One of the hallmarks for success in a business-to-business market is the ability to form personal relationships as well as professional business relationships. Both require building trust. I am always dismayed when I read advice that advocates bait and switch or other forms of con games that erode trust and make it difficult for any […]
Building a Business Requires Building Trust Read More »
Some startups just “go for it” and pursue their vision without any real strategy. In the same way that the losers are never interviewed after after the lottery numbers are announced, press and pundits draw startup lessons by restricting their focus to the winners. It’s bullshit.
Feeling Lucky Is Not a Strategy Read More »
The video from my “What is Lean–Lean Innovation 101” talk is up: Here is the description for the talk “Lean” provides a scientific approach for creating a product and developing new businesses. Teams can iteratively building products or services to meet the needs of early customers by adopting a combination of customer development, business-hypothesis-driven experimentation
Video from Lean Innovation 101 Talk at SF Bay ACM Nov-20-2013 Read More »
Five financial mistakes bootstrappers can avoid include financing with credit cards or high interest loans and taking on long term financial commitments like a lease or an employee too early.
Five Serious Financial Mistakes Bootstrappers Can Avoid Read More »
Q: We have started selling and are looking for resources for a lean approach to sales, in particular for new product introduction. Lean Approach To Sales at Lean Startup Conference 2012 Scott Sambucci and I presented a workshop at Lean Startup 2012 on “Engineering Your Sales Process.” The deck is posted at http://www.slideshare.net/SalesQualia/engineering-your-sales-process About 70%
Q: Resources For A Lean Approach to Sales, In Particular New Product Introduction Read More »
Let’s face it, finding customers can be quite a challenge. In this interactive workshop, we will cover a variety of proven marketing techniques for growing your business: attendees will select one or two that fit their style and develop a plan to implement them in their business in the next 90 days. Speaking – small
Getting More Customers Workshop on March 25, 2014 Read More »
The difference between a hypothesis and an assumption is that the first is typically explicit and the second implicit. A hypothesis is what you are testing explicitly in an experiment. An assumption is tested implicitly. By making your assumptions and hypotheses explicit, you increase the clarity of your approach and the chance for learning.
Difference Between a Hypothesis and an Assumption Read More »
Justin Kan (@JustinKan) wrote “Startups Don’t Die, They Commit Suicide” in 2011″ (mirrored on his blog here) reflecting on what he had observed and learned as a serial entrepreneur. It was reposted on the Philly Startup Leaders list earlier this week which led me to write the following comments mixed with excerpts from Kan’s post.
The Likely Consequences of Entrepreneurship Require Perseverance Read More »
I re-read Tom DeMarco‘s “Slack” over the Thanksgiving break and came away with a couple of good ideas worth sharing. Slack: Speed Difference Between Prudent and Breakneck Tom DeMarco offers the following definition of slack in the second to last chapter “Working at Breakneck Speed” Back in the time of sailing ships, going anywhere by ship
Tom DeMarco on Leadership, Trust, and Training Read More »
Overview: This MVP clinic helps two very different people facing analogous situations: one is a researcher looking for action research topics in the KM4Dev community, the other is an entrepreneur who wants to make athletic contests more engaging for contestants and the audience by providing more information that is mobile device friendly. (You can also
Recap From Nov-20-2103 MVP Clinic Read More »
John Smith and I did an MVP Clinic for Social and Community Apps on Oct 23. We took notes live in a PrimaryPad (an EtherPad derivative application). What follows is a cleaned up version of notes that we took and the audience contributed to. You can see MVP Clinic for Social/Community Apps Wed Oct 23
Audio and Notes from On-Line MVP Clinic Oct 23-2013 on Social Software Read More »
Q: Can you please take a look at this pitch. I have created it as a promo for investors and potential users. Selling your offering to customers and selling your business to investors requires two different presentations They have fundamentally different questions they need answered before they “buy.” Customers want to understand how your product
Don’t Give Your Investor Pitch To Customers, They Have Different Questions Read More »
A deconstruction of the “How to Change Cars Forever” commercial for redesigned Dodge Dart as a distillation of engineering vision and an analysis of results
Balancing Engineering Vision vs. Customer Expectation Read More »
If you are planning a new service offering, involving technologies and social interactions between customers, this clinic on minimum viable service can help you learn your way out of conflicting assumptions, lack of relevant data, difficulty understanding service value, and resource constraints. This is especially the case if you need to get adoption by a
MVP Clinic for Social/Community Apps Wed-Oct-23 Read More »
Interviewing experts requires you to respect their time, doing basic research in advance to prepare a clear agenda and avoid unnecessary questions.
8 Tips For Interviewing Experts Read More »
Whether you call it the status quo, the current order, the way things are, or vested interests, the present arrangement is what entrepreneurs strive to obsolete by offering something better, faster, cheaper, or just different.
Getting The Band Together To Overthrow The Current Order Read More »
Preserving Trust And Demonstrating Expertise Unlocks Demanding Niche Markets Q: We are preparing to enter a B2B market where the potential buyers are high-value but relatively few in number and close-knit. I am concerned that they will have a low tolerance for a minimum viable product (MVP) approach; much less pre-MVP research that misses the
Preserving Trust And Demonstrating Expertise Unlocks Demanding Niche Markets Read More »
We use this definition in our “Engineering Your Sales” and “Validating Your MVP” workshops and our MVP clinics. Our focus is on developing and selling products to businesses so that biases the definition a little bit but it’s important to remember what’s under your control in crafting your MVP: The particular type of customer: you
MVP: What’s Really Under Your Control Read More »
Q: I am part of a hardware/embedded device startup working on our MVP. We want to develop a minimum product to cut our initial development costs and iterate scientifically through experimentation. My concern is that State governments are my primary customer type and their buying model is to do a pilot project and then write what
Q: How Do You Iterate An MVP So That It’s “Good Enough For Government Work” Read More »
Empires build a Death Star, Rebels build X-Wing fighters If your startup’s minimum viable product is a Death Star you are doing it wrong.
MVP: Are You Building a Death Star? Read More »
