Validation

“Life’s too short to build something nobody wants.” – Ash Maurya, Running Lean.

Overview

  • Building your solution demo
  • Validating your solution demo or planning to pivot through solution interviews
  • Building your MVP
  • Validating your MVP or planning to pivot through MVP interviews

Session 1: Blue Ocean Strategy - I(CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Refer: Blue Ocen Strategy, How to create unconfested market space and make the competition irrelevant - W. Chan Kim Renee Mauborgne

RED OCEAN => Rivarly + Competition + Limited Profit + Limited Growth BLUE OCEAN => Growth + Profits

Look for NEW market!!! Trying to get a bigger share of an existing market space, leads to products getting similar to one-another => Cut-throat competition => Extreme competition

The way out is by providing customer a Leap in Value.

  • Do NOT add new functionalities by new technology
  • Identify the right mix of pains and gains to address

If done rightly, it can turn your competition irrelevant.

Map the existing market dynamics to find new space in the market:

  1. Define the competition
    • Identify 3-6 existing players who are your main competition.
    • Be careful of those who focus on your niche
    • Shortlist them if multiple such competitions arrise

    If you don’t find a competition, the substitutes consumers use right now is your competition.

  2. Identify important product benefits
    • Merge the list of pain relievers and gains creators
    • Prioritize and take 4-10 of those.
    • Consult customers to find these. Don’t assume yourself.

  3. Plot the strategy canvas
    Use qualititave or quantitative labels.

    This generates a perceptual map.

  4. Apply the Four-Actions Framework

    REDUCE ==> ELIMINATE ==> CREATE ==> RAISE

    • Reduce: Benefits that can be removed well below industry standards.
    • Eliminate: Benefits that industry takes for granted and can be eliminated.
    • Create: Benefits that can be created that industry has never offered.
    • Raise: Benefits that can be raised well above the industry standards.

CASE-STUDY: Cirque du soleil (Ciscus of the sun)

  • Reduced thrill and danger attached with conventional circuses
  • Eliminated animals, star performers, and multiple show arenas
  • Created dramatic themes, music, and dance
  • Raised uniqueness of vanues by developing their own venues

It focussed on adults and corporate clients, unlike other which only focussed on kids.

Find out what you strongly believe about your industry which no one else believes in and make that the basis of your startup.

! [[ 12916401_1592466809.pdf ]]

Session 2: Blue Ocean Strategy - II (CORE)

! [[ 24433513_1592466891.pdf ]]

Session 3: Build Your Solution Demo and Conduct Solution Interviews - I (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Don’t build something completely which no-one will use. Create a demo/mockup and test run it on your customers.

Tips:

  • Give the customer a real sense of the solution and not a wireframe or sketches.
  • Don’t build an unnecessarily flashy demo. Too much flash videos which can not be replicated in actual solution makes it look bad.
  • Use your own resources; don’t hire. Creating a complicated demo which required hiring resources, can actually increase the turnaround time and alterations after feedback.
  • Build as many mockups as you need. One for each requirement.
  • Use actual names and real data, not dummy data.

! [[ 12916413_1573123573.pdf ]] ! [[ 26594813_1599132163.pdf ]]

Session 4: Build Your Solution Demo and Conduct Solution Interviews - II (CORE)

! [[ 24433650_1592467009.pdf ]]

Session 5: Problem-Solution Fit (CORE)

! [[ 12916419_1578375806.pdf ]]

Session 6: Building an MVP (CORE) - 3 Item[s]

Solution Demo vs. MVP

Similarities:

  • Both capture the core essence of your actual solution
  • Both help you manage your risks related to:
    • Customers
    • Product
    • Market

Differences:

  • Solution Demo helps you identify your early adopters, whereas MVP helps you get the early adopters on board as your paying customers.
  • Solution Demo helps you identify the minimum features required to build the MVP whereas MVP lets you know if you have a compelling solution that your customers are willing to pay for.
  • Solution Demo focusses on figuring out the right price whereas MVP helps you validate the price with your customers.
  • Solution Demo helps customers visualise the solution to see if you have achieved Problem-Solution Fit. MVP helps you rework your MVP until you have a growing customer base, i.e. Product-Market Fit.

Solution Demo vs. Prototype

You build Prototype as a Solution Demo when:

  • You have a complex technical product Testing bikes for years before production.
  • Feedback on the usage of the physical product is important Protyping multiple shampoo to see what works best for customer.

! [[ 12916428_1578375851.pdf ]] ! [[ 24432401_1592465809.pdf ]]

Session 7: Product-Market Fit (CORE)

! [[ 12916436_1579501099.pdf ]]