Assumptions exercise for startup and innovation teams

1. Business Assumptions Exercise
http://giffconstable.com

2. I believe that my customers have a need to
________________________________________.
keep it concise!
Customer-Needs Assumption

3. This need can be solved with ________________
_________________________________________.
Solution Assumption

4. My initial customers will be _________________
________________________________________.
describe the person(s)
Initial Customer Assumption

5. The #1 value a client wants to get out of my
service is: ________________________.
The client can also get these additional benefits:
___________________ and __________________.
Value Proposition Assumptions

6. I will acquire the majority of my users/customers
through _______________________ and
________________________.
Marketing Assumptions

7. I will make money by _______________________
_________________________________________.
Business Model Assumption

8. My primary competition will be ______________
and ______________.
We will beat them in the market due to
__________________ and __________________.
Competition Assumptions

9. My biggest product risk is ___________________.
We will solve this through ____________________
______________________________.
Product Risk Assumptions

10. What assumptions does my business hold, that if
proven wrong, could cause the business to fail?
1._______________________________________.
2._______________________________________.
3._______________________________________.
4._______________________________________.
5._______________________________________.
Critical Risk Assumptions

11. Appendix

12. Prioritize your assumptions
High Risk
Known Unknown
Low Risk

13. Running Experiments
1. have a hypothesis to test
2. brainstorm a few different tests, offline and
offline
3. try to break the tests into even smaller units
of work
4. choose a test and set a goal
5. run the test (try to hit the goal)
6. review results and make a decision (a. confirmed
belief; b. iterate test; c. iterate business)