THE HAPPY STARTUP SCHOOL
Stop dreaming, start doing
• the importance of a clear vision & purpose • create & iterate your business model • how to define your early adopters • why you need to ‘get out of the building’! • ways to test out your ideas quickly • what an mvp is and how to define it
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
9/10 STARTUPS FAIL!
THE OLD TOOLS AREN’T FIT FOR
THE JOB
STARTUPS ARE NOT BIG
BUSINESSES
FOUNDERS THINK THEY
KNOW IT ALL BIG BANG RELEASE = HIGH RISK
A FEAR OF FAILURE STOPS
PROGRESS
MASTER NEW TECHNIQUES
& TOOLS
EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY& SPOT OPPS
ENGAGE CUSTOMERS
THROUGHOUT LEARN HOW TO
TEST IDEAS QUICKLY
DEVELOP A FAIL & LEARN
MINDSET
“every big problem is a big opportunity”
“HAPPINESS IS A BUSINESS
MODEL”
“ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NEITHER A SCIENCE NOR ART. IT IS A PRACTICE.” peter drucker
"The di!erence between someone loving and hating rollercoasters is their relationship with the experience."
vision & purpose
“your passion is ignited by your purpose, & your vision enables you to apply that
spark to change the world.”
“to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
“to be the pulse of the planet”
“to be the earth’s most customer- centric company”
our company purpose: “optimising for happiness”
your purpose: why you’re doing what you’re doing
(beyond profits)
WHAT’S YOUR HIGHER PURPOSE?
10 MINS
3 STAGES OF A STARTUP
Problem/ solution fit
1
Problem/ solution fit
Product/market fit
1 2
Problem/ solution fit
Product/market fit Scale
1 2 3
Problem/ solution fit
Product/market fit Scale
Focus: Validated learning Experiments: Pivots
1 2 3
Problem/ solution fit
Product/market fit Scale
Focus: Validated learning Experiments: Pivots
Focus: Growth Experiments: Optimisations
1 2 3
5 MINS
“LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO BUILD SOMETHING NOBODY WANTS”
Traditional product development
Lean/agile development
Lean startup loop
PAINKILLER VITAMIN
visualise your business model
“YOUR PRODUCT IS NOT THE PRODUCT”
“COMPANIES EXECUTE BUSINESS PLANS. STARTUPS SEEK A BUSINESS MODEL.” STEVE BLANK
COMPLETE THE ‘MEAN’ CANVAS
15 MINS
WHAT’S YOUR RISKIEST ASSUMPTION
10 MINS
“CUSTOMERS DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR SOLUTION. THEY CARE ABOUT THEIR PROBLEMS.” DAVE McCLURE, 500 STARTUPS
VISUALISING YOUR AUDIENCE
user personas archetypes of real people
WHO WILL BE YOUR RAVING FANS?
DESIGN FOR EMOTION
WHO’S GONNA LOVE YA?
I AM NOT A ROBOT
(n) ROBOT A PERSON WHO WORKS MECHANICALLY WITHOUT ORIGINAL THOUGHT, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO RESPONSES AUTOMATICALLY TO THE COMMANDS OF OTHERS
create a persona
10 MINS
user stories what can customer x do
with your product?
CREATE 6 USER STORIES
10 MINS
CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
time to get out of the building!
“bad news gets worse the longer you leave it” Rob Fitzpatrick, Dex.io
LISTEN, DON’T TALK. PROBLEMS, NOT
SOLUTIONS.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
TIME TO START EXPERIMENTING
FAKE IT BEFORE YOUMAKE IT
1.CREATE A LANDING PAGE
2.KEYNOTOPIA PROTOTYPE
3.ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION
4.CREATE A FAKE T-SHIRT
5.MOBILE PROTOTYPE
6.OBSERVE PEOPLE
7.CREATE A FAKE BUTTON
8.MINIMUM VIABLE RESTAURANT
9.THE PAPER MVP
10.DO IT YOURSELF
11.WRITE A CLASSIFIED AD
12.THE EMAIL CONCIERGE
13. DIRECT MARKETING
14.COFFEE SHOP TEST
15. HACKING w/CUSTOMERS
16.GET BACK TO BASICS
17.GOOGLE DOCS MVP
18.START BLOGGING
19.TEST EXISTING PRODUCTS
20.HAVE A GREAT STORY
21.CREATE A SLIDESHARE
EXECISE: THINK OF 5 EXPERIMENTS TO TEST YOUR IDEA
THE MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
VALUE > PAIN
wrapping up
• define your vision & purpose • define what success feels like • create your happy startup canvas • fake it, before you make it • start with the core features (mlp) • have fun, and finally…
..make something people love & spend less than
you make
we challenge you to make a pledge
@happystartups www.thehappystartupschool.com
thanks!