Overview of some Lean Startup and Customer Development Hacks by Patrick Vlaskovits

1. Hacking #CustDev
DC Lean Startup Circle
Feb 21, 2012
Patrick Vlaskovits
@pv
hello@custdev.com
vlaskovits.com

2. About Patrick - @pv

3. Lean Startup Big Idea #1
The vast majority of startups fail NOT because
they couldn’t build a great product/technology,
but because no one wanted the product.
One of Steve Blank’s Big Ideas 

4. How many cycles through the B-M-L
loop, not time.  Eric Ries’ Big Idea
Lean Startup
Big Idea #2

5. Lean Startup Big Idea #3
“Not only are the market applications for
disruptive technologies unknown at the time of
their development, they are unknowable.”
-Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma

6. Developing Customers & Your Product

7. Customer Development

8. How to do it:
Lean Startup Meta-Rules & Framework
1) Question and Test Your
Assumptions
1a) Record them too!
2) “Get Out of the Building”
3) Do it again based on what you
learned. (Iterate)
BUZZWORD ALERT!

9. Minimum Viable Product

10. The Classic Smoke Test/MVP from 1975

11. Sophisticated Variants of the ‘Smoke Test’
Traffic  MVT/Landing Page  Conversion

12. Learning about customers is a lot like fishing…
Source/Referral/Channel
Messaging/Positioning
Pricing/CAC
Conversion Rate

13. Screenshots + LOI

14. “Ghetto Testing”

15. Off-Brand Apps & Sites

16. Browser Extension + Facebook

17. [Your competition] SUCKS!
Place online ads that say “[*insert your
competition here] sucks” that drive users of
a competitive product to a landing page for
lead generation for CustDev interviews.
PRO-TIP: Do UX review on their products.
Source: In Witness Protection Program

18. The Magic Wand
Ask the subject of your CustDev interview, “If
you could wave a magic wand, what would
you be able to do?”
Source: Cindy Alvarez
http://www.slideshare.net/cindyalvarez/kissinsi
ghts-customer-development-tactics

19. The Magic Word
Ask the subject of your CustDev interview for
“advice” and don’t sell.

20. Price testing without charging

21. Confuse to Clarify
Willfully mis-characterize a interviewee’s
opinion to elicit further response in order to
keep them talking and ensure you
understand their position.
Source: Sachin Agarwal

22. “Phone Support”
Upon sign-up for your application, ask if the
user wants free phone support. If they
affirm, prompt them for phone number and
name.
Source: Dan Martell

23. Best Practices: Concierge/“Manual”-ation

24. Kickstarter

25. Now, what you got for me?
Original Post on CustDev Hacks here:
http://vlskvts.co/hhqEB7

26. Outside of Tech Startups
Why do you think it takes 6-8 weeks to get your !@$&&^$@! snuggie?

27. Restaurants?

28. At the end of this preso…
If you take nothing
away from this preso –
take at least this away
Let’s try to avoid building things nobody actually
wants.

29. PDF
http://CustDev.com
Available on Amazon
as Paperback & Kindle
Reach out & say
hello@CustDev.com
@pv