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INCUBATION LAB
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WARM UP EXERCISES
Four in One
On the next page there will be a box. Come up with as many ways as you can to divide the box into four equal parts. The person with the most solutions wins.
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WARM UP EXERCISES
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Four in One
NOTES
How many boxes did you draw? a. Four Boxes b. Five Boxes c. Six Boxes d. Seven Boxes e. Eight Boxes f. More than Eight Boxes
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WARM UP EXERCISES
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In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei
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Deductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific logical conclusion. The scientific method uses deduction to test hypotheses and theories.
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is the opposite of deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning makes broad generalizations from specific observations. Even if all of the premises are true in a statement, inductive reasoning allows for the conclusion to be false.
Use this to narrow down on potential answers to a defined problem set and Problem Identification.
Use this to come up with multiple possibilities for solving the problem Solution Development.
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1945
1970 - Present
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SESSION 1 REVIEW
Pop Quiz!
1. Which of the following is NOT one of the four steps of the idea development cycle: a. Problem Identification b. Solution Development c. Market Development d. Customer Development e. Business Model Development Which of the following is a source of startup ideas: a. Identified gap in a competitive solution b. Product line extension c. Repositioned solution d. Customer problem Which of the following is NOT one of the three steps of identifying the subproblem: a. Talking to customers b. Identifying the existing solutions c. Mapping the customer experience d. Identifying the customer utility gaps in the customer experience Which of the following is NOT one of the six customer utility gaps: a. Slow b. Expensive c. Complicated 10 d. Risky e. None of the above
NOTES
2.
3.
4.
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Core Problem
Every significant problem has an existing solution Find the solution (direct / indirect)
Map the customer experience identify the end to end process of a customer using the product
The gaps in the existing solution become the specific sub problem you are solving
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How do you improve the female gym experience in order to increase the total number of women that come on a regular basis?
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Direct Solutions
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Cancel Membership
Hire a Trainer
Attend Classes
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SIMPLICITY
Equipment is difficult to use / complicated Available orientation times are inconvenient Finding someone to Popular classes help spot is difficult to get inconvenient reservation There is a risk of getting hurt on the equipment The gym environment is not woman friendly Large classes lack community feel / not comfortable
CONVENIENCE
RISK
COSTS
Membership is expensive
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Benefits
The Value Proposition your product offers the customer. A benefit is what your product does for the customer. The benefits are the ways that the features make your customers life easier by increasing pleasure or decreasing pain.
Ex. The product will reduce costs The product will save time The product is less complicated
Feature(s)
The physical or measurable characteristics of your product. A feature is a factual description of how your product works. The features are the functioning attributes of your product. The sum total of all the features make up the product.
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Value Proposition
Gain / Improvement
Utility Gap
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CUSTOMER UTILITY GAPS BECOME OPPORTUNITIES Flipping the Customer Utility Matrix Results in Product Benefit
CUSTOMER UTILITY GAP CUSTOMER PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCT BENEFIT
Slow
Faster
SIMPLICITY
Complicated
Less Complicated
CONVENIENCE
Inconvenient
More Convenient
RISK
Risky
Less Risky
COSTS
Expensive
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Cheaper
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Utility Gap
Membership is expensive
Product Benefit
Cheaper membership
Easy to use equipment Dedicated trainers on the floor Safe equipment Woman friendly environment
Problem:
How do you improve the female gym experience in order to increase the total number of women that come on a regular basis?
Finding someone to help spot is inconvenient There is a risk of getting hurt on the equipment The gym environment is not woman friendly
Easy registration for classes Small membership to maintain community All trainers are women High quality trainers Low hourly price for trainers
Hire a Trainer
Difficult to find a trainer that fits the womans needs Inconsistent quality among trainers Individual trainers are expensive
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Problem: How do you get non wine buyers to start purchasing wine on a regular basis?
CUSTOMER PRODUCTIVITY Wine selection process is Narrow down the selection SIMPLICITY complicated with multiple categories process to make it easy to pick and vintages to choose from a bottle from the shelf CONVENIENCE RISK IMAGE & QUALITY Good wine is only for the rich and affluent Wine is expensive Good wine can be for everyone (doesnt have to be intimidating) Good wine can be under $15 / bottle
COSTS
CUSTOMER UTILITY GAP CUSTOMER PRODUCTIVITY It takes a long time to get used to playing a new game Complicated games and player requirements Game systems are built for 1-2 player games, making it inconvenient for multiple players
Problem: How do you encourage parents and children to play more video games?
SIMPLICITY
CONVENIENCE
RISK IMAGE & QUALITY COSTS Games were perceived to be for teenage boys Made it fun for families and younger children
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Reloadable Card No Bank Account Requirement No Credit Check Required Free Text Messages & Email Alerts Free Cash Back at Retailers Pay Check Direct Deposit Personalized Cards to Fit Your Style
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Goldman Sachs
American Express
Deutsche Bank
Pfizer
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When identifying the potential features of your product, it is important to use inductive reasoning for expanding the solution set. Sometimes its a matter of asking the question a different way.
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Customer Experience
Purchase Delivery Use
Supplements
Maintenance
Slow
Inconvenient
Complicated
Risky
Expensive
Fast
Convenient
Easy
Less Risky
Cheaper
Product Benefits
Potential Feature
Potential Feature
Potential Feature
The aggregate of product features become Potential Potential Potential Potential your product
Feature Feature Feature Feature Potential Feature Potential Feature
Potential Feature
Potential Feature
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FEATURE IDENTIFICATION
Pop Quiz!
5. Inductive reasoning helps you: a. Narrow down on one solution b. Break down the core problem into its sub-problems c. Identify potential solutions d. Communicate your logic to managers 6. The benefit of the new solution would be _________ , if the existing solution is complicated: a. Simple b. Convenient c. Faster d. Less expensive Product features represent: a. The value proposition of your product b. The physical or measurable characteristics of your product c. The minimal viable product d. The reason why customers purchase your product
NOTES
7.
8.
True or false, a product feature is the solution to the customers problem: a. True b. False
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Don't make something unless it's both necessary and useful. But if it is both necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful."
- Josh Porter
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Remove resonance, and people just won't buy what you're selling.
Remove differentiation, and they'll pressure your price or attempt to get your service someplace else.
Remove your ability to substantiate your claims, and while clients may want what you sell (you resonate) and may perceive you to be the only people on the planet that do what you do (you differentiate), they don't believe you and won't risk working with you.
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Its simple: Focus and do one thing better than anyone else.
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Steve Jobs took Apple from 350 products to 10 within the first two years of his 2nd and lasting reign. Why did this work?
Problem Solving
Speed
Focus
During the journey of starting a business, you will be faced with many problems
and time is of the essence for survival; therefore, solving one problem at a time is faster than trying to solve two, which requires
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When they first started, what ONE thing were these companies known to do well?
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WHATS YOUR PRIMARY PRODUCT FEATURE? Outside the Circle: A waste of time, focus on the core utility of the product
Additional Features
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Help you decide on where to allocate time / resources Provide a quick and consistent method for evaluating options Take some of the emotion out of deciding where to start
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2.
Severity of Customer Pain 3.
4.
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10 1 5 10 5 10
5 5 5
1 1 5
16 7 15 25
5 5 1 5
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10 5
5 1 10
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5 10 1
Product 1
(16, 20)
Development Time
Product 3
(15, 16) Quick to develop but does not solve a critical customer problem
Product 4
(25, 16)
Quick to develop and solves a major customer problem
MVP
Product 2
(7, 11)
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MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT (MVP) The term minimum viable product is thought of as the smallest iteration of work you can do to validate your assumptions.
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THREE PRIMARY CATEGORIES FOR MVPS A minimum viable product has just those features that allow the product to be deployed, and no more.
Problem Exploration
An interaction with the customer that focuses on investigating his or her problems to understand past behavior and see if it is topof-mind.
Product Pitch
An interaction with the customer that attempts to sell the product to a customer in exchange for some form of currency: time, money, or work.
Concierge
Delivering the product as a service to the customer to see if the delivery matches the customers expectations.
Example: Zappos
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1. 2.
Interview one person at a time. Outline the top 3 sub-problems you are addressing, the current solutions to those problems, and then your solutions to those problems. Pause after each section and listen for the following: 1. Customer worldview 2. The pain of the problem 3. Missed sub-problems and utility gaps 4. Other potential solutions missed Prioritize the problem solution under must have, nice to have, and dont care.
3.
4.
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Offline to Online
Video Explanation
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Wizard of Oz + Manual
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PRODUCT FOCUS
Pop Quiz!
9. It is difficult to have product focus because: a. You try to satisfy the needs of all your potential customers b. You are unsure which product benefit matters most to customers c. Saying no to customer demands is challenging d. All of the above 10. Which is not a step of the product prioritization process: a. Identify your prioritization criteria b. Select the product feature that is easiest to build c. Rank the product features (or benefits) based on your criteria d. Plot the scores on a prioritization matrix 11. True or false, your MVP should always be the cheapest feature you can develop: a. True b. False 12. Which of the following statements is NOT true: a. You should always charge customers to use your minimal viable product. b. The minimal viable product is the smallest iteration of work you can do to validate your assumptions. c. Delivering the product as a service to the customer to see if the delivery matches the customers expectations is a type of minimal viable product. d. Your MVP can be a non working prototype. 44
NOTES
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Helps keep track of product feature development after prioritization Shows your team and other stakeholders what your product vision is and what the high-level initiatives will be Provides focus for the product manager to develop, one feature at a time Articulates execution timing
Note: The roadmap needs to be flexible in timing to account for the iterations associated with testing and learning
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Benefit
Increase the speed of locating private company transactions More convenient to locate certain companies by specific criteria Easier to compare multiple companies across different industries Easier to calculate relevant transaction statistics More statistics for niche industries
Product Feature
1. Search database of private technology companies 2. Transaction criteria screening tool
More convenient to access detailed summaries 6. Individual private company research reports of individual private companies
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10
10 10
10 10 5
5 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
36 23 9 9 36 50
1 1 10 10 5 10 10
10 10 10
10 1 1 5
10 5
10 5 5
1 1 1
1 1 1
32 13 13
Product 2 Product 3
Product 4
Product 5 Product 6
1
5 10
5
10 10 47
5
10 10 5 10
10
1
5
22
35 45
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Product 5
(36 35)
Product 6
(50, 45)
Development Time
Product 1
(36 32) Quick to develop but does not solve a critical customer problem Quick to develop and solves a major customer problem
Product 4
(9, 22)
Product 3
6. Individual private company research reports (9, 13)
Product 2
(23, 13)
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Start with the Primary Product Feature Create a Product Roadmap Only release the additional features once you have nailed the primary feature
3 Investor Selector
CB Insights released a tool to track other investors and search companies by the investors.
6 CB Insider
In spring 2013, CB Insights launched a tool that makes predictive recommendations based on market research and analytics.
5 Valuation / Multiples
In the spring of 2013, CB Insights launched a tool to compare individual companies funding / M&A statistics to 49 the industry and or other companies.
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1 2 3 4 5
Solve problems with deductive reasoning; think outside the box with inductive reasoning.
Focus on doing one thing well, and do it better than everyone else.
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Assignment 1
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