1.
AOL UnU
October 23, 2012
INTRO TO LEAN

2.
Danny Boice
Co-Founder & CTO, Speek /
Resident, AOL Fishbowl Labs
Twitter: @DannyBoice
Danny@speek.com
Adam Berk
Director, Lean Startup Machine
Twitter: @AdamBerk
Adam@LeanStartupMachine.com

3.
Product/Market Fit
? Customer Development
Bootstrapping ? Iterate
? UX Design
Eliminate Waste
? Pivot
?
Problem/Solution Fit
Agile Development
?

4.
WHAT IS LEAN?

5.
A set of processes used Agile
to developby
entrepreneurscombining Customer
and markets, and existingproducts
Software Development, software
Development
platforms (usually FOSS).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_Startup

6.
Lean = What to build
Agile = How to build

7.
What is a “pivot”?

8.
A structured test athe product. new
course correction
designed toabout fundamental
hypothesis
Build -> Measure -> Learn -> Pivot or
Repeat

9.
What is a “Minimum
Viable Product
(MVP)”?

10.
An MVP is the smallest thing you can
build in order to start measuring and
learning.
“If you aren'tlate”
shipped too ashamed of your product, you
- Reid Hoffman

11.
WHY SHOULD
I CARE?

12.
Something is
fundamentally wrong

13.
Why do products
fail?

14.
Big Idea #1
The vast majority of products fail
NOT because it couldn’t be built...
but because nobody wanted the product.

15.
Steve Blank

16.
“No business plan survives
first contact with customers.”
- Steve Blank

17.
Why do products succeed?

18.
Big Idea #2
“The vast majority of
[successful] startups
abandoned their initial plans
and learned what would and
would not work in the market.”
-Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma

19.
PIVOT!!!

20.
FAILURE
The Secret to Success

21.
OMG!!!

22.
Curious...

23.
LEAN = PROCESS

24.
NOT
Black & White

25.
LEAN’s Mission:
Entrepreneurship & Product
is a Management Science
that can be Learned

26.
YOUR Mission:
Don’t Waste Time Building Something
Before Learning
Whether People Actually Want it

27.
Get Out of the Building
TALK TO PEOPLE

28.
Customer
Development

29.
Who Are
They?

30.
Customer Hypothesis
&
Problem Hypothesis

31.
GOOBing is HARD

32.
What’s the point?
• Uncovers how users think and behave
• Validates assumptions/removes bias
• Shows difference between intent and reality
• Provides direction and data instead of
opinion or speculation
• Provides the ability to inform design

33.
It is NOT
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Your Head
• Friends & Family

34.
Go in with 2 to 3 objectives
and have a real conversation. Brant Cooper
Know your goals and questions. Giff Constable
Use a script. Ash Maurya
Use a script. Ash Maurya

35.
3-POINT INTERVIEW
1. Has [insert specific problem] been a
problem for you? (context)
2. Tell me about the last time you dealt
with this problem? (story)
3. What’s your ideal solution for this?
(solution)

36.
No Selling Allowed

37.
Talking to Customers
What is the Problem?
What is the Problem?
• Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• Avoid Would & Future Tense
• The more you ask someone to imagine
something, the less you can trust their data
• People SAY and DO completely different things.

38.
Find Early Adopters
“FOAMING AT THE
MOUTH”
1. Have the problem
2. Know they have the problem
3. Searched for a solution
4. Hacked their own solution
5. Have budget for a solution

39.
LEAN is Complex
Be Skeptical of Simple Solutions
Be Skeptical of Simple Solutions

40.
3-POINT INTERVIEW
1. Has [insert specific problem] been a
problem for you? (context)
2. Tell me about the last time you dealt
with this problem? (story)
3. What’s your ideal solution for this?
(solution)

41.
PROCESS

42.
Use the
Validation
Board

43.
Use the Manual

44.
Use One Another

45.
OBJECTIVE:
Learn

46.
MVP Method
3 Stages...
1.Problem Exploration: Exists? Who?
2.Product Pitch: Collect currency
3.Concierge: Deliver customer experience
Stages increase in opportunity cost

47.
Minimum Success Criterion
Make a Prediction:
If we [do this], [numeric] of target customers
will [behavior]

48.
Validation Board
• It’s a valuable communication tool
• 5-7 words in black sharpie
• WRITE IN ALL CAPS
• Mentors will enforce strongly
Following guidelines = better experience

49.
Validation Board
Demo
http://bit.ly/lsm-canvasvideo

50.
Read the fine print
on the Canvas

51.
Get Out of the Building
TALK TO PEOPLE

52.
Intensive 3-Day Workshops
200 Workshops Globally in 2013