Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Some products have relatively obvious monetization mechanisms, and the real risks are in customer adoption. Products can find sources of validation with impressive stats along a number of dimensions, such as high engagement, viral coefficient, or long-term retention. Labels: agile , customer development 15comments: Scott Shapiro said.

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Occam's Razor

APRIL 8, 2013

This thought was in my mind as I was reading Lean Analytics a new book by my friend Alistair Croll and his collaborator Benjamin Yoskovitz. In this post, we’ll look at each of the four steps in the Lean Analytics Cycle in more detail. If it's the number of invites sent, it's virality. But it is not routine.

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Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

Lean Startups/Back to Basics (2000-2010): No IPO’s, limited VC cash, lack of confidence and funding fuels “lean startup” era with limited M&A and even less IPO activity. 2001 – 2010: Back to Basics: The Lean Startup. The New Bubble : (2011 – 2014): Here we go again…. (If Rules For the New Bubble: 2011 -2014.

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VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The Four Steps to the Epiphany (highly recommended book by Steve Blank) preaches for customer development before product development, advocating a quick launch with a minimal feature set rather than a full fledged product offering. Bekko went far beyond that. Would I come back to check the product for a second time?

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Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 27, 2009

At a high level, anything that drives virality should be free. To take your specific example about virality - why do we want to have more users sign up? The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Expo SF (May.

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Steve Blank

APRIL 20, 2021

Shawn immediately said the name I had given the four steps was confusing – I had called it market development – he suggested that I call it Customer Development – and the name stuck. And Jennifer is now my co-instructor in the Stanford Lean LaunchPad class.). The MVP Tree. The MVP Tree.

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Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Each of these four currencies represents a way for a customer to “pay&# for services from a company. A great product enables customers, developers, partners, and even competitors to exchange their unique currencies in combinations that lead to financial success for the company that organizes them. As soon as possible!&#

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Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 11, 2009

If you ask an expert in Facebook apps to come help build yours, youll usually hear the same advice: build your app for virality. Thats sensible advice; most people who have made a business on Facebook rely on the viral driver of growth. If you have a virally-growing app, you dont need the extra installs. Expo SF (May. .

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San Francisco Social Network Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 7, 2008

Acqusition competition is how new apps get new customers. On the web, we have many of these channels: SEM, SEO, world of mouth, PR and viral. If your app has strong word-of-mouth or viral components, your retention drives new acquisition, and its not so important to have good placement in the store. Expo SF (May. .

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Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 24, 2009

This is a common problem that results from viral-loop optimization. By copying the exact same registration flow as every other successful viral app, many viral apps completely lose their positioning. Customers cant even remember what apps theyve signed up for, and become entirely dependent on notifications to bring them back.

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Metrics San Francisco Lean Viral 88

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

On Facebook, viral distribution has proved decisive. Those companies who have learned to build apps that optimize the viral loop dominate in every category where they compete. Not many customers ever browse the app directory or search for specific apps - they dont have to, they find out about apps by being invited by a friend.

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Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Do some Customer Development instead. If the product needs to be tweaked just a little bit in order to convert users into customers, you want to figure that out before the launch. If the viral coefficient is 0.9, And if your product doesnt retain customers, whats the point of driving a bunch of them to use it?

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San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 16, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, December 16, 2008 Engagement loops: beyond viral Theres a great and growing corpus of writing about viral loops, the step-by-step optimizations you can use to encourage maximum growth of online products by having customers invite each other to join.

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Viral San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 140

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 15, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Lean Business: Capacity Management, Overhead, and Your Business – [link]. Bad Customer Development Questions and How to Avoid My Mistakes – [link].

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Social Media Small Business Design Media 105

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods. Introducing Lean Planning: How to Plan Less and Grow Faster. How to Write a Traditional Business Plan.

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Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Learning is better than optimization (the local maximum problem) Lean startups don’t optimize. Instead, we try to accelerate with respect to validated learning about customers. Or should you focus on user engagement or virality? and for which customer?

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Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 8, 2008

I was told that this project had been in development for a couple of years and was currently integrating, and had been integrating for several months. For those of you with some background in lean manufacturing, you may notice that integration risk sounds a lot like work-in-progress inventory. I think they are the same thing.

Software Review 136

Software Review San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 136

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 11, 2009

When registration is too easy, customers can get confused about what they are registering for. This is similar to the problem that viral loop companies have with the engagement loop : by making it too easy to join, they actually give away the positioning that allows for longer-term engagement.) Expo SF (May. . Expo SF (May.

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San Francisco Lean Metrics Continuous Deployment 133

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 30, 2008

Because of the experiences I had while in that job, trying to manage the process of hiring while still getting other work done, I built a web application to help people in a similar role to manage the hiring process, called Catch the Best. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 83

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Imagine you have incredibly precise metrics about every minute that every customer spends with your product, every mouse click, movement - everything. So you do a split-test, and you discover that Feature X causes people to spend 20% more time on a given part of your product, say a particular web page. Is that a success? Expo SF (May.

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Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

This is one of the bedrock practices of any lean startup , and so its a common piece of advice I give out. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. However, its particularly helpful in this situation. Expo SF (May.

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Software Review Technical Review Part-Time VPE San Francisco 94

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 6, 2008

Thats OK; like all lean transformations , you need to undertake this one in small steps. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Tell your Startup Visa story Speaking 2010: Webstock, GDC, Web 2.0,

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San Francisco SCRUM Lean Continuous Deployment 74

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

Is the company growing because of an amazing viral loop paired with a strong engagement loop? Is the company growing because of an amazing viral loop paired with a strong engagement loop? The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Expo SF (May. . Expo SF (May.

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grasshopperherder.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2011

Q: “What will be your best channel for customer acquisition?&# We’re testing a viral loop, direct sales, and affiliate marketing.&# I just need a co-founder to web enable it!" &# A: “I don’t know, I’m targeting a six month schedule.&# A: “I don’t know.

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Cofounder NDA Founder Sweat Equity 47

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

Split-testing, like almost everything in a lean startup , requires judgment. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Tell your Startup Visa story Speaking 2010: Webstock, GDC, Web 2.0, Expo SF (May. .

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