Building a Minimum Viable Product Brian Park, RN

Description Develop the skills to generate a minimum viable product (MVP) for any idea. Objectives 1.Create an MVP for your business idea 2.Develop an action plan to build your MVP 3.Leave this class with the skills to create an MVP for anything

What is an MVP? A basic version of your product that has enough value to generate paying customers. Its purpose is to provide feedback in order to guide development. Think of it as an experiment.

Suzie’s Lemonade Stand

Why create an MVP? 1. Evidence Based Practice 2. Cheaper 3. Faster

Step 1: Choose an Idea Assumptions about… 1. A problem 2. Who has this problem 3. A desirable solution Problem : People want lemonade, but can’t get it in the neighborhood. Who ?: Thirsty neighbors that like lemonade. Solution : A lemonade stand in the neighborhood.

Describe Your Idea ONE SENTENCE!  What is it?  What problem is it solving?  Who is it for? Example : “Suzie’s” provides lemonade to thirsty lemonade-lovers at a convenient location.

Step 2: Identify Problems Why won’t your idea work?  At least 2 reasons How to find problems:  Customer feedback  Personal excuses  Ask: Why can’t I do this right now?

Step 2: Identify Problems Example Problem #1 Mom doesn’t want me talking to strangers. Example Problem #2 I don’t have any money.

Common Problems When Starting 1. I don’t have the money 2. I don’t have the time 3. I don’t know how to… 4. I’m not good at… 5. Competitors

Step 3: Create Solutions 1. Prioritize your problems by importance 2. Create 3-5 solutions you can implement now 3. Focus on the cause of the problem(s)

Step 3: Create Solutions Example Solution #1 Get Mom and neighbors to watch her while she sells lemonade. Example Solution #2 Ask Mom to use items in the house to make the stand. Example Solution #3 Ask Mom to use instant lemonade mix.

Resources Freelancers  Odesk.com  Peopleperhour.com  Fiverr.com E-commerce Platforms  Shopify.com  Squarespace.com  Woocommerce.com  Mailchimp.com Graphics  Canva.com  Recite.com  Easel.ly Customer Surveys  SurveyMonkey.com  Wufoo.com  Typeform.com Copy/Edit  Grammarly.com  Hemingwayapp.com  Pitcherific.com  Liber.io Stock Photography  Everystockphoto.com  Picjumbo.com  Pexels.com Legal  Legalzoom.com  Nolo.com

Success Metric A measureable metric that allows you to gauge your success and growth. How and when do I know my assumptions are valid? Requirements:  MEASUREABLE  Time Frame

Success Metric Example “Suzie’s” will sell 30 cups of lemonade on opening day.

Step 4: Action Plan! 5 Steps you can take right now How do I achieve your success metric? What’s a good experiment I can run to validate my initial assumptions? How will I find and reach my first customers?

Suzie’s Action Plan 1. Ask Mom, Dad, Babysitter, & neighbors if they’ll watch her sell lemonade 2. Get permission to use lemonade mix from the pantry 3. Build lemonade stand from a box in a garage 4. Sell lemonade in front of the house 5. Advertise: tell all the neighbors & smile a lot

Success? Did you meet your success metric? YES : Great! What did you learn? Use that to decide your next steps to grow. Repeat this process to optimize those steps. NO: No problem! What did you learn? Use that to throw away the idea or “pivot” the idea. Repeat this process for your new direction or next business idea.

Pivot To change the direction of your idea to test a new assumption about your product, audience, and/or strategy. Wrong audience? Wrong marketing strategy? Too many product features? Too few product features?

Build – Measure – Learn Repeat

Suzie’s Success “Suzie’s” sold 34 cups of lemonade on opening day. What she learned:  Customer poll: No one likes lemonade  75% of customers were neighbors she told about the lemonade stand  More customers bought lemonade when she smiled really big Pivot?

Questions? SlideShare: Lean Methodology How to Build a Startup: The Lean LaunchPad by Steve Blank