Customer Development
Steve Blank model of Start Up success
- key aspect of Eric Ries' Lean Startup model
http://steveblank.com/2009/02/23/theres-a-pattern-here/
In hindsight it appeared clear that startups that survive the first few tough years do not follow the traditional product-centric (product-driven) launch model espoused by product managers or the venture capital community. Through trial and error, hiring and firing, successful startups all invented a parallel process to Product Development. In particular, the winners invent and live by a process of customer Learning and discovery. It's a process that doesn't exist in large companies with existing customers and markets. But it is life and death for a new venture. I call this process "Customer Development," a sibling to "Product Development," and each and every startup that succeeds recapitulates it, knowingly or not.
his presentation
- process:
- Customer Discovery: validate your hypotheses about problem and solution (Scientific Method)
- how much will customer pay to solve problem?
- does customer agree your product would solve the problem? how much will they pay for that solution?
- draw before-and-after day-in-the-life for Persona
- draw org chart for buyer, users
- Customer Validation
- repeatable sales process, org chart, influence map
- understanding of Sales Cycle, Life Time Value, etc.
- set of orders validating the Product Roadmap (he says you show the roadmap to potential customers, and that it includes release schedule for 12mo (?) - I'm not sure I agree with that)
- Customer Creation
- Crossing The Chasm
- Vary process based on which of 3 Market Type-s
- Company Building: re-build Mission, strategy, management
- management needs to change as company grows: development-centric -> mission-centric -> process-centric
- sales growth needs to match Market Type
- Customer Discovery: validate your hypotheses about problem and solution (Scientific Method)
- the goal for release1.0 is the minimum feature set for Early Vangelist-s (Minimum Viable Product)
- use Agile Software Development
- but with faster releases, almost Continuous Delivery
- A-B Test (to validate feature value?)
- Just In Time architecture and Infrastructure
- automated Unit Test and Acceptance Test systems
- immune system: reduce odds of deploying defects, automated identify/alert when it happens
- use Agile Software Development
- seeking funding
- do the learning first
- present the learnings during presentation
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BackLinks: 2007-07-27-AndreessenMarketIsKeyForStartup | 2009-03-15-RiesWhenLaunch | 2009-03-17-RiesXpVsCustomerDevelopment | 2009-03-23-RiesStartupIterateExperiment | 2009-03-24-RiesMinimumViableProduct | 2009-05-30-BlankVerticalMarketImplications | 2009-06-22-RiesPivotVisionChange | 2009-10-20-RiesMvpBigVision | 2009-10-22-BlankArdentCustomerValidationFail | 2009-10-26-MauryaCloudFireMvp | 2009-11-04-BlankWhenGrowLeanStartup | 2009-11-05-BlankRaisingMoneyCustomerDevelopment | 2009-11-18-BlankRiesWebFreeCustomerDevelopment | 2010-02-28-RaoBlankRies | 2010-08-15-MauryaDocumentingLeanStartupBusinessModelHypotheses | 2010-09-25-Rao7DimensionsPositioningFlow | 2010-11-04-MckenzieAppointmentReminder | 2011-01-20-MckenzieStartupMarketingAdoptionHacks | 2011-03-31-BlankEntrepreneurshipIsAnArt | 2011-06-22-MauryaPreCustomerDevelopmentConversations | 2011-08-01-CustomerDevelopmentInterviewingChallenge | 2011-08-12-MauryaCustomerDevelopmentInterviewing | 2011-09-22-BlankLeanWebLaunch | 2013-09-30-JonesPrivateWikiNotebookDialogue | 2015-12-10-GetInTheVanAndOtherTipsForGettingMeaningfulCustomerFeedback | 2016-01-31-TorresWhyYouArentLearningAsMuchAsYouCouldFromYourExperiments | 2018-08-22-20MentalModelsForProductManagers | 2019-05-07-SteveBlankHowToStopPlayingTargetMarketRouletteANewAdditionToTheLeanToolset | 2022-09-27-CohenTheIterativehypothesisCustomerDevelopmentMethod | 2023-12-24-CaganProductPredictions2024 | 2024-01-30-VernaTheresAWholeLotOfUglyOutThereWhenItComesToGrowthTeams | 2024-06-15-MauryaDontRushOutsideTheBuilding | 2024-07-07-LennyPatternBreakersHowToFindAGreatStartupIdeaMikeMaplesJr | AgilityVsConflict | BeginningCustomerDevelopment | CaganInspired | CustomerDiscovery | CustomerDriven | CustomerValidation | GrowingYourStartupTechProductTeam | LeanStartup | MarketSegment | MarketType | MinimumViableProduct | MomTest | ProblemInterview | ProductMarketFit | SplashPage | StartupGrowthStages | SteveBlank | UserResearch
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