(2011-05-23) Startup Lessons Learned Conference

The Startup Lessons Learned Conference is going on today: Lean Startup tribe.

Someone else's [notes](http://typewith.me/Ing7xme Tdx).

Eric Ries keynote:

• (Every FeedBack loop should be framed like OODA.)

• Test product pitch with Splash Page site before building anything.

• "InnovationAccounting" - build MVP, measure baseline Business Model stats, then start Learning process of improvement, Pivot if not getting progress.

Mitch Kapor with Eric Ries

• Failure: OSAF!

• "The capacity for self-delusion is infinite." - FeedBack provides correction.

• as Kapor Capital, developing a "social termsheet" which is a non-binding agreement with investments to clarify expectations, thinking it needs to include pieces about building in Learning process.

• philanthropy - building SMASH to help Lower Income High School students with Math And Science to get them into good colleges. Lean Startup thinking can help here, too.

David Binetti: Votizen - when/how Pivot

• Lean Startup approach:

  • corrects your own Reality Distortion Field
  • converts Market Risk to Technical Risk

• a Pivot is a restatement of your Business Model

  • doesn't necessitate changing your product
  • driven by your Vision instead of testing (A-B Test)

• Votizen case

  • 1.0 created AARRR Metrics to track, didn't guess at what they would be. Spent 6 weeks building, got some stats
  • Did A-B Test work to move things along. Still no revenue!
  • When Pivot? When you hit local maxima (stop improving) while still not Sustainable.
  • How Pivot? Go talk to customers, leveraging what you've already learned with new info, in hopes of triggering inspiration.
  • Votizen v2: use Twitter to get activation easier: saw good bump, but still not enough to be sustainable.
  • Came up with v3, validated by talking to customers, spent big chunk of money to make it. Revenue got worse!
  • v4 looked more like AdWords, pay via Credit Card (instead of Enterprise purchase), got big jump up on Revenue metric. A basis for raising money.
  • Act Lean, but Think Big!

• Steve Blank

  • Board Meeting-s are stupid. (Sounds like he's building to a pitch for a webapp...)
  • Taking lessons from his recent course, the blogging that students did. Anchor that to Lean Canvas. Update the canvas 1/week, with changes in red. He brings up Ben(?) from Lean Launch Lab.
  • he has 5 VC-s supporting the idea.