Startup by Eric Ries