The document explores the essentials of transforming an idea into a sustainable business by understanding value propositions, business models, and market feasibility. It emphasizes the importance of testing concepts in the market, engaging stakeholders, and iterating based on feedback to ensure the idea is impactful and viable. Resources and methodologies like 'lean startup' and 'business model generation' are referenced to support entrepreneurs in this process.

2. IN THIS SESSION
▪ Exploring the potential in your idea (or in you…)
▪ Understanding the Value Proposition
▪ Developing the ‘business’ model - how do you make an
idea truly impactful and sustainable?
▪ Getting it off the ground - lessons from ‘Lean Startup’

3. THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK
▪ The value of your work can take a variety of forms:
▪Developing new products and services:
▪For existing organisations
▪For new organisations
▪Creating new processes, markets, or organisational innovations for
existing organisations
▪Showcasing a methodology that has value for new or existing
organisations
▪Showcasing the knowhow and skill-set of the researcher involved
▪Developing a network of contacts and spotting opportunities
▪The question is really - how best to exploit what you have that has
value? What unfair advantage have you developed?

4. “The best plan (for would-be
entrepreneurs) is always to choose a
business idea in an area where they
have a genuine passion, rather than
something they suspect could make
money, but where they have no personal
expertise or track record.”
Mike Southon – The Beermat Entrepreneur

5. IS THE IDEA FEASIBLE AND VIABLE? (PART 1)
● ‘On paper’ – Problem-Solution Fit, the idea appears to
solve a problem but it's unproven in the market.
● ‘In the market’ – Product-Market Fit, you start an
iterative process of testing and validating assumptions.
May require a pivot. Some evidence of traction in the
market.
● ‘In the bank’ – Business Model Fit, does providing the
product to the market actually sustain and grow your
business and/or impact on the problem you wish to
solve?

6. IS THE IDEA FEASIBLE AND VIABLE? (PART 2)
● Do you have a Business Model?
▪ Are there enough customers?
▪ Do they pay enough?
▪ Can you compete with existing competitors?
▪ Can you protect yourself from future competitors?
▪ Can you get noticed (and selected) by customers?
▪ Can you get your product or service to customers?
▪ Does the money in cover the money going out?
▪ Is it actually making a difference? Are you having an
impact?
▪ Is this efficient in making an impact?

8. Video credit: Strategyzer -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP
5s

10. THE VALUE PROPOSITION
▪Describes the benefits customers can expect from your
products and services
▪So who are the customers (or market)?
▪What is the product or service?
▪How do you hone the product-market fit to optimise the
value created?
▪Remember - the interesting features for you as a
researcher might not be the benefits your beneficiary is
seeking. Frame it in their terms.

11. FIT
The set of value proposition
benefits that you design to
attract customers
The set of characteristics that
you assume, observe, and
verify in the market

12. What are your
customers trying
to get done?
• Tasks
• Social markings
• Emotional states
Jobs are contextual
and have relative
degrees of
importance
Pains include:
• Undesired
outcomes,
problems, and
characteristics
• Obstacles
• Risks
Pains have relative
severity
Gains include:
• Required
• Expected
• Desired
• Unexpected
Gains have levels
of relevance

13. Products &
Services might be:
• Tangibles
(goods)
• Intangibles
(assistance)
• Digital
(downloads)
• Financial (funds
or assurances)
How relevant are
they?
Pain relief might
create savings,
mitigation, fixes,
solutions, or
eliminations.
How effective is it?
Gains might include
performance,
personalisation,
savings,
enhancements,
usability.
How important are
the gains?

14. ● ‘The Lean Startup’ (Eric
Ries)
● Build - Measure - Learn
▪ Don’t just keep on
planning - test your
assumptions
▪ Engage your
stakeholders early
▪ Avoid ‘vanity metrics’
and try to measure
what really matters
▪ Fail Fast and Fail
Forwards
GETTING IT OFF THE GROUND
Image credits: Palm Pilot: http://pretotyping.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/one-of-my-favorite-
pretotype-stories.html
Zappos: screengrab

15. ● TEST your assumptions:
▪ Talk to and observe your
stakeholders (beneficiaries,
buyers, suppliers): run a
survey or focus group
▪ Build a prototype or
simulation: physical or
digital
▪ Try to measure something!
● Use free/cheap resources
resources
● Prototypes can be seriously
basic – you just need to see
how your customers actually
react to it!
TESTING IT OUT

16. ● Business Model
Generation
(Osterwalder &
Pigneur)
● Value Proposition
Design (Osterwalder &
Pigneur)
● The Lean Start-up
(Ries)
● www.diytoolkit.org
● www.designkit.org
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
Image credit: my photo of book cover

17. “Think Big, Act Small, Fail Fast,
Learn Rapidly.”
Mary & Tom Poppendieck, Lean Software
Development (2003)

18. @DaveJarm
www.davejarman.co.uk