Customer Development in the Trenches
Giff ConstableCo-Founder & CEO, Aprizi
July 23, 2010
Who am I?
Startups• Trilogy• Envive• Ithority*, acq by Opus360• Electric Sheep Company• Aprizi*
*co-founder
I blog here giffconstable.com
The Context
The first rule of lean startup
There are no rules
Idea Validation• Is it stupid?• Surveys, discussions• Market and competitive research
Customer Development• Cast a wide net• Paper mockups• 1 on 1 meetings
Our Alpha(do they give a damn)
(say vs do)
Open Beta(high velocity learning)
(in-person and phone best)(don’t make snap decisions)
(don’t optimize for the wrong things)
The first rule of lean startup
But here is some advice*
*worth the paper it is printed on, maybe
Doing a Customer Interview
1. Work to their schedule2. Get psyched to hear things you don’t want to hear3. Disarm “politeness” training4. Start with behavior, not feedback5. Ask open ended questions6. Listen, don’t talk7. Encourage but don’t influence8. Follow your nose and drill down9. Parrot back to confirm10. Thank them11. Ask for introductions12. Write up your notes as quickly as possible
Learning Comes in Waves
Strip Out Everything But the Core Value
Proposition
vs
Pre-PM Fit, It’s All About People
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