1. Proof of Concept
By Peter Baskerville
20/07/2019

5. Proof of concept just as important as product development.

7. Where to go for help?
Lean Startups - 'How can we learn more quickly what works, and discard what doesn't?
Customer development process – Experiment, run tests, get data, change model.
Eric Ries
Steve Blank

8. Test 1 - Primary target market
For who are you creating value and why should they care?
Customer profile storyboard
Find your initial niche.

9. Your ONE person Male or female? Dreams & aspirations? Single, married?
What age?
Educated? What level?
Working? Where?
Goals now 5yrs
Dreams & aspirations?
What’s their strongest desire?
What’s their biggest worry?
What do they truly value?
What’s their name ………?

10. The proof
You have a hypothesis (best guess) about who your earliest adopters (evangelists) will be
You have talked to enough of them to know they really need what you're building
You have spent time discovering their needs & priorities
They have enthusiastically agreed that your product solves their problem
They have made a hard commitment to pay for it when you build it

11. Customer development process
SEARCH
EXECUTE
Iterations
Vision
Business model
Existence
Discovery
Test
Repeat & Scale
Minimum Viable Product
Validation
Start
Build users
Sales channel
Creation
Validated model
Company management
Building
Pivot
Overarching Startup Goal – To turn a set of founding hypotheses (best guess) into a moneymaking venture. To discover the repeatable, scalable, and ultimately profitable business before running out of cash.

12. Customer Development Includes the customer Deals with unpredictability
Failure integral to learning
Iterations and pivots
Dynamic planning
Scientific testing
Preserve cash in search
Minimises risk – affordable loss
Escape velocity via steps
20/07/2019

13. Customer Discovery Vision into Business model Engage customers
Build for the few EarlyEvangelists
Identified same problem, $ spent on interim solution
Believe what your believe - WHY
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) minimum set attributes - barely satisfy your "early evangelists". AIM = Proof of concept. Update model
20/07/2019

14. Online tests Sites: Kickofflabs, Launchrock or Unbounce
Website - Basic
value proposition – Problem + potential solution
benefits summary
a call to action to learn more
short survey or pre-order.
Tweet, forward, share
Measure conversion rates
Views to actions
20/07/2019

15. Face-to-face tests 50 target customers
Get the customers to talk, discuss
Taste solution (big idea) - watch the reactions …
"If you could do that, all my problems would be solved?" or
"What do you mean?"
Be "one of them" - Learn
20/07/2019

16. Proof of Concept You can't develop your idea in a vacuum
It is the process of finding your niche.
Budget for proof-of-concept marketing
Key metric = quantity of users + growth rate + conversion rate (interest to action) + contact information collected
“Minimal Viable Product" MVP = the minimum set of product attributes that will just barely satisfy your earliest adopters "earlyvangelists".
Build a landing page - create a website
20/07/2019

17. Proof of Concept
Operational practicality: Can do the technology, people, law, politics. Show it works and demonstrate it can be done,
Scalability: Ok so it works, but can it scale? Will costs grow slower than revenue as you grow? Demonstrate economies of scale.
Usability: Will people use it?
Commercial viability: Will enough people pay enough for it.
20/07/2019

18. Business = Products + Person

19. Leverage your networks
Awareness
Get a reaction
Connect
Engage $