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Pragmatism with Flavor

TechEmpower

Although we spend plenty of time researching and developing with new technologies based on desire and need, we don't want our clients to be guinea pigs (unless that's the nature of their business, of course). So even if that business doesn't exist as anything but a web site, we want them to avoid unnecessary technology risks.

Guinea 200
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A New Way to Teach Entrepreneurship – The Lean LaunchPad at Stanford: Class 1

Steve Blank

Could we even could find 40 Stanford graduate students interested in being guinea pigs for this new class? As the students filed into the classroom, my entrepreneurial reality distortion field began to weaken. What if I was wrong? Would anyone even show up?

Lean 307
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Delicious Closing Leaves a Bad Taste in My Mouth

This is going to be BIG.

We’d see them all the time and get to be feature testers and product guinea pigs. Once I did start using it, I got hooked. USV funded the company and for nine months, Josh and his team worked just three floors down from us. It was great to watch it grow and develop. The caption: “ This is del.icio.us.

Guinea 134
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The Power of Expert Feedback in Improving Writing Skills

Duct Tape Marketing

And so I came on, we started the podcast nine years ago, and I was the Guinea pig. So I run all the marketing and operations and everything, and I'm kind of the main Guinea pig still. And so I would write in public and share it on the podcast, and he would give me feedback and just rip it apart live on the podcast. And now I'm the CEO.

Guinea 86
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What Is Your Inner Animal Spirit?

Feld Thoughts

Did you know that she loves rodents – rats, mice, capybara, guinea pigs, pika, and groundhogs. I remember talking about it over a meal about 22 years ago – it was shortly after we started going out. That night I learned about all of her favorite animals. ” (she just did that). She likes marmot’s also. I love bears.

Guinea 187
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Why Customer Experience Is the Key to an Amazing Business

Duct Tape Marketing

So I started urging them and now anyone who will listen to choose a customer about once a quarter and make them a customer experience guinea pig of sorts. The follow-up question then was – what stops your patients from getting a great result – and the obvious – “they hate to floss.”. Watch them visit your website.

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Lessons Learned: Validated learning about customers

Startup Lessons Learned

Start using some of those customers as guinea pigs for a self-serve version of the product. The sales strategy currently leaves many customers completely un-served (those that don’t qualify for the founders’ personal time).