Building a Minimum Viable Product Brian Park, RN Description Develop the skills to generate a minimum viable product (MVP) for any idea. Objectives 1.Create an MVP for your business idea 2.Develop an action plan to build your MVP 3.Leave this class with the skills to create an MVP for anything What is an MVP? A basic version of your product that has enough value to generate paying customers. Its purpose is to provide feedback in order to guide development. Think of it as an experiment. Suzies Lemonade Stand Why create an MVP? 1. Evidence Based Practice 2. Cheaper 3. Faster Step 1: Choose an Idea Assumptions about 1. A problem 2. Who has this problem 3. A desirable solution Problem : People want lemonade, but cant get it in the neighborhood. Who ?: Thirsty neighbors that like lemonade. Solution : A lemonade stand in the neighborhood. Describe Your Idea ONE SENTENCE! What is it? What problem is it solving? Who is it for? Example : Suzies provides lemonade to thirsty lemonade-lovers at a convenient location. Step 2: Identify Problems Why wont your idea work? At least 2 reasons How to find problems: Customer feedback Personal excuses Ask: Why cant I do this right now? Step 2: Identify Problems Example Problem #1 Mom doesnt want me talking to strangers. Example Problem #2 I dont have any money. Common Problems When Starting 1. I dont have the money 2. I dont have the time 3. I dont know how to 4. Im not good at 5. Competitors Step 3: Create Solutions 1. Prioritize your problems by importance 2. Create 3-5 solutions you can implement now 3. Focus on the cause of the problem(s) Step 3: Create Solutions Example Solution #1 Get Mom and neighbors to watch her while she sells lemonade. Example Solution #2 Ask Mom to use items in the house to make the stand. Example Solution #3 Ask Mom to use instant lemonade mix. Resources Freelancers Odesk.com Peopleperhour.com Fiverr.com E-commerce Platforms Shopify.com Squarespace.com Woocommerce.com Mailchimp.com Graphics Canva.com Recite.com Easel.ly Customer Surveys SurveyMonkey.com Wufoo.com Typeform.com Copy/Edit Grammarly.com Hemingwayapp.com Pitcherific.com Liber.io Stock Photography Everystockphoto.com Picjumbo.com Pexels.com Legal Legalzoom.com Nolo.com Success Metric A measureable metric that allows you to gauge your success and growth. How and when do I know my assumptions are valid? Requirements: MEASUREABLE Time Frame Success Metric Example Suzies will sell 30 cups of lemonade on opening day. Step 4: Action Plan! 5 Steps you can take right now How do I achieve your success metric? Whats a good experiment I can run to validate my initial assumptions? How will I find and reach my first customers? Suzies Action Plan 1. Ask Mom, Dad, Babysitter, & neighbors if theyll watch her sell lemonade 2. Get permission to use lemonade mix from the pantry 3. Build lemonade stand from a box in a garage 4. Sell lemonade in front of the house 5. Advertise: tell all the neighbors & smile a lot Success? Did you meet your success metric? YES : Great! What did you learn? Use that to decide your next steps to grow. Repeat this process to optimize those steps. NO: No problem! What did you learn? Use that to throw away the idea or pivot the idea. Repeat this process for your new direction or next business idea. Pivot To change the direction of your idea to test a new assumption about your product, audience, and/or strategy. Wrong audience? Wrong marketing strategy? Too many product features? Too few product features? Build Measure Learn Repeat Suzies Success Suzies sold 34 cups of lemonade on opening day. What she learned: Customer poll: No one likes lemonade 75% of customers were neighbors she told about the lemonade stand More customers bought lemonade when she smiled really big Pivot? Questions? SlideShare: Lean Methodology How to Build a Startup: The Lean LaunchPad by Steve Blank https://www.udacity.com/course/ep245