1. CUSTOMER
DEVELOPMENT
KALEV KAARNA
IDEA LAB IN UNIVERSITY OF TARTU

2. TARIKH KORULA
(SEEN.CO)
2
Source: http://www.javelin.com/experiment-board.html

3. ?
?CUSTOMER
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Exp. 1
RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
<30 YR OLD
CONCERT GOER
TEST &
MEASURE
TOO BUSY & BROKE
TO KEEP UP
SEARCH ENGINE
FOR FINDING
CONCERT VIDEOS
INTERVIEW:
7/10
HOW BIG IS
THE PAIN?
CARE ABOUT
CONCERTS
THEY MISSED?
3

4. RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
TEST &
MEASURE
INTERVIEW:
7/10
CARE ABOUT
CONCERTS
THEY MISSED?
RESULTS
LEARNING
VALIDATE,
DIVE DEEPER
THEY CARE, BUT
STILL DO NOT
KNOW HOW BIG
PAIN IS
Exp. 1
4

5. WHO HAS
BIGGER PAIN?CUSTOMER
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Exp. 2
RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
18-24 YR
+ ON SOCIAL MEDIA
+ MUSIC IS PART OF ID
TEST &
MEASURE
CATCHIN UP ON SHOWS
THEY MISSED
WILL THEY SPEND TIME ON
CATCHING UP ON SHOWS
MISSED?
INTERVIEW:
5/10
SEARCH ENGINE
FOR FINDING
CONCERT VIDEOS
5

6. RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
TEST &
MEASURE
RESULTS
LEARNING
Only 1
INVALIDATED!
NOT PAINFUL
ENOUGH
WILL THEY SPEND TIME ON
CATCHING UP ON SHOWS
MISSED?
INTERVIEW:
5/10
Exp. 2
6

7. WHO HAS
BIGGER PAIN?CUSTOMER
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Exp. 3
RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
EVENT ORGANIZERS WHO
SEEK SPONSORS
TEST &
MEASURE
MANUALLY CREATING
PDF’S FOR SPONSORS
EVENT ORGANIZERS
WILL PAY FOR DATA
TEST SALE
AUTOMATE THEIR
SPONSORSHIP
FOLLOWUP
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8. RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
TEST &
MEASURE
RESULTS
LEARNING
VALIDATED!
NEXT STEP:
PROVE IT ON
WIDER SCALE
Exp. 3
EVENT ORGANIZERS
WILL PAY FOR DATA
TEST SALE: 1 ORG WILL
PAY 20USD PER PAGE
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9. RESULTS
• Angel investors gave money
• 80 000 unique visitors monthly
• 30-40 events summarized daily in June
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10. CUSTOMER
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Exp. 1
RISKIEST
ASSUMPTION
TEST &
MEASURE
Exp. ..
RESULTS
LEARNING
10

11. LESSONS LEARNED
Pick easier targets
• big pain (pain, gain, job done)
• willingness to pay (pays for
alternatives)
• minimal behavior change or does not
loose anything
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12. YOUR SOLUTION CAN BE…
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13. LESSONS LEARNED
Getting feedback is not easy
• customer is not going to the analysis
job for you
• prefer “how” & “what” questions
• let tell the story: how customer currently
solves the problem?
• what problems they have? how often?
how big problem it is?
• have customers searched for better
solutions? If not, why not? If yes, what
have they found?
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14. LESSONS LEARNED
Customer development is a messy process
• are we validating a problem
• are we validating a customer
• are we validating a solution
• are we validating everything at the same time?
Possible solution: have an anchor
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15. LESSONS LEARNED
Customer development is a messy process
Dumbledore tool & field
Psychology Bus tool
Funderful solution
Presenters feedback tool & field
Health Connect tool & general problem
Whatson general problem
Switch general problem
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16. HOW TO VALIDATE MY
BUSINESS IDEA?
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17. 1. ANALOGS AND ANTILOGS
• Google direct competitors and indirect
alternatives
• Find good examples to copy (analogs)
and bad examples to avoid (antilogs)
ACTION:
• Google individually (1-2 people)
• ask people to name analogs and antilogs
TIME TO SPEND: up to 1 HOUR
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18. 2. SEARCH TEST
• Are people searching online for the
solution?
• Google Adword Tool
• Quora
• Facebook groups
• Forums, etc
ACTION: ask for help from others
TIME TO SPEND: up to 1 HOUR
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19. 3. LIVE FEEDBACK
• Face-to-face interviews
• Phone or Skype or Hangout interviews
• Is there a problem? How often happens?
• etc.
ACTION: conduct 5-15 interviews
TIME TO SPEND: at least 2 HOURS
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20. 3. LIVE FEEDBACK
Use our sponsor (350 employees)
Dumbledore HR
Psychology Bus HR
Funderful any alumnus
Presenters feedback sales
Health Connect ? any person/ ?client
Whatson ? any person
Switch ? client
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21. 4. TEST SALE
• Facebook page or landing page
(quickmvp.com/)
• sign-ups and e-mails
• pre-payment or actual sale
• Sales portals: www.holvi.com (free online shop),
www.cherry.ee (discount outlet),
www.indiegogo.com (crowd funding)
• Test sale in person
• contract
• pre-payment or actual sale
ACTION: Just do it!!!
TIME TO SPEND: at least 2 HOURS
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22. MATERIALS
• steveblank.com/category/lean-launchpad/ (more cases)
• customerdevlabs.com/ (more tips!)
• www.leanstartupmachine.com (more videos)
• blog.javelin.com/ (more lessons learned)
• lmalmanza.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/the-first-steps-
validation-board/ (more tips!)
Google keywords:
• Customer validation
• Validation board
• Lean startup
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