Innovation & Entrepreneurship Prototyping to Product Development

ABRAHAM LINCOLN KARL MARX CHARLES DARWIN WALL STREET FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE How to identify a Successful Technology Innovator ? One who possesses: Great Technology Skills Great Track Record Great Product Idea Great Backers RIGHT ? WRONG National Entrepreneurship Network

SEGWAY : Learning From Failure Dean Kamen: Great Innovator Personified Segway : Jan 2001, the buzz around the world Anticipated to sell units per week (to date have managed to sell 30,000 units around the world) Still hanging in there but definitely not the innovation that changed the world National Entrepreneurship Network

So what went wrong? Focused on Invention rather than Innovation Invention focuses on Technical Superiority while Innovation is an Iterative process Paul Graham feels It was too easy for them they were too successful in raising money They should have gradually grown the product by listening to their customers National Entrepreneurship Network

What Else was wrong? Expectations were too high Being a product not a solution Inventors tend to think of a product and then go about finding a market for it Some simple questions were not asked Where should I park it? How do I charge the battery ? Sidewalks are designed for pedestrians and roads for cars National Entrepreneurship Network

And Some more reasons No Clear need of target market Assumed FEDEX, US POST, Police Dept will Buy At 5000$, no compelling need for anyone Regulatory issues with countries banning it on sidewalks as well as roads User training needed,how do you do it for product sold on web? National Entrepreneurship Network

but most importantly... Dean Kamen had experience of building products but not building companies…. National Entrepreneurship Network

So how do you innovate for profit and growth ? Start by asking a Simple Question: “What are my customers really buying ?” Pleasure giving Problem solving Want satisfying National Entrepreneurship Network

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) " The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort." ERIC RIES A popular Lean Start-up Technique It is all about customers and listening to them before developing a full fledged product and going to market This requires a lot of energy invested in talking to customers, metrics and analytics but helps to avoid bigger mistakes like Dean Kamens’ National Entrepreneurship Network

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

National Entrepreneurship Network

Traditional

Minimum Viable Product – An Iterative Process National Entrepreneurship Network

Week 1 - Day 1: Fill your Lean Worksheet with Guesses Week 1 - Day 2: Contact your Users Week 1 - Day 3: Sketch your Experiment / prototype Week 1: Interview/Experiment your Users Week 2 - Day 6: Update your Lean Worksheet with Facts Week 2 - Day 7: Repeat everything until find 5 Early Adopters Week 3 - Day 1: Sketch your MVP Week 3: Build your MVP Week 4: Experiment your MVP with Users Week 4 - Day 5: Measure MVP Satisfaction Week 4 - Day 6: Analyze MVP Metrics and Results Week 4 - Day 7: Update your Lean Worksheet with Facts Lean Worksheet and Steps

National Entrepreneurship Network 1.Define your Value Proposition. 2. Contact 3 to 5 persons and schedule an in-person conversation with each of them. 3.Ask them what they think about your solution. MVP Exercise–Step 1

National Entrepreneurship Network MVP – References: Lean startup in 4 steps minimum-viable-products product-guide.html