Transforming the Backcountry Culinary Experience

Collin Wallace . Haley RobisonKaterina Opocenska . Saul Carlin

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PYKAPACK

96 interviews total

Team member Background Previous experience

Outdoor experience

Haley Robison BBA Finance Management consulting, Outdoor education

NOLS

Saul Carlin BA Government Digital media product & biz dev

Weekend warrior

Collin Wallace BS Engineering Founded mobile payments & ordering platform

Kilimanjaro

Katerina Opocenska

MSc Computer Science Management consulting

Casual hiker

Team PykaPack: 4 MBA Students

We love the outdoors and we wanted to start a business. Like any summit quest, we knew there would be cloudy days and a tough trail ahead, but the view from the top is always worth the work…right? So off we went.

So how did the journey go?

Customers at REI love us!

Group!Idea!

Nailed presentation!

First trough

DEE!

Steve brings us down to earth

Second trough/Bungled pivot attempt

Failed MVP A/B Test

Feels good to invalidate!

We learned a ton!

Return to outdoor segment

HOW DID IT GO? THE PYKA JOURNEY IN SUMMARY

We started with a view of our desired destination: PykaPack ready to launch!

10 weeks, 3 teachers, a couple rotating mentors?, and 1 Lean Launch Pad site…

Will we have a viable business, will we reach the mountain top?

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Initial elevator pitchPykaPack provides customers a

fulfilling outdoor cooking experience without the stress of

backcountry meal preparation by providing online meal planning and ordering for customized trip-ready

food package

WE’RE IN THE CLASS!

TRAIL MARKER 1

“Delicious backcountry meals made simple”• Food for outdoors

Otherwise known as, the original idea….

“Delicious backcountry meals made simple”

“Delicious backcountry meals made simple”

• Sketched website wireframe• Advertised our services on Craigslist

and Meet-Up• Estimated market size based on

industry reports• Explored affiliate/network space• Talked to food suppliers

• 3 main customer segments with different needs

• Jobs to be done and main pain-points

• Customers were most excited about the online planning system

• Food was a challenge but many hikers were “okay” with existing options (freeze dried food)

What we did What we learned

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TRAIL MARKER 2

“Plan unforgettable backcountry trips with friends”• Food & gear for outdoors

Otherwise known as, maybe there is more to this than just food?

“Plan unforgettable backcountry trips with friends”

“Plan unforgettable backcountry trips with friends”

• Tried to extend our value proposition to gear and apparel

• Run Google adWords and Facebook campaigns

• Acquired first customer lead (Dee) and prepared full menu for her (tested her willingness to pay)

• You can spend $37 on advertising and get no paying customer

• How to collect customer information• How to offer a product and accept

payment• Confirmed need for gear coordination

What we did What we learned

TRAIL MARKER 3

“We help you pack what you need” • Tool for outdoor trip organizers

Otherwise known as, did we take a wrong turn? Where are we going?!?!

We Help You Pack What You Need…

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We Help You Pack What You Need…

PIVOT

“We help you pack what you need”

• Diverged business model to address any and all group coordination issues including:

• Occasion specific shareable gear, event planning, and personal inventory management

• Specific reason needed for customers to digitize inventory (e.g., move, event, etc)

• Hesitations around sharing items outside of a trusted network

• Need a specific use case to address first, build a complete business, then expand

What we did What we learned

UNIVERSAL PROBLEM

THE FINAL TRAIL MARKER • “Your group’s pack list. Simplified”

Otherwise known as, we’ve zoomed out too much…let’s focus somewhere and get it right…back to the outdoors!

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“Your group’s pack list. Simplified”

• Identified “10 Numbers That Matter”

• Built full end-to-end MVP

• Ran customer acquisition A/B test

• Multiple failure points in conversion funnel

• Negative unit economics

• Customer acquisition costs too high

What we did What we learned

DESTINATION? So, although we didn’t reach out original “mountaintop” destination, we are content with where this journey has taken us. We’ve weathered the Steve Blank storm, hardened our business acumen, and strengthened business model canvas muscles for the next time around.

The sun may be setting on E245, but our start-up dreams are not…

THE TOP 5

• EASY TO HEAR WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR• 10 LITTLE NUMBERS THAT REALLY MATTER• CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT IS THE CHEAPER

AND SMARTER WAY TO INVALIDATE A BUSINESS…

• …BUT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND AND DEVELOP THE BACKEND BUSINESS TOO

• PASSION IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT SECRET SAUCE

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APPENDIX

Week 1 -4:“Delicious backcountry meals made simple”• Food for outdoors

Week 6-8:“We help you pack what you need” • Tool for outdoor trip organizers

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Week 5:“Plan unforgettable backcountry trips with friends”• Food & gear for outdoors

We Help You Pack What You Need…

Week 9:• “Your group’s pack list. Simplified”• Final conclusions

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Team PykaPack’s Journey

Team Name PykaPack

Eliminate hassle and improve food options available for extended outdoor trips with:• Customized online

meal planning• Product delivery of pre-

rationed, non-perishable food and supplies

• Information source and community for outdoor enthusiasts – recipes, how-tos, environmental friendly travel tips, etc

Increases accessibility of authentic outdoor experience to customers with limited/no expertise

ORIGINAL CANVAS

• Online marketing• Merchant Marketing• Direct Mail• Partnerships (e.g., REI)

• Sales revenue from food, supplies, and gear• Advertising revenue• Shipping and handling

• Bulk food suppliers (e.g., Sysco) and/or fair trade suppliers

• Outdoor merchandisers (e.g., REI)

• Packaging/shipping partners TBD

• Outdoor groups (e.g., NOLS)

• Food companies (e.g., CLIF)

• Gear providers (e.g., MSR)

• Educationally-focused organizations and schools (e.g., Boy and Girls Scouts of America, Stanford Outdoor Education)

• Small to mid-size recreation outfitters (e.g., guided rafting, Adventures Cross-country)

• Individual and group hikers, bikers, skiers, etc (e.g., Appalachian Trial hikers)

• Coordinated and convenient online meal planning and food product delivery

• Algorithm optimizes for dietary needs

• Goods packaged for ease of use

• Education, community resource

• Physical (e.g., warehouse, food inventory)

• Human (e.g., labor, management)

• Relationships with outdoor oriented orgs (marketing)

• Financial• Website/tech platform

• Outdoor nutrition expert and food provider

• Merchants

• Fixed cost for systems/warehouse development (long-term)• Variable costs for food, packaging, and shipping• Economies of scale – purchase bulk goods

“Delicious backcountry meals made simple”

PykaPack 2.0 – our new canvas

• Packing list generation• Multi-item purchase

“bundling”• Large-scale user

acquisition• Activation/lead

generation for affiliates• Data collection

“Users”

• Coordinate “stuff” needs with other people and groups

• Reference a database on recommended items

• Generate collective and individual packing lists so you don’t forget anything

• One stop shop for anything you might need

• Drop shipping to final destination

“Customers”

• Know what consumers own

• Know what consumers share

• Know what consumers take on trips

“Users”

• Direct: Website• Indirect: Embedded tool

on travel, moving sites

“Customers”

• Direct: Website• Direct sales?

Revenue from “Users”

• Wholesale margin on goods OR affiliate commissions• Advertising revenue

Revenue from “Customers”• Database subscription revenue

• Wholesale drop-shippers (Doba.com, WorldWideBrands)

• Affiliate networks (Avantlink, Commission Junction)

• Retail partners

“Users”

• Vacationers• Campers• Movers• Business Travelers• Emergency Preppers

“Customers”

• Marketers• Retailers• Merchandisers

• Financial• IT/website/tech platform• Community

• GET: Online marketing keywords related to trip/emergency planning & coordination

• KEEP: Provide ability to sync online purchases to digital asset list

• GROW: Earn points/rewards for getting friends to list stuff

• User acquisition costs• Drop-shipper/affiliate fees• IT/website/tech development• Direct sales force?

“Your Group’s Pack List. Simplified.”

Coordination pain point = universal problem for individuals and groups

Joe has a “pending

event”; he is going skiing

and isn’t sure exactly what

he needs

Joe gets/customizes

a list

Joe enters and/or checks

inventory

Joe has list of items he needs

Joe sees what his friends

have

Joe knows what he needs

to buy

“Hey Matt, can I borrow your skis?”

What does Joe need?

What does Joe have?

What can Joe borrow?

What does Joe buy?

OUR NEWVALUE PROPOSITION

Provide Joe with a customizable list

Help Joe manage his inventory; think: “Mint.com for your stuff”

Help Joe compare inventory with friends to coordinate and share gear/stuff

Provide purchase or rent option; drop ship Joe what he is missing

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