New Venture Planning Class #5 – October 15, 2013

Minimum Viable Product As defined by Eric Ries in “The Lean Startup” “…that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.” But, what does that mean?

Great MVPs of all time

Name that MVP Sending money between Palm Pilots “It drove hundreds of thousands of people to the website. Our beta waiting list went from 5,000 people to 75,000 people literally overnight. It totally blew us away.”

When an MVP isn’t “We’re engineers and we wanted to test all the cool technology, but you want us to test whether we first have a product that customers care about and whether it’s a business. We can do that.” BEWARE the technologists trap – building cool stuff!

When to not build an MVP? Sustaining innovation: Known > unknown

When to not build an MVP? Resources are not an issue…

When to not build an MVP? You’ve achieved Product/Market fit 25 Million in 4 months 100 Million in 1 st year In 1958? Wham-O!

Remember… Viability (the V in MVP) is determined by the market, not your whim “Knowing” is a trap. Do you know or merely think you know? Functionality above and beyond viable, does not make you more viable; it can actually destroy viability. (This is why “best” product rarely wins.) Don’t release your MVP to the world, but rather to a select group (eg early adopters). Once you’ve learned, execute on what you’ve learned, while also maintaining new learning.

Unique Value Proposition It is why people buy from you. It is your offering. Well Designed Technology Responsible Transportation

Meet the VC You’re running a startup – someone says to you… “I’ve got a guy you should meet.”“I’ve got a guy you should meet.” It’s not a pitch, but an opportunity for feedback. Friday 10/25 – 30 minutes each

For next time… < 10 slides: – Markets, customer types, etc. – Contacts, progress, linkages – What do you think your Unique Value Prop is? – Concepts for an MVP?