4 ms·

You need to find the fastest and cheapest way to de-risk your startup idea. That can be MVP or it can be something else. For example if you're a FinTech lendin

You need to find the fastest and cheapest way to de-risk your startup idea. That can be MVP or it can be something else. For example if you're a FinTech lending startup, then you better prove that your loan algos/model are profitable, rather than building UI wireframes and mockups. You can do this by backtesting your models or building a simulation. "The Lean Startup" book by Eric Ries is already 10-11 y/o, so it's not up-to-date and with lots of gaps. Also, ignore most of the data-driven methods, as they require lots of data which will not be available for pre-launch product. Instead you need to build a theory about your potential users' needs, and focus on shipping something first. I suggest to get familiarized with the following methodologies: - JTBD (Jobs To Be Done) - 5 Whys - GIST (Goals->Ideas->Steps->Tasks) method (partialy data-driven) - Google Ventures Research Sprint - Google Ventures Design Sprint If you still decide to ship an MVP - focus on a single most important feature. Use nocode/lowcode tools if possible. Or use some addon/plugin/widget for an existing platform: i.e. a chatbot, Slack/Teams app, twitter bot, Chrome extension, etc.

MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago
> You need to find the fastest and cheapest way to de-risk your startup idea. Agreed - but, if I were to break out startup risks into the following, which one is the highest? - Market - Product - Channel - Business model/unit economics > "The Lean Startup" book by Eric Ries is already 10-11 y/o, so it's not up-to-date and with lots of gaps. Can you mention just a few of the gaps? > Instead you need to build a theory about your potential user's needs, and focus on shipping something first What's the most effective way to discover: - who these potential users are? - what their needs are?
- nivertech 5y ago
  1. Market, then Business model/unit economics. The latter is less problem for VC-funded startups - they assume it can be optimized/fixed later. 2. In many places it's just hand-wavy. Many case studies, but no formal methodology how to do Build->Measure->Learn feedback loop. 3. The needs and desires at a particular time/situations. Personas don't work. For example the same person may want a luxury meal in one situation and a hotdog in another. See JTBD.
  - MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago
    > Market, then Business model/unit economics Agreed and I recently mentioned it elsewhere: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30318531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30318531 > For example the same person may want a luxury meal in one situation and a hotdog in another Sure - but would it be wrong to say the same person may have different Personas depending on the context? > In many places it's just hand-wavy Do you feel there can/should be a better way to discover customers?
    - nivertech 5y ago
      > Sure - but would it be wrong to say the same person may have different Personas depending on the context? Persona is Persona, Job is a Job (as in JTBD). Products are answering Jobs, and the same Persona/Consumer may have multiple Jobs, depending on the context. Consumer->Job->Product Naive solution is: Consumer->Product but the JTBD method makes implicit—explicit and makes invisible—visible.
      - MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago
        Fair. I just define Persona as "a specific way/why the consumer wants to use the Product" So that strongly aligns with your Consumer->Job->Product Here, you mention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30319105 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30319105 > "The Lean Startup" book by Eric Ries is already 10-11 y/o, so it's not up-to-date and with lots of gaps. Can you mention just a few of the gaps? Interested to hear your thoughts.

MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago

> You need to find the fastest and cheapest way to de-risk your startup idea. Agreed - but, if I were to break out startup risks into the following, which one is the highest? - Market - Product - Channel - Business model/unit economics > "The Lean Startup" book by Eric Ries is already 10-11 y/o, so it's not up-to-date and with lots of gaps. Can you mention just a few of the gaps? > Instead you need to build a theory about your potential user's needs, and focus on shipping something first What's the most effective way to discover: - who these potential users are? - what their needs are?

nivertech 5y ago
1. Market, then Business model/unit economics. The latter is less problem for VC-funded startups - they assume it can be optimized/fixed later. 2. In many places it's just hand-wavy. Many case studies, but no formal methodology how to do Build->Measure->Learn feedback loop. 3. The needs and desires at a particular time/situations. Personas don't work. For example the same person may want a luxury meal in one situation and a hotdog in another. See JTBD.
- MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago
  > Market, then Business model/unit economics Agreed and I recently mentioned it elsewhere: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30318531 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30318531 > For example the same person may want a luxury meal in one situation and a hotdog in another Sure - but would it be wrong to say the same person may have different Personas depending on the context? > In many places it's just hand-wavy Do you feel there can/should be a better way to discover customers?
  - nivertech 5y ago
    > Sure - but would it be wrong to say the same person may have different Personas depending on the context? Persona is Persona, Job is a Job (as in JTBD). Products are answering Jobs, and the same Persona/Consumer may have multiple Jobs, depending on the context. Consumer->Job->Product Naive solution is: Consumer->Product but the JTBD method makes implicit—explicit and makes invisible—visible.
    - MaknMoreGtnLess 5y ago
      Fair. I just define Persona as "a specific way/why the consumer wants to use the Product" So that strongly aligns with your Consumer->Job->Product Here, you mention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30319105 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30319105 > "The Lean Startup" book by Eric Ries is already 10-11 y/o, so it's not up-to-date and with lots of gaps. Can you mention just a few of the gaps? Interested to hear your thoughts.