In April 2012, Brain Mathews asserted in his white paper that libraries need to “Think Like a Startup." But how do startups think? If we are going to emulate startup culture, then we have some learning to do. This interactive session will tackle the build-measure-learn cycle, validated learning, iterative design, continuous improvement, and other components of lean thinking. We'll underscore the importance of hands-on development, prototyping, and hypothesis testing. Come join the conversation and help make entrepreneurial thinking a habitual part of our practice and profession. Presented by M.J. D'Elia & Helen Kula.

1. STARTUP LIBRARY 101
A NEW MINDSET

2. STARTUP LIBRARY 101
A NEW MINDSET
PRESENTED
BY
MJ
HELEN

3. WHITE PAPER
BRIAN MATHEWS
VIRGINIA TECH
Think like a startup:
A white paper to
inspire library
entrepreneurialism

4. WHITE PAPER
startups
provide a
framework
for action
startups are
about building
a platform
startups
condition us
for constant
change
startup is a
culture
Mathews, 2012, p. 4

5. WHO WE ARE
HELEN KULA
University of Toronto
Mississauga
@helenkula
M.J. D’ELIA
University of
Guelph
@mjdelia

6. AGENDA
FRAMEWORK
FOUNDATION
DISCUSSION
OLA SUPER CONFERENCE 2014
APPLICATION

7. FRAMEWORK
CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

8. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
A methodology for startups that emphasizes
learning and discovery before execution.
Blank & Dorf, 2012; Ries, 2011

9. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
The search for repeatable, scalable, and
sustainable solutions.
Blank & Dorf, 2012; Ries, 2011

10. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
1
Establish hypotheses. Test hypotheses.
Discover facts.
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

11. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
1
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY
Problem hypotheses: How big of a
problem is it?
Product hypotheses: What solutions are
currently in place? Do they work?
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

12. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
2
Test key features. Prove customers exist.
Investigate scalability.
CUSTOMER
VALIDATION
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

13. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
2
CUSTOMER
VALIDATION
Questions: Is this solution financially
viable? Will customers use our solution?
Do we know how to sell them?
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

14. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
3
Begin executing. Build end-user demand.
Increase scale.
CUSTOMER
CREATION
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

15. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
3
CUSTOMER
CREATION
Activities: Move from few to many
customers. Launch and position the
solution.
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

16. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
4
Transition out of startup phase. Focus on
execution.
COMPANY
BUILDING
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

17. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
4
COMPANY
BUILDING
Activities: Adjust management structure.
Align resources to permanently support
new solution.
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

18. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
1
2
3
4
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY
CUSTOMER
VALIDATION
CUSTOMER
CREATION
COMPANY
BUILDING
SEARCH
EXECUTE
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

19. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
1
2
CUSTOMER
DISCOVERY
CUSTOMER
VALIDATION
SEARCH
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 22-23

20. CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
GUESSING
Faith-based vision.
List of hypotheses.
TESTING
Scientific method.
List of tests.
DISCOVERING
Validated learning.
List of facts.

21. FOUNDATION
VALUE PROPOSITION
1

22. VALUE PROPOSITION
The bundle of products and services that create
value for a specific customer segment.
Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010, p. 22-25

23. VALUE PROPOSITION
ACTIVITIES
PARTNERS
RESOURCES
CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
VALUE
PROP
RELATIONSHIPS
CHANNELS
COST STRUCTURE
REVENUE
EFFICIENCY/LOGIC
VALUE/EMOTION
Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010, p. 18-19, 48-49

24. VALUE PROPOSITION
What problem are you solving for whom?
How does your product create customer gains?
How does your product alleviate customer pains?
Value Proposition Canvas

25. VALUE PROPOSITION
PRODUCTIVITY
COST REDUCTION
CUSTOMIZATION
STATUS
CONVENIENCE
VALUE
PROP
ACCESSIBILITY
USABILITY
DESIGN

26. VALUE PROPOSITION
RESEARCH HELP DESK
Observation: Declining statistics for in-depth research help.
Proposed solution: New location. Improved branding.
Value Prop: Convenience. Accessibility. Usability. Clarity.

27. FOUNDATION
BUILD MEASURE LEARN
2

28. BUILD MEASURE LEARN
A three-step feedback loop that enables rapid
development and constant adjustments to the
business model.
Ries (2011), p. 22, 76-77

29. BUILD MEASURE LEARN
IDEA
BUILD
LEARN
DATA
PRODUCT
MEASURE
Ries (2011), p. 76-78

30. BUILD MEASURE LEARN
Learn: What do you want to know?
Measure: How will you measure it?
Build: What do you need to make?
Ries (2011), p. 76-78

31. BUILD MEASURE LEARN
RESEARCH HELP DESK
Build: “Lemonade stand” at the library entrance.
Measure: Track interactions. Conduct user experience interviews.
Learn: Students like quick help. Discovered new frustrations.

32. FOUNDATION
MVP
3

33. MVP
Minimum Viable Product = a product/service
with just enough features that allow it to reach
the market
Ries, 2011

34. MVP
Low-Fidelity MVP: Does the customer care?
(Often used in customer discovery)
High-Fidelity MVP: Will the customer adopt your
solution? (Often used in customer validation)
Ries, 2011

35. MVP
RESEARCH HELP DESK
Lo-fi MVP: “Lemonade stand” + signs (minimal construction)
Tests: Desk configuration. Multiple computers. iPad service.
Branding awareness tests.

36. MVP
RESEARCH HELP DESK
Hi-fi MVP: “Lemonade stand” + service model
Tests: Query tracking. Customer journey maps. Signage audits.
Staffing plan and service modelling. Revised referral strategy.

37. FOUNDATION
PIVOT
4

38. PIVOT
A fundamental change in strategy based on
validated learning in the customer development
process.
Ries (2011), p. 76-78

39. MVP
PIVOT
Observation: Declining statistics for in-depth research help.
MVP: “Lemonade Stand”
Build-Measure-Learn: Discovered other challenges.
Zoom-Out Pivot: Expand our changes to include all frontline
service interactions.

40. DISCUSSION
CASE STUDIES

41. CASE STUDIES
A NEW
MAKER
SPACE
VIRTUAL
LEARNING
COMMONS
Images: http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130315-expressing-mathematics-in-3d-printed-sculpture-art.html
http://www.freefever.com/wallpaper/1280x800/best-windows-wallpaper-abstract-fibre-optic-20882.html
http://www.boostlabs.com/infographics-and-data-visualization-services-dc-md-va/
DATA
VISUALIZATION
WORKSHOP

42. CASE STUDY
1. Which customers would you visit?
2. What would be your value proposition?
3. What would an MVP look like?
4. How will you measure your success?
5. How will you scale your solution?

43. APPLICATION
SIX TIPS

44. APPLICATION
TIP 1
TIP 2
“There are no facts
inside your building,
so get outside.”
The best startup ideas
ideas come from
noticing.
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 31
Graham, 2012

45. APPLICATION
TIP 3
TIP 4
Determine what you
want to learn before
you build.
Build a minimum
viable product with
the smallest possible
feature set.
Ries, 2011, p. 76-78
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 60

46. APPLICATION
TIP 5
TIP 6
“No business plan
survives first contact
with customers.”
“Failure is an integral
part of the search.”
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 35
Blank & Dorf, 2012, p. 33

47. FINAL THOUGHT
“There is no way to remove the human element-vision, intuition, judgment--from the practice of
entrepreneurship, nor would that be desirable.”
Ries, 2011

48. announCement
STARTUP WEEKEND

49. STARTUP WEEKEND
LIBRARY EDITION
TORONTO
March 28-30
Mozilla Toronto
http://toronto.startupweekend.org

50. QUESTIONS?
STARTUP LIBRARY 101

51. STARTUP LIBRARY 101
THANK YOU
OLA SUPER CONFERENCE 2014

52. REFERENCES
Blank, S. (2014). Steve Blank [blog]. Retrieved from http://steveblank.com
Blank, S. & Dorf, B. (2012). The Startup Owner’s Manual. Pescadero, CA: K&S Ranch
Graham, P. (2012). How to get startup ideas [Blog]. http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html
MaRS. Entrepreneur’s Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.marsdd.com/entrepreneurs-toolkit/
Mathews, B. (2012, April). Think like a Startup [white paper]. Retrieved from
http://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/18649
Osterwalder, A. & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup. New York: Crown.
Slide Design: Pasquale Vitiello