ten nuggets of advice for tech startups

Copyright © 2011 YourVersion

Dan Olsen, CEO, YourVersionDan Olsen, CEO, YourVersionEntrepreneurs RoundtableEntrepreneurs RoundtableJanuary 28, 2011January 28, 2011

Ten Nuggets of Advice for Tech Startups

http://www.yourversion.com/


My BackgroundTechnical + Business/Marketing (EE + MBA)19 years of Product Management Experience

5 years at Intuit, led Quicken Product ManagementCofounded consumer web startup in Madrid, SpainLed Product Management at FriendsterPM consultant to startups: Box.net, YouSendIt, EpocratesCEO & Cofounder of YourVersion, startup building “Pandora for your real‐time web content”

Won TechCrunch50 People’s Choice AwardsWebsite + browser tools + apps for iPad, iPhone, Android

Will post slides to slideshare.net/dan_o

1. Focus on the Customer Problem First


Russians: pencil

NASA: space pen($1 M R&D cost)

Example:Ability to write in space (zero gravity)

Problem Space vs. Solution Space

Problem SpaceA customer problem, need, or benefit that the product should address

A product requirement

Solution SpaceA specific implementation to address the need or product requirement


Iterating Your Product Vector Based on User Feedback in Solution SpaceProblem Space

(your mental model)Solution Space

(what users can react to)

Help userbook travel

Help userplan travel

Customer Feedback

Mockups / Code

2. Go After a Big Opportunity


High Importance + Low Satisfaction =Opportunity

Impo

rtance of U

ser N

eed

Impo

rtance of U

ser N

eed

User Satisfaction with Current AlternativesUser Satisfaction with Current Alternatives

CompetitiveMarketOpportunity

LowLow HighHigh

LowLow

HighHigh

Not Worth Going After

3. How Will Your Product be Better?


Kano Model: User Needs & Satisfaction

User SatisfactionUser Satisfaction

User DissatisfactionUser Dissatisfaction

Performance (more is better)

Delighter (wow)

NeedNeednot metnot met

NeedNeedfully metfully met

Must Have

Needs & features migrate over time


What is Your Value Proposition?

Which user benefits are you providing?

How are you better than competitors?

Competitor A Competitor B You

Must Have Benefit 1 Y Y Y

Performance Benefit 1 High Low Med

Performance Benefit 2 Low High Low

Performance Benefit 3 Med Med High

Delighter Benefit 1 Y ‐ ‐

Delighter Benefit 2 ‐ ‐ Y


4. Design & Ease of Use Are Critical4. Design & Ease of Use Are Critical

VisualDesign

InteractionDesign

InformationArchitecture

ConceptualDesign

Recommended reading: Jesse James Garrett’s“Elements of User Experience” chart, free at www.jjg.net

What most people seeand react to

What good product people think about


5. Prioritize and Stay FocusedLimited resources

10 high priorities = FAIL

What’s most important?

Manage scopeAvoid feature creep

Bread down big items

Strategy = deciding what you’re not going to do

Must say “no”

6. Launch so you can Learn & Iterate

7. Listen to Your Customers


“Ramen” User Feedback for Startups

Anyone can do it!

Ingredients:Solution‐space product/mockup to test

1 customer (with laptop if testing code)

1 desk

1 person to conduct the session

Pen and paper

Optional note‐taker and observers


Typical Format for Customer Session

5 ‐ 10 min: Ask questions to understand user needs and solutions they currently use30 ‐ 50 min: User feedback

Show user product/mockupNon‐directed as much as possibleWhen necessary, direct user to attempt to perform a specific task

5 ‐ 10 min: Wrap‐upAnswer any user questions that came upPoint out/explain features you want to highlightAsk them if they would use the product


Dos & Don’ts of Conducting Usability

DoExplain to the user:

Their usability test will help improve the productNot to worry about hurting your feelings“Think Aloud Protocol”

Ask user to attempt the task, then be a fly on the wallAsk non‐leading, open‐ended questionsTake notes and review them afterwards for take‐aways

Don’tAsk leading questions“Help” the user or explain the UI (e.g., “click over here”)Respond to user frustration or questions (until test is over)Get defensiveBlame the user


8. Build a Team with the Required Skills

You can’t do it all yourselfMany different skills are required for success:front‐end dev, back‐end dev, PM, UI design, QA, marketingWear multiple hats: generalists better than specialists


9. Take Advantage of Free/Cheap Resources

Never been easier to startOpen Source Software

PHP, Ruby on Rails, MySQL

ServersAmazon Web Services

Groups & EventsMeetup.com, Plancast.comSVASE

Office spaceHacker Dojo, Plug & Play, Citizen Space

Angel/seed $, incubators


10. Startups are like Roller Coasters

Exciting with scary momentsHigh highs, low lowsChallenging turns & dips

Find at least 1 cofounder: 1 + 1 = 3Get through the dips, share the highsEnjoy the ride!


Try it out at:http://www.yourversion.com

Free apps:iPad http://bit.ly/yv‐hd

iPhone http://bit.ly/yv‐appAndroid phone http://goo.gl/3aVDGAndroid tablet http://goo.gl/HSZDn


http://bit.ly/yv-hd

http://bit.ly/yv-app

http://goo.gl/3aVDG

http://goo.gl/HSZDn
