Venture Design II Iterating To Success

Copyright 2014 Cowan Publishing
Venture
Design
Workshop II
Iterating to
Success
!
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ABOUT ME
Entrepreneur (5x)
Intrapreneur (1x)
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ABOUT ME
ABOUT ME
www.alexandercowan.com
AGENDA
Period Deliverables
Venture Design I: Achieving
Customer Relevance
Personas
Problem Scenarios-Alternatives-Value Propositions
Start Business Model Canvas
Storyboards
Customer Discovery
Venture Design II: Iterating to
Success
Venture Planning- focal hypotheses, experiments, and
minimum viable product
Venture Design III: Focusing &
Validating Venture Progress
Review of eld work, renements of approach, planning next
steps.
Venture Design IV: Engineering
Your Business Model
Detailing your business model and remaining focal assumptions.
Venture Design V: Designing the
Right Product
Pairing your learnings on personas & hypotheses with high
quality, actionable inputs (stories & wireframes) for product
development and product validation.
PRODUCT IDEAS?
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
Do you have a
product idea you
can use?
PRODUCT IDEA: ENABLE QUIZ
PRODUCT IDEA: WEDOTHAT
PRODUCT IDEA: MY LETTER, MY STORY
PRODUCT IDEAS?
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
http://bit.ly/pconcepts
Foundation in
Design Thinking
VENTURE DESIGN
Foundation in
Design Thinking
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
VENTURE DESIGN
Foundation in
Design Thinking
Business Model
Canvas
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
VENTURE DESIGN
Foundation in
Design Thinking
User Stories &
Test Cases
Business Model
Canvas
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
VENTURE DESIGN
Foundation in
Design Thinking
Product &
Promotion
User Stories &
Test Cases
Business Model
Canvas
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
VENTURE DESIGN
VENTURE DESIGN
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
THE FULL STACK PRODUCT PERSON
Specialties
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Technical
Literacy
ARCHITECTURE
FUNDAMENTALS
App. & Platform
Integration
ROLES &
SYSTEMS
In a Technical
Team
Foundation
Concepts
LEAN
DESIGN
THINKING
CUSTOMER
DEV.
AGILE
SOFTWARE
FUNDAMENTALS
Model-View-
Controller
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
THE FULL STACK PRODUCT PERSON
Specialties
Technical
Literacy
Foundation
Concepts
LEAN
THE STARTUP: THEN AND NOW
Five Year
Plan
Then
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Lean
Management
Now
6.a PIVOT
experiments
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 PIVOT OR PERSEVERE?
6.b PERSEVERE
experiments prove
hypothesis
OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL
OLD
SCHOOL
NEW
SCHOOL
$ !?
? !
? ? ?
EVIDENCE-BASED INNOVATION VIA LEAN STARTUP
Do I have real evidence from my buyer
that this is compelling?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
What are the key assumptions required
to make this business work?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
How do I denitely prove or disprove the
assumptions with a minimum of time
and effort?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
Am I reacting or am I focused on
validating my pivotal assumptions?
Pivot or persevere?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
IDEATION & DESIGN THINKING
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
What job(s) are you doing for the
customer?
What existing need or behavior
are you fullling?
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
If they currently use spreadsheets, watch
them use it and get a copy of it.
If they currently put notes on the family
fridge, ask about it, photograph it.
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
!
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
YOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
!
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM SCENARIO
X
Are they better enough than the
alternative(s)?
YOUR PRODUCT HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
X
and they have certain
PROBLEMS(S)
?
where theyre currently using
certain ALTERNATIVE(S)
!
and we have a VALUE
PROPOSITION thats better
enough than the alternatives to
cause the persona to act
(purchase, use, etc.).
A certain PERSONA exists
EXERCISE: YOUR VENTURE HYPOTHESIS
and they have a certain
PROBLEMS(S)
where theyre currently using
certain ALTERNATIVE(S)
and I have a VALUE
PROPOSITION thats better
enough than the alternatives to
cause the persona to act
(purchase, use, etc.).
A certain PERSONA exists
HR and functional managers are in charge of
technical hires
and they struggle to effectively screen for
technical skill sets, making the hiring process
slower and more labor intensive and
producing worse outcomes than they should
reasonably expect.
Currently they implement a patchwork of
calling references and asking a few probing
questions.
By offering an easy, affordable, lightweight
technical quizzing solution, Enable Quiz can
acquire and retain these customer personas,
delivering material value.
(4 min.)
Enable Quiz example:
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
and effort?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
Pivot or persevere?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
and effort?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
ASSUMPTIONS: ORGANIZED AND PRIORITIZED
Priority Key Assumption Needs Proving? Experimentation
1
[A key assumption about the
business]
[Whether it needs
proving
[Experiment to
prove or disprove]
1
Hiring managers would
prefer a lightweight quiz app
over calling references and
ad hoc probing.
Yes
* Customer interviews on problem
scenario
* Value testing through minimum
viable product
2
Managers want to be able to
add their questions as well
Yes
* Show prototypes with choices
* Test in beta
2 Parents have smart phones No n/a
Focus on strategic,
pivotal assumptions
FOCUS AND THE LEAN STARTUP
Crossing ts
Dotting is
Doesnt matter unless it
helps prove (or disprove)
your pivotal assumptions
FOCUS AND THE LEAN STARTUP
Subject
all your
activities +
metrics to
that litmus
test.
4 TYPES OF LEAN HYPOTHESES
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
VALUE
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
VALUE
HYPOTHESIS
CUSTOMER CREATION
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST

Hypothesis
Experiment
!
This persona exists (in non-trivial
numbers) and you can identify them.
-
Can you think of 5-10 examples?
-
Can you set up discovery interviews with them?
-
Can you connect with them in the market at large?
!
You understand this persona well.
-
What kind of shoes do they wear?
-
Are you hearing, seeing the same things across your discovery
interviews?
!
Do you understand what they Think in
your area of interest?
-
What do you they mention as important? Difcult? Rewarding?
-
Do they see the work (or habit) as you do?
-
What would they like to do better? To be better?
!
Do you understand what they See in
your area of interest?
-
Where do they get their information? Peers? Publications?
-
How do they decide whats OK? Whats aspirational?
!
How do they Feel about your area of
interest?
-
What are their triggers for this area? Motivations?
-
What rewards do they seek? How do they view past actions?
!
Do you understand what they Do in your
area of interest?
-
What do you actually observe them doing?
-
How can you directly or indirectly validate thats what they do?
PERSONA HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Common Pivots
1) Re-segmentation (more granular)
2) Revision of area of interest/
problem space
3) Strategic pivot
Template: bit.ly/personast
Outputs
EARLY MARKET VS. LATER MARKET
EARLY MARKET VS. LATER MARKET
EXERCISE: WHOS YOUR EARLY MARKET?
1) How do they differ within your existing persona denitions?
Example: At Enable Quiz, theyre startups doing lots of hiring
2) How will you locate them?
Example: At Enable Quiz, theyll read tech rags to see who just got funded.
3) How will they help you transition to your next segment?
Example: At Enable Quiz, via case studies, references, and incented posts on LinkedIn.
Answer each as best you can: ~ 1 min/each
(4 min.)
EXERCISE: PERSONA DISCOVERY QUESTIONS (5 MIN)
Question Form Examples Questions (Enable Quiz)
Tell me about [yourself in the role of the persona]?
-
Tell me about being an HR manager?
-
How did you choose that line of work? Why?
-
What do you most, least like about the job?
-
What are the hardest, easiest parts of the job?
-
Ive heard [x]- does that apply to you?
Tell me about [your area of interest]?
-
Do you do screen new candidates? If not, who?
-
Can you tell me about the last time? What was the trigger?
-
Who else was involved? What was it like?
Tell me your thoughts about [area]?
-
How should it ideally be done?
-
How is it actually done? Why?
What do you see in [area]?
-
Where do you learn whats new? What others do?
-
Who do you think is doing it right?
-
How did you make your last decision?
How do you feel about [area]?
-
What motivates you? What parts of it are most rewarding? Why?
Tell me about the last time?
-
What would it be like in your perfect world?
What do you do in [area]? - Would you show me your interview guide? Example notes? - What
the vetting process was like on the last few candidates?
KEY TO GOOD PERSONA DISCOVERY
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
1) Create a level of person-ability and comfort
2) Acclimate them to the idea that youre not just
wondering about the general picture
3) Assure them by demonstration that youre not
selling anything or advocating a point of view
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST

Hypothesis
Experiment
!
Youve identied at least one discrete
problem (job, desire, etc.)
-
Can you describe it in a sentence? Do others get it?
-
Can you identify current alternatives?
!
The problem is important
-
Do subjects mention it unprompted in discovery interviews?
-
Do they respond to solicitation (see also value and customer creation
hypotheses)?
!
You understand current alternatives
-
Have you seen them in action?
-
Do you have artifacts (spreadsheets, photos, posts, notes, whiteboard
scribbles, screen shots)?
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Outputs Common Pivots
1) Pivot to a more material problem area
2) Strategic pivot
ALTERNATIVE(S)
?
PROBLEM
SCENARIO(S) X
EXERCISE: PROBLEM DISCOVERY QUESTIONS
(5 min.)
What are the top [5] hardest things about [area of
interest]?
-
What are the top 5 most difcult things about making good tech
hires? Why?
How do you currently [operate in area of interest- if
you dont have that yet]? OR Heres what I got on
[x]- is that right?
-
How do you currently screen for technical skill sets?
-
Who does what?
-
How does that work?
Whats [difcult, annoying] about [area of interest]?
-
Whats difcult about screening technical candidates?
-
How do you validate they have the right skill set?
-
How are the actual outcomes? Examples?
What are the top 5 things you want to do better
this year in [general area of interest]?
-
What are the top 5 things you want to do better in technical
recruiting and hiring?
Why is/isnt [your specic area of interest on that
list]?
- Why is/isnt screening for technical candidates on that list?
KEY TO GOOD PROBLEM DISCOVERY
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
1) Avoid prompting, progressing to it only as a
last ditch effort
2) Get them in storytelling mode- focus on
specics and details
3) Focus on just getting them talking- mind the
time but be careful about interrupting for course
corrections
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
and effort?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
Pivot or persevere?
6.a YES
results
disprove
hypothesis
01 IDEA!
02 HYPOTHESIS
04 EXPERIMENTATION
05 REVISE?
6.b NO
we appear to
have a valid
hypothesis
Pivot or persevere?
PERSONA
HYPOTHESIS
PROBLEM
HYPOTHESIS
VALUE
HYPOTHESIS
ALEX COWAN
AlexanderCowan.com
@cowanSF
VALUE HYPOTHESIS- CHECKLIST
Hypothesis Experiment
!
Your product is better enough than the
alternative to make sales (trafc, etc.)
-
You successful execute a (paid?) concierge MVP
or
-
You successfully pre-sell the product
or
-
You successfully drive drive sign-ups online
!
Customers will readily perceive this
superiority if you [x]
-
(see above)
PROBLEM HYPOTHESIS- OUTPUTS & PIVOTS
Outputs Common Pivots
1) Pivot from pre-conceived solution/
proposition
2) Pivot to new problem area
3) Strategic pivot
VALUE
PROPOSITION(S)
X
?
!
EXERCISE: VALUE DISCOVERY QUESTIONS
(2 min.)
How do you decide on and buy [stuff in general
area of interest]?
-
How do you buy [access to recruiting services, resume
searches, HR software, training, prof. ed. books]?
-
Whos involved? Whats the scope of individual discretion?
How much did you spend [last period]?
-
How much do you spend on [items of interest]?
[most of this needs to be obtained through direct experimentation (next
section); the following are useful but probably not pivotal]
TESTING YOUR HYPOTHESIS VIA MVP
M
V
P
inimum What is the fastest,
cheapest way to
validate or
invalidate this
option so we give
ourselves more
options on future
success?
M
V
P
iable Will it give us a
denitive result?
What are the
actionable metrics?
inimum
M
V
P roduct
Does it really
require actual
product? Can we
use alternative
brands, channels?
iable
inimum
is not necessarily actual software/product
(see concierge MVP)
is a rst and foremost learning vehicle
vs. a project plan
(OK to do those things but always
subordinate them to the learning mission)
vs. a product development project
M
V
P roduct
iable
inimum
THE MVP LITMUS TEST
output !=
outcome
Is your MVP driving an
extraordinary outcome?
Or is it a vehicle to create output
as usual?
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX
OPPORTUNITY
Underlying demand and supporting
infrastructure ready for a great le sharing
app.
CHALLENGE
Building a great cross-platform app.
required VC funding. VCs saw a space
with lots of existing competitors struggling
to get traction.
CASE STUDY: DROPBOX
Persona
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Tom the Techie- early adopter who works on projects that require swapping a lot of les between a
shifting network of collaborators.
Its difcult to share les between a network of collaborators, particularly if theyre: big or numerous or
change a lot.
Many existing products, but none of them super compelling and widely adopted.
Also, custom setups which work but are cumbersome to set up and maintain.
A le sharing service that truly feels transparent to the user across all major platforms- OSX, iOS,
Windows, etc.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
That you can bootstrap?
That doesnt require software at all?
THE WIZARD OF OZ MVP
Result: Excellent traction and
conversion to sign-ups.
Strong validation signal.
Created a synthetic demo
tailored for early market
(techies), promoted it, and
measured email sign-ups.
EXAMPLE: ENABLE QUIZ
OPPORTUNITY
Hiring quality technical talent is critical for
many companies, but screening for skill
sets is time consuming and awkward.
CHALLENGE
The founding team wants to bootstrap
without external funding so they need to
focus on a specic technical domain, one
that will get them strong early traction.
EXAMPLE: ENABLE QUIZ
Persona(s)
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Helen the HR Manager- responsible for sourcing and screening job candidates
Frank the Functional Manager- hiring manager responsible for acquiring and managing talent
Helen: hard to screen for technical skills
Frank: never has enough time for recruiting and doesnt want to be a jerk during interviews
Helen: call references, take their word for it (on skills)
Frank: ask a few probing questions
A lightweight quizzing app that has Helen can use to do quick, effective screening.
What Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for deciding on the right rst topics?
THE PRE-SALES MVP
Target Outcome: Informed
selection of starter topics (and
baseline on initial conversions).
Ran Google AdWord
campaigns across top ranking
technical topics, measuring
click through rate and landing
page sign-ups.
CASE STUDY: LEONID SYSTEMS
OPPORTUNITY
Major disruption and new product
opportunities among telecom providers
with introduction of voice-over-IP and cloud
communications.
IT systems need to be rethought.
CHALLENGE
As a one-person startup, Leonid had
actionable ideas but not enough resources
to execute an end-to-end solution.
CASE STUDY: LEONID SYSTEMS
Persona
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Chris the CTO- has funding and mandate to transition the business towards hosted services; many
bases to cover
IT is the most expensive, most risky area when making changes to the business.
1) Place large, risky bets on major new system upgrades. 2) Make small incremental updates (but risk
not keeping pace).
Leonid will offer modular, integration-friendly applications in two critical areas: 1) services provisioning
and 2) end user self-service portals.
LEONID MVPs: FROM CONSULTING TO PRODUCT
CONSULTING
PRODUCTIZED
CONSULTING
PRODUCTS
Started with consulting as a
concierge vehicle to create
tactical solutions, evolving to
full-edged product.
Result: Steady step-wise
growth with consistently better
understanding of key customer
problem scenarios.
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS
OPPORTUNITY
An observed problem scenario around the
difculty of nding the right shoe at local
retail and a giant (but nascent) market in
online retail (1999).
CHALLENGE
Consumers still in the early stages of
adopting and habituating to online retail.
Founder (Nick Swinmurn) wanted to
bootstrap.
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS
Persona
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Sam the shoe-hound- knows what he wants but not where to get it.
Sam is unable to nd the shoe he wants at local retailers, wasting time and getting frustrated.
Possibly mail order or wait until hes in a bigger market to go to the store.
Make the shoe Sam wants accessible online and make sure he has a great experience so hell come
back and not have to think about where to nd the shoe he wants anymore.
CASE STUDY: ZAPPOS
Result: It worked and the rest
is history.
Photographed shoes and put
them online to observe
whether anyone bought them.
CASE STUDY: SPRIG
source: as told to Lean Startup Circle, SF (Jan 2014)
Startup looking for early traction for
investors: Whole Foods (deli) meets Uber.
OPPORTUNITY
Large opportunity to resegment and
disrupt food prep. and delivery business.
Desire to move fast and learn fast.
CHALLENGE
Some existing competitors and slow
fundraising process. Food prep. and
delivery requires infrastructure.
CASE STUDY: SPRIG
Persona*
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Paula the Professional- health conscious, short on time, moderate to high income, already uses
similar services like Uber.
I want to have a nice, healthy dinner with no hassle and at a price I can afford (like $12).
Going to the store or an expensive, take-out, or a slow delivery service (>20 minutes).
A healthy meal like you would order a cab (on Uber): Dinner on Demand Prep Time is 3 Taps
Delectable Prices (Sprig Home Page)
What MVP?
* This is me interpolating/guessing on an item; not part of the Sprig teams explanation.
SPRIG MVP & EXPERIMENTATION
Result: Excellent uptake and
valuable observations on the
proposition and customer
journey.
Hire a chef for the day, put the
offer on Eventbrite, email
friends - concierge MVP.
CASE STUDY: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES
OPPORTUNITY
Funded startup team rapidly iterating
through B2C concepts with lightweight
experimentation.
One idea: Some people would like to know
how much their stuff is worth.
CHALLENGE
Iterate to a successful concept while the
time and money permits.
CASE STUDY: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES
Persona*
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
?
I have a lot of stuff around that I might want to sell and/or Im just generally curious about how much its
worth, how much Ive spent.*
Going through credit card statements or receipts.
Its interesting and possibly useful to know how much stuff you have.*
What MVP?
* This is me interpolating/guessing on an item; not part of the teams explanation.
CONCIERGE MVP: PAUL HOWE & ASSOCIATES
Result: They dont care. Time
to move on to the next
concept.
Get a few sign-ups with
access to email and bank
account info. Review by hand
on a concierge basis and
compile a statement for them.
Do they care?
CASE STUDY: STEALTH PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP
OPPORTUNITY
Lots of exciting things happening in the
photo-social space.
CHALLENGE
The team had several ideas but few
resources.
CASE STUDY: STEALTH PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP
Persona
Problem
Scenario
Alternatives
Value Prop.
Existing poster of photos. Personas: Martha the Mom, Pat the Party Planner, Teresa the Teen Social
Buttery
[I want to do something interesting with my photos so that my social graph rewards me with interest and
acclaim]
Manually enhance photos, use alternative enhancers/ampliers like Instagram
[This is something users can do with photos that will generate engaging content for their social graph]
USER JOURNEY: PHOTO-SOCIAL
ASSUMPTION
Users social network
will like and share the
apps output
What MVP?
That you can
bootstrap?
That doesnt require
software at all?
PHOTO-SOCIAL STARTUP: MVP & EXPERIMENTATION
MVP
Create the target output
by hand (concierge
style)
Does anyone care?
ASSUMPTION
Users social network
will like and share the
apps output
ABOUT MVPS AND PRODUCTS IN GENERAL
You have to put the magic in
the software.
(Not the other way around)
Concierge and other non-
software MVPs can be pretty
magical.
Find 100 people that are really
into it and you can probably
grow.
EXERCISE: YOUR (CONCIERGE) MVP
Component Notes
What is the experience you want to provide?
-
What are the preconditions and general steps?
What measurable outcome would validate
your value proposition?
-
How will you know if its delivering value?
-
This could be: a) measurably better outcomes b) activity
levels c) follow-on interest
How will you nd participants and what are
the core screening/qualication criteria?
- How will you know if the subjects are relevant to your
core hypothesis?
(5 min.)
LEAN AT LARGE
Priority Key Assumption Needs Proving? Experimentation
1
[A key assumption
about the business]
[Whether it needs
proving
[Experiment to
prove or disprove]
1
Parents want to
organize the
distribution of
allowances with an
app
Yes
* Post the proposition in ads
online
* Measure sign-ups on a landing page
page
2
Parents want to link
allowances to chores
Yes
* Show prototypes with choices
* Test in beta
2
Parents have smart
phones
No n/a
Foundation in
Design Thinking
Experiment Learn
Hypothesize
Lean Startup-
Style Assumptions
VENTURE DESIGN
Lean at Large
PLANNING WITH LEAN AT LARGE
Lets assume.
Then test.
Lets not
argue
PLANNING WITH LEAN AT LARGE
THINK SEE
FEEL DO
PERSONAS
Who?
X
PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES
What?
VALUE
PROPOSITIONS
& ASSUMPTIONS
What if?
!
USER
STORIES &
PROTOTYPES
How?
Scale?
Pivot?
PRODUCT &
PROMOTION
/
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS
Tell me?
BY THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS (IN REVERSE)
!
PRODUCT &
PROMOTION
USER
STORIES &
PROTOTYPES
Did the implementation
deliver on the story?
/
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY &
EXPERIMENTS
How did the
customer/user
react?
VALUE
PROPOSITIONS
& ASSUMPTIONS
!
Was the
implemented
story relevant to
the proposition?
X
PROBLEM
SCENARIOS &
ALTERNATIVES
Is problem
relevant? Is the
proposition
better vs.
alternatives?
THINK SEE
FEEL DO
PERSONAS
Do we
understand this
person? What
makes them
tick?
CLASS PRESENTATIONS
As Presenter
1) What is it? Use pos. statement.
2) How are you doing on the personas
checklist?
4) The problem scenarios checklist?
5) Where/how will you nd interview
subjects? Whats your target number?
6) Ideas for MVP? Next steps, timing?
As Audience
- Focus on the process; avoid
editorial
- Ask a lot of questions
- Think about it like an investor
(5 min./each)
POINT OF EMPHASIS
You are
the most
important
part of the
experiment
Make sure
youre
learning
AGENDA
Period Deliverables
Venture Design I: Achieving
Customer Relevance
Personas
Problem Scenarios-Alternatives-Value Propositions
Start Business Model Canvas
Storyboards
Customer Discovery
Venture Design II: Iterating to
Success
Venture Planning- focal hypotheses, experiments, and
minimum viable product
Venture Design III: Focusing &
Validating Venture Progress
Review of eld work, renements of approach, planning next
steps.
Venture Design IV: Engineering
Your Business Model
Detailing your business model and remaining focal assumptions.
Venture Design V: Designing the
Right Product
Pairing your learnings on personas & hypotheses with high
quality, actionable inputs (stories & wireframes) for product
development and product validation.
RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS
Homework
1. Draft a working set of assumptions
2. Design your experiments and execute.
GOOGLE DOC TEMPLATE FOR ABOVE:
http://bit.ly/venturetemplate
RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS
Follow-On Workshops
1. For Creating Strong Personas
Day in the Life Workshop: http://bit.ly/daynthelife
2. For Structuring Your Product Value Propositions into Testable Assumptions
Venture Design II: Iterating to Success: http://bit.ly/vdesignII
3. For Designing a Protable Business Model
Venture Design IV: Engineering Your Business Model: http://bit.ly/vdesignIV
4. For Linking the Above to an Effective Product Development Program
Venture Design V: Designing the Right Product: http://bit.ly/vdesignV
acowan@alexandercowan.com
@cowanSF
www.alexandercowan.com/venture-design
bit.ly/vdesignII
www.alexandercowan.com/startup-sprints
FINI

Venture Design II Iterating To Success

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Venture Design II Iterating To Success

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