Business Model Representations In a blog post last October entitled “Entrepreneurship as a Science – The Business Model/Customer Development Stack” Steve Blank suggested Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur defined a business model as how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value. More importantly they showed how any company’s business model could be defined in 9 […]
Business Model Representations Read More »
This post on customer development interviews is one of my most popular. If you would like help preparing for customer development interviews or reviewing results from recent interviews please sign up for a no cost no obligation office hours session and I will be happy to help you rehearse or de-brief. Here are my lessons learned from taking
Tips for B2B Customer Development Interviews Read More »
Malcom Gladwell suggests appreciative inquiry into inner-city schools. We can apply lessons from effective sports programs to the classroom.
Malcolm Gladwell Suggests Appreciative Inquiry Into Inner-City Schools Read More »
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a mindset that is essential in customer discovery. It encourages you to look for what’s working in an potential customer’s organization and “work with the grain of the wood.” It enables you to build on demonstrated strengths and accomplishments in framing your solution to a critical business problem.
Appreciative Inquiry Mindset Essential to Customer Discovery Read More »
Always assume you are targeting busy prospects for you customer development conversations.
Customer Development Conversations With Busy Prospects Read More »
It’s the Picture on the Box that Sells the LEGO Set: provide specific examples of how your product can be used to solve problems.
It’s the Picture on the Box that Sells the LEGO Set Read More »
Selling to a businesses requires conversations that build trust. Trust is built over time from predictability and meeting commitments.
Selling to a Business Requires Conversations that Build Trust Read More »
Steve Blank: “Sean Murphy adds tremendous value for startups in setting them up “getting out of the building” and how to make sense of the data they’ve gathered. He’s one consultant I personally know (I’m sure there are others) who doesn’t confuse his role with the founders. I think of his consulting firm as a
SKMurphy, Inc. 8 Years In: What We Are Working On Now Read More »
Learning to explore is a key skill for entrepreneurs. Ask questions you don’t know the answer to–where the answer would have an impact on your ability to assess the risk in your venture or would help you to define a key aspect of your business.
Buying a Map vs. Learning to Explore Read More »
Taking a scientific approach to startups by formulating and testing critical hypotheses is a great idea, but it won’t create a “Science of Startups.”
A Scientific Approach to Startups Won’t Create “A Science of Startups” Read More »
A talk on “Crucial Customer Development Concepts” that covers the basis for conventional wisdom on customer development in Silicon Valley.
Crucial Customer Development Concepts At GITPRO Sat-Jun-18 Read More »
Technology changes fast: you need continually renew your technical skills and those of your team. Soft skills–people skills–have a much longer lifetime.
Technology Changes Fast, People, Not So Much Read More »
Want a simple way to determine your competition during customer discovery: consider what your prospects would have to give up to buy and use your product or service. The time and money you want prospects to spend on your offering have to come from somewhere: prospects will normally choose to take it from what they
How To Determine Your Competition During Customer Discovery Read More »
It’s always a good idea to treat prospects well: you don’t want to foreclose the possibility of another conversation or a referral.
Treat Prospects Well–Allow For Another Conversation Read More »
Distinguishing between where you are giving up too soon or are persisting too long is a hard problem. Here are some tips.
Giving Up Too Soon, Persisting Too Long Read More »
Customer understand when they have unmet needs, persistent problems, and goals and risk. They are normally very good at describing their problems and constraints on a solution but less accurate in fully specifying a solution.
Interview Prospects To Find Unmet Needs, Persistent Problems, and Goals at Risk Read More »
Tips for using a wiki to organize customer interviews for customer discovery and to assess perspectives on their offering after purchase.
We Use a Wiki to Organize Customer Interviews Read More »
Hope to see you on Monday, May 23, 2011 in San Francisco, CA for the Second Startup Lessons Learned conference. The day-long event will feature a mix of panels and talks focused on the key challenges and issues that technical and market-facing people at startups need to understand in order to succeed in building successful
Signed up for Startup Lessons Learned Conference Read More »
John Cook observes that connecting technical know-how with customer needs requires requires skills outside of mathematics.
Connecting Technical Know-How With Customer Needs Read More »
This is a guest post by Edith Harbaugh. She moderates the Lean Startup Circle mailing list but doesn’t have a blog of her own, so I have offered her mine because I was impressed by her insights and writing. It’s Your Execution Not Your Idea An initially dispiriting thing to hear from a customer is
Edith Harbaugh: It’s Your Execution Not Your Idea Read More »
