allocate stanford 2016
TRANSCRIPT
# interviews this week:
0
Juhana Kangaspunta Ron Tidhar Erik Zahnlecker David Flatow
# total interviews:
0
Machine Learning / Software Engineering Product / Strategy VC / Growth Equity AI / Data Science
Tracking billing hours automaticallyTracking billable hours is a frustrating, laborious, and inefficient process for the
employee.
Using AI to track billable hours automatically
Providing managers with accurate, real-time insights for growing the bottom line.
# interviews this week:
10
Juhana Kangaspunta Ron Tidhar Erik Zahnlecker David Flatow
# total interviews:100
Machine Learning / Software Engineering Product / Strategy VC / Growth Equity AI / Data Science
Team
Juhana Kangaspunta Ron Tidhar Erik Zahnlecker David FlatowMachine Learning /
Software Engineering Product / Strategy VC / Growth Equity AI / Data Science
Nick O'Connor Tom BedecarreFounder of
Launchpad AccelerateFresh Stanford student
(also co-founder of AKQA)
Mentors
Allocate
Day OneInitial idea:
Tracking billing hours automaticallyTracking billable hours is a frustrating, laborious, and inefficient process for the employee.
Market size
Week 1 Business Model Canvas
Key Original Hypotheses
Value Proposition Saving time by filling out time sheet is the biggest value proposition
Customer Relationships We can GET enterprise customers via a ‘trojan horse’ strategy…
Customer Segments
Any professionals who bill clients by the hour (consultants, lawyers, PR agents, project managers, and accountants) all experience this frustration
So Here’s What We Did…• MVP (below), and tested hypotheses
Send daily reportVerified by customer
Collect Customer Data
(for a single day)
Process manually
In the building
Out of the building
10 Interviews
Learning 1 - Customer Segment Focus• Cluttered thinking - trying to boil the ocean
LawyersAccountants
PRConsultants
Freelancers
Interior Des.
Advertising
• Narrowed our focus - PR and Advertising professionals
35 Interviews
• Why? PR/Ad are underserved, creative, multi-taskers, who are younger, and more willing to adopt new technology
PRAdvertising
Further Ad. Validation - Market Size
Source: LinkedIn, Ibis
Employee Count
US PR Firms
Total: 4,901
2015 Revenue: $13.8B
US Advertising/Marketi
ng Firms
Total: 46,098
2015 Revenue: $50.0B
Learning 1 - Business Model Canvas
Learning 1 - Business Model Canvas
Learning 2 - Customer Archetype
Position Junior / Mid Level Professional CEO / Management IT / CIO / CFO
Age 22 - 30 30+ 30+
Value Propositio
n
Time-saving, increase productivity, avoid
manager emails asking for timesheets, less time
on non-vital tasks
Increase revenue, real-time decisions,
accuracy, efficient resource allocation,
forecasting
Avoid shadow IT, adopt tech built with
enterprise in mind, security
Channel Organic, SEM, word of mouth Direct Sales Direct Sales
0 Interviews
Jennie
Learning 2 - Customer Archetype
Position Junior / Mid Level Professional CEO / Management IT / CIO / CFO
Age 22 - 30 30+ 30+
Value Propositio
n
Time-saving, increase productivity, avoid
manager emails asking for timesheets, less time
on non-vital tasks
Increase revenue, real-time decisions,
accuracy, efficient resource allocation,
forecasting
Avoid shadow IT, adopt tech built with
enterprise in mind, security
Channel Organic, SEM, word of mouth Direct Sales Direct Sales
50 Interviews
Jennie Anna Jennie’s Boss
Learning 2 - Customer Archetype
Position Junior / Mid Level Professional CEO / Management IT / CIO / CFO
Age 22 - 30 30+ 30+
Value Propositio
n
Time-saving, increase productivity, avoid
manager emails asking for timesheets, less time
on non-vital tasks
Increase revenue, real-time decisions,
accuracy, efficient resource allocation,
forecasting
Avoid shadow IT, adopt tech built with
enterprise in mind, security
Channel Organic, SEM, word of mouth Direct Sales Direct Sales
Jennie Anna Jennie’s Boss
GazaThe Gatekeeper
75 Interviews
What Didn't Work
Hypothesis
Outcome A nice to have for employees
Tracking hours is tedious
and time consuming
Value Proposition
$2 CPC with little conversions
Market to users with AdWords and SEO
Customer Relationships
• Do employees really care about timesheets? Or are they top-down mandated tasks?
• Do people even know an automatic, AI-based solution exists?
Why?
Learning 3 - Employee to Manager Pivot
HypothesisManagers at PR/Ad Agencies want Allocate to help them understand their business
Experiments 1. Email/LinkedIn campaigns2. A/B Prototype demos3. Pilot proposals
ChangePivot to sell to managers rather than employees. Surprisingly managers are the evangelist
1. Roughly 20% response rate2. Very positive responses to dashboard3. Eagerness to pilot
Results
80 Interviews
Learning 3 - Business Model Canvas
Learning 3 - Business Model Canvas
Learning 3 - Strategy Implications
Channel Need enterprise sales team for direct sales
Customer Relationships Email campaigns and demos allow us to GET managers at large agencies
Value PropositionManagers need accurate and real-time reports about their organizations allow managers to make informed business decisions
Value Proposition Canvas - Junior Employee
• High output - reading, creation, coordination
• Multitaskers - many clients
• Tech-savvy - computer, smartphone
• Communicators - in person, emails
• Want to appear organised, efficient, valuable
• Working on time-consuming, mundane activities
• Manual, unchallenging, non-vital• Things that interrupt workflow
and ability to multitask, deliver high volume output, etc.
• Using AI to automatically track a person’s billable hours
• Pre-filling of timesheets
Time Saving
Savings:• Time• Effort• Frustration• Reliability• Accuracy• Manager scepticism
Time Saver
Value Proposition Canvas - Junior Employee
• High output - reading, creation, coordination
• Multitaskers - many clients
• Tech-savvy - computer, smartphone
• Communicators - in person, emails
• Want to appear organised, efficient, valuable
• Working on time-consuming, mundane activities
• Manual, unchallenging, non-vital• Things that interrupt workflow
and ability to multitask, deliver high volume output, etc.
• Using AI to automatically track a person’s billable hours
• Pre-filling of timesheets
Time Saving
Savings:• Time• Effort• Frustration• Reliability• Accuracy• Manager scepticism
Time SaverDoing good work, and satisfying their clients & managers
Value Proposition Canvas - Manager
• Tech-savvy - computer, smartphone
• Communicators - in person, emails
• Need to be organised
• Staffing• Project
Management, Budgets (burn rates), teams
• Projections and forecasts
• Lack of knowledge or insight into employee’s work and activities
• Chasing up employees to fill out timesheets
• Uncertainty with regards to employee utilisation
• Budgetary constraints• Poor forecasts• Slow budgeting/staffing reaction times
(month-by-month planning)
• KPI metrics dashboard based on real-time, accurate data
• Customisable, searchable dashboards
• Simple, beautiful UI/UX
• Staffing, budgeting, and forecasting dashboards
• Information• Accuracy• Budgeting,
Staffing, Projecting
• Revenue, Efficiency
• Bottom Line
Savings:• Time• Effort• Frustration (chasing
employees)• Reliability• Accuracy• Money
Doing good work, and satisfying clients
Payment Flows
Employee
Junior Account Exec
PR FirmCFO/COO
ClientMarketing /
Account Managers
Weekly Reports
$ 50K / year
Daily Timesheet
$ Retainer /Hourly
Contract
$ Salary
Resource Mgmt
Market Map - Timekeeping
Billing
Enterprise TT
Offerings
Tim
e Tr
acki
ng
Market Leaders
Lawyers
Market Map - Resource Management
Where We Ended Up
Employee MVP Manager MVP
Using AI to track billable hours automaticallyProviding managers with accurate, real-time insights for growing the bottom line
Investment Readiness
IdeaWe use AI to automatically populate time sheets and to provide accurate, real-time insights to managers
Prototype Prototypes for different customer segments and archetypes.
ProductMVP has given validation that
technology is feasible. Manager prototypes have allowed us to refine key features.
Proven Product Market Fit
Get 10+ paying, referenceable customers
Have list of companies which are eager to start early access.
Customer Trials
Meta-Learnings
•Interviews - “We have two ears, and one mouth - use them in the right proportions”
•Teamwork - find some faces you’re willing to look at after 1am
•Sales - know your customer segments so well that you can “wow” them by speaking their language
•Sales pt. 2 - always bring baked goods to meetings
What’s Next?
•Seed funding?
•Y-Combinator application for Summer 2016 batch
•Build high fidelity MVP with 80%+ automation
•Pilot program
By the Numbers
Notes Taken (words) 39,080 (Animal Farm has 29,000)
Slack Messages 3,800
Emails Written 1,292
Lines of code 1,125
Slides 199
Interviews 100
Launchpad (hours) 76
Prototypes 6
Special Thanks•Teaching Staff
• For encouragement, and being relentlessly direct•Jennie Chow & Monica Cho
•Dozens of PR agents interviews, and brave early guinea pigs•Mark Zahnlecker
•Directing, filming, and editing Lessons Learned•Our Mentors. Especially Tom Bedcarre, our adopted mentor
•9 mentor meetings•Came to almost all of our 3-hour long classes•14 Intros to senior management at the best Ad/PR firms in SF•Including management at AKQA: CFO, CIO, Head of IT, Finance Director…
•Our Interviewees, friends, families, and many more