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6 MARKET 
DYNAMICS 
SMARTERSTARTUP.ORG
What Are Market Dynamics? 
PROBLEM STATEMENT 
Working hard is analogous to throwing a ball hard. The velocity is an important part of 
reaching the target, but you cannot ignore other interactive forces like gravity and drag. 
Gravity 
(4ming) 
x 
Direc4on 
(customer 
need) 
Drag 
(compe44on) 
Velocity 
(hard 
work)
Identifying & Locating Opportunity 
Timing 
Customer Product 
Startup Competition 
Opportunity 
Finance Team 
You cannot work simply work hard 
and expect to have a desirable 
outcome. There are many dynamics 
at play that all determine whether 
we’re likely to succeed. Some may 
get lucky but they are the exception 
not the rule. 
STARTUP HEURISTICS
The 6 Market Dynamics 
STARTUP STRATEGY 
CAPTURING THE WHOLE STORY 
THE 3 APPLIED TOOLS 
We’ve identified 6 market dynamics 
That are interactively defining the 
Market opportunity at any time. The 
conceptual framework is the basis of 
the Startup Scorecard. 
customer 
product 
compe44on 
4ming 
team 
financial 
The 
6 
Market 
Dynamics
Customer Criteria 
WHAT’S A GOOD CUSTOMER? 
The ideal customer has an unmet need or 
desire. The size of this market should 
match your ability to compete and ability 
to deliver justify solving the problem. 
Validate you can control means of customer 
acquisition along the way. 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
UNMET NEED OR DESIRE 
Unsatisfied Customer Desire 
RIGHT-SIZE MARKET OR SEGMENT 
Need to Segment? Too Niche? 
RELIABLE ACCESS TO CUSTOMERS 
Diversified Channels? Gatekeepers?
Unmet Need or Desire 
FOCUS ON HELPING OTHERS 
FOCUS ON CREATING VALUE 
CUSTOMER CRITERIA 
Mom was right! Focus on helping others and 
everything else will fall into place. Find a need 
or desire that is not yet sufficiently addressed, 
where the customer is so passionate they’d 
happily pay for a solution. This approach is 
much more likely to create real value than 
copying an existing solution.
Right-Size Market (or segment) 
CUSTOMER CRITERIA 
Select a market to service that meets your needs and abilities. You must have enough opportunity to warrant 
the effort. Be weary of large markets however, if you do not have significant funds and plan to be aggressive. 
BIG MARKET STRATEGY 
PURSUE LARGE MARKETS 
BIG FISH STRATEGY 
PURSUE QUIET NICHES
Reliable Access to Customers 
A sustainable business requires control over customer supply. Don’t rely on a single marketing channel (Google 
SEO). Government or monopolistic manipulation of markets can also be challenging (Online Gambling). 
CHANNEL DEPENDENCE 
SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE 
MARKET MANIPULATION 
GOVERNMENT, MONOPOLIES 
CUSTOMER CRITERIA 
35000 
30000 
25000 
20000 
15000 
10000 
5000 
0 
March April May June July
Product Criteria 
WHAT’S A GOOD PRODUCT? 
A good product will be a direct response to 
a customer need or desire. If the value is 
well articulated and the customer is 
passionate about your new solution, the 
reason to buy will be compelling. Consider 
deterrents also – are their high switch costs 
and is the solution easy to use and 
understand? 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
CUSTOMER FOCUSED SOLUTION 
Solves Unmet Need or Desire? 
LOW BARRIERS TO ADOPTION 
Low Switch Cost, Usability 
CLEAR VALUE PROPOSITION 
Compelling Reason to Buy
Customer Focused Solution (benefit) 
PRODUCT CRITERIA 
The purpose of your product is to create value by addressing a specific need or desire. Stay Zen focused. 
Don’t ambiguate the value created with distracting features that aren’t aligned with the goal. 
ADDRESS NEED OR DESIRE 
FOCUS ON CLEAR GOAL 
KEEP IT SIMPLE! 
DON’T AMBIGUATE THE VALUE
Customer Focused Solution (benefit) 
PRODUCT CRITERIA 
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a 
touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. 
Albert Einstein 
Physicist, Professor
Low Barriers to Adoption (cost) 
PRODUCT CRITERIA 
Even if you create new value, customers may hesitate to adopt your product if they’ve already invested 
too much in an existing solution that is good enough, or if adopting your solution is too disruptive. 
FINANCIAL IMPACT 
PRIOR INVESTMENT & NEW COSTS 
LEARNING CURVE 
INVESTED TIME & NEW COSTS 
WORKFLOW INTEGRATION 
DOES IT EASILY INTEGRATE?
Clear Value Proposition (value) 
Solves My 
Problem 
Addt’l Benefits 
(value complex) 
Easy Workflow 
Integration 
Learning 
Curve 
Existing 
Investments 
IS THE VALUE CLEAR? 
VALUE = BENEFIT - COST 
PRODUCT CRITERIA 
Perceived 
value 
must 
exceed 
cost. 
If 
you 
can 
clearly 
describe 
your 
product 
is 
beneficial 
and 
a 
compelling 
case 
for 
purchasing 
it, 
then 
you 
have 
created 
sufficient 
value 
to 
overcome 
cost. 
Theodore 
Levitt 
People don’t want quarter-inch 
drills. They want 
quarter-inch holes. cost 
benefit
WHAT IS GOOD TIMING? 
Timing Criteria 
Every market has a natural lifecycle 
driven by innovation and circumstance. 
Look for new demand or interest in 
something that wasn’t possible just a 
couple years ago. Be a “fast follower” 
into a validated emerging market rather 
than speculating on new opportunity. 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
RECENT INNOVATION ENABLER 
Was it Possible 2-5 Years Ago? 
DEMAND ALREADY ESTABLISHED 
Build It & They Might Not Come! 
NO SIGNS OF COMMODITZATION 
Shrinking Margins. More Products.
Innovation Life Cycle 
TIMING CRITERIA 
Every market has a natural lifecycle driven by innovation and circumstance. Look for something that 
wasn’t possible just a couple years ago & ramp up before the market capitulates (supply > demand). 
Innovators 
(2.5 %) 
The Golden Era The 
Squeeze 
Early Movers Consolidation 
Early adopters 
(13.5 %) 
Early majority 
(34 %) 
Laggards 
(16 %) 
Late majority 
(34 %) 
Capitulation 
* 
Innovation Adoption Curve
Innovation Life Cycle 
TIMING CRITERIA 
Opportunity to enter diminishes as the market matures. Geoff Moore suggests entering at “the 
chasm” after demand is validated but still early enough to ramp before the market capitulates. 
New Entrant Opportunity 
Innovators 
(2.5 %) 
Early adopters 
(13.5 %) 
Early majority 
(34 %) 
Laggards 
(16 %) 
Late majority 
(34 %) 
Chasm 
Innovation Adoption Curve 
Ideal point to 
enter a market 
- Geoff Moore
Commoditization of Technology 
TIMING CRITERIA 
It is difficult to imagine a more perfect commodity than a byte of data. 
As information technology’s power and ubiquity have grown, its 
strategic importance has diminished. 
Nicholas Carr 
Harvard Business Review, 2003
$5,000,000 
Commoditized 
Technology 
What cost $5 million to accomplish 
12 years ago can now be done with 
less than $5,000. Mark Suster 
observed that commoditization and 
availability of more building blocks 
has radically reduced cost and risk 
of developing a software product. 
Hosting Commoditized 
Cloud Services (SaaS/PaaS) 
MLS 
IDX/RETS 
Feeds, 
SendGrid 
Email, 
etc 
$500,000 
Open Source Software 
WordPress 
Pla=orm, 
Real 
Estate 
Themes, 
RESO 
& 
Placester 
IDX 
Plugins, 
$50,000 
$5,000 
A 
Web/Mobile 
App
Commonplace 
Commodity 
As cost has fallen, so has the 
competitive barrier to entry. 
Competitive positioning is now the 
key strategic issue, not 
technological capability for most 
consumer Internet products. How 
do you cut through the noise? 
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 
&#!$!!!$!!!" 
&!!$!!!$!!!" 
%#!$!!!$!!!" 
%!!$!!!$!!!" 
#!$!!!$!!!" 
!" 
!"#$%&'%()*+%)& 
Data From NetCraft 2013 Web Server Survey 
50x
Competition Criteria 
GOOD COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE? 
Avoid being marginalized by excessive 
undifferentiated competition. That 
drives margin compression, commodi-tization 
and market consolidation. Look 
for inefficient markets where there’s still 
‘play’ and find ways to develop a 
sustainable competitive advantage. 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
CLEAR MARKET INEFFICIENCY 
Stagnant or Fragmented Market 
LOW BARRIERS TO ENTRY 
Easy & Cheap to Compete? 
DIFFERENTIABLE POSITION 
Something Special or Different?
Inefficient Market 
COMPETITION CRITERIA 
NEW MARKET 
DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY 
FRAGMENTED MARKET 
NO CLEAR MARKET LEADER 
STAGNANT MARKET 
READY FOR DISRUPTION? 
When a market is efficient, a single entity captures 
all of the value of a market. Look instead for a 
market that isn’t efficient either because it is new, 
stagnant, or splintered (fragmented).
Low Barriers to Entry 
COMPETITION CRITERIA 
The general who makes many calculations before battle is wise. He who 
knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious. 
Sun Tzu 
War Strategist, Wrote The Art of War
Low Barriers to Entry 
COMPETITION CRITERIA 
Avoid a fight you cannot win! A market can be much harder to enter if a 
competitor already has a mature offering that you must catch up to. 
THINGS TO AVOID 
• Existing Economies of Scale 
• Existing Mature Product (feature set) 
• Well-Established Brand (halo) 
• Price Competition
Differentiable Position 
LOW PRICE LEADERSHIP 
FOCUS ON VOLUME & COMMODITY 
SEGMENTED MARKET 
FOCUS ON SPECIFIC CUSTOMER 
DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT 
DISRUPTIVE OR INNOVATIVE 
HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT? 
WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL? 
COMPETITION CRITERIA 
In order to be a desirable signal that stands out against a background of noise, you need to have a 
compelling value to some customers that others do not. There are 3 viable positioning strategies. 
Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies
Financial Criteria 
GOOD FINANCIAL PROFILE? 
Look for opportunities to maximize 
returns without excess capital risk. 
Look for opportunities to start cheap 
and to realize higher margins through 
focused efforts and economies of scale. 
Avoid locking up too much capital. 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
LOW SUNK COSTS 
Up Front Capital at Risk? 
WORKING CAPITAL FLOAT 
Gap Between Payable/Receivables 
ECONOMIES OF SCALE 
Margins Increase With Volume?
Low Sunk Costs 
FINANCIAL CRITERIA 
HOW MUCH CAPITAL RISK? 
OPPORTUNITY COST 
How much up-front capital must you commit to 
develop this product or business? Sunk capital 
represents risk since you don’t know if you’ll get it 
back, as well as opportunity cost since that money 
could be committed to other opportunities.
Working 
Capital Float 
Some businesses require large cash 
outlay every month and payment can 
take 3-4 months to arrive. As a result 
the business may need to have cash 
or credit to cover the gap of 3-4 
months of operating costs. This is 
both a cost (interest) and a risk! 
DO YOU NEED A LINE OF CREDIT? 
WHAT’S THE COST & RISK? 
Accounts 
Receivable 
60 - 120 Day 
"Capital 
Accounts Float" 
Payable
Economies 
of Scale 
Look for opportunities where profits 
increase with volume (scale). Supply, 
development, and distribution costs all 
diminish on a per-unit basis when working 
in volume. As a result profit margins and 
competitive advantage both increase. 
Quantity 
Profits 
Marginal Cost 
Scalable Profits
Team Fit & Fitness Criteria 
WHAT’S GOOD TEAM FIT? 
Just because an opportunity exists, doesn’t 
mean your team is likely to succeed. Are 
you fit to compete? Does your team have a 
competitive advantage? Do you possess 
deep knowledge, technical skills to deliver, 
& access to key partners and resources? 
MARKET DYNAMICS 
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE 
Deep Knowledge of Market? 
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE 
Technical Skills to Deliver 
SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIPS 
Access to Materials at Good Cost
The Hacker & The Hustler 
TEAM-FIT CRITERIA 
A team needs deep subject matter expertise and technical skills to design a solution, in order to 
succeed. It is difficult for a single person to be efficient at “heads up” and “heads down” work. 
Subject Matter Expert The Functional Expert 
“The Hacker” 
Technical skills to design & 
develop a well-crafted and 
scalable solution. 
“The Hustler” 
Knowledge of customer or desire, and 
understanding of market dynamics to 
effectively position an offering.
Supplier Partnerships 
TEAM-FIT CRITERIA 
Consider the dependencies you may have on external sources of materials, data, and services. Do 
you have access to the necessary resources to deliver your product and to price competitively? 
Preferred Sourcing 
Are you able to procure 
supplies at competitive prices? 
If affiliate mktg, can you get 
preferred commissions? 
Available Data APIs 
Are you able to access the data 
or integration APIs needed to 
build your product? 
Outsourced Vendors 
If planning to manufacture 
physical products or software, do 
you have a quality vendor you 
can rely on?
SmarterStartup.org 
CONCLUSION 
www.SmarterStartup.org 
We have posted in-depth articles, 
diagrams, and downloadable references 
and worksheets on our website. 
Everything is free to use, so check it out.

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The 6 Market dynamics

  • 1. 6 MARKET DYNAMICS SMARTERSTARTUP.ORG
  • 2. What Are Market Dynamics? PROBLEM STATEMENT Working hard is analogous to throwing a ball hard. The velocity is an important part of reaching the target, but you cannot ignore other interactive forces like gravity and drag. Gravity (4ming) x Direc4on (customer need) Drag (compe44on) Velocity (hard work)
  • 3. Identifying & Locating Opportunity Timing Customer Product Startup Competition Opportunity Finance Team You cannot work simply work hard and expect to have a desirable outcome. There are many dynamics at play that all determine whether we’re likely to succeed. Some may get lucky but they are the exception not the rule. STARTUP HEURISTICS
  • 4. The 6 Market Dynamics STARTUP STRATEGY CAPTURING THE WHOLE STORY THE 3 APPLIED TOOLS We’ve identified 6 market dynamics That are interactively defining the Market opportunity at any time. The conceptual framework is the basis of the Startup Scorecard. customer product compe44on 4ming team financial The 6 Market Dynamics
  • 5. Customer Criteria WHAT’S A GOOD CUSTOMER? The ideal customer has an unmet need or desire. The size of this market should match your ability to compete and ability to deliver justify solving the problem. Validate you can control means of customer acquisition along the way. MARKET DYNAMICS UNMET NEED OR DESIRE Unsatisfied Customer Desire RIGHT-SIZE MARKET OR SEGMENT Need to Segment? Too Niche? RELIABLE ACCESS TO CUSTOMERS Diversified Channels? Gatekeepers?
  • 6. Unmet Need or Desire FOCUS ON HELPING OTHERS FOCUS ON CREATING VALUE CUSTOMER CRITERIA Mom was right! Focus on helping others and everything else will fall into place. Find a need or desire that is not yet sufficiently addressed, where the customer is so passionate they’d happily pay for a solution. This approach is much more likely to create real value than copying an existing solution.
  • 7. Right-Size Market (or segment) CUSTOMER CRITERIA Select a market to service that meets your needs and abilities. You must have enough opportunity to warrant the effort. Be weary of large markets however, if you do not have significant funds and plan to be aggressive. BIG MARKET STRATEGY PURSUE LARGE MARKETS BIG FISH STRATEGY PURSUE QUIET NICHES
  • 8. Reliable Access to Customers A sustainable business requires control over customer supply. Don’t rely on a single marketing channel (Google SEO). Government or monopolistic manipulation of markets can also be challenging (Online Gambling). CHANNEL DEPENDENCE SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE MARKET MANIPULATION GOVERNMENT, MONOPOLIES CUSTOMER CRITERIA 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 March April May June July
  • 9. Product Criteria WHAT’S A GOOD PRODUCT? A good product will be a direct response to a customer need or desire. If the value is well articulated and the customer is passionate about your new solution, the reason to buy will be compelling. Consider deterrents also – are their high switch costs and is the solution easy to use and understand? MARKET DYNAMICS CUSTOMER FOCUSED SOLUTION Solves Unmet Need or Desire? LOW BARRIERS TO ADOPTION Low Switch Cost, Usability CLEAR VALUE PROPOSITION Compelling Reason to Buy
  • 10. Customer Focused Solution (benefit) PRODUCT CRITERIA The purpose of your product is to create value by addressing a specific need or desire. Stay Zen focused. Don’t ambiguate the value created with distracting features that aren’t aligned with the goal. ADDRESS NEED OR DESIRE FOCUS ON CLEAR GOAL KEEP IT SIMPLE! DON’T AMBIGUATE THE VALUE
  • 11. Customer Focused Solution (benefit) PRODUCT CRITERIA Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Albert Einstein Physicist, Professor
  • 12. Low Barriers to Adoption (cost) PRODUCT CRITERIA Even if you create new value, customers may hesitate to adopt your product if they’ve already invested too much in an existing solution that is good enough, or if adopting your solution is too disruptive. FINANCIAL IMPACT PRIOR INVESTMENT & NEW COSTS LEARNING CURVE INVESTED TIME & NEW COSTS WORKFLOW INTEGRATION DOES IT EASILY INTEGRATE?
  • 13. Clear Value Proposition (value) Solves My Problem Addt’l Benefits (value complex) Easy Workflow Integration Learning Curve Existing Investments IS THE VALUE CLEAR? VALUE = BENEFIT - COST PRODUCT CRITERIA Perceived value must exceed cost. If you can clearly describe your product is beneficial and a compelling case for purchasing it, then you have created sufficient value to overcome cost. Theodore Levitt People don’t want quarter-inch drills. They want quarter-inch holes. cost benefit
  • 14. WHAT IS GOOD TIMING? Timing Criteria Every market has a natural lifecycle driven by innovation and circumstance. Look for new demand or interest in something that wasn’t possible just a couple years ago. Be a “fast follower” into a validated emerging market rather than speculating on new opportunity. MARKET DYNAMICS RECENT INNOVATION ENABLER Was it Possible 2-5 Years Ago? DEMAND ALREADY ESTABLISHED Build It & They Might Not Come! NO SIGNS OF COMMODITZATION Shrinking Margins. More Products.
  • 15. Innovation Life Cycle TIMING CRITERIA Every market has a natural lifecycle driven by innovation and circumstance. Look for something that wasn’t possible just a couple years ago & ramp up before the market capitulates (supply > demand). Innovators (2.5 %) The Golden Era The Squeeze Early Movers Consolidation Early adopters (13.5 %) Early majority (34 %) Laggards (16 %) Late majority (34 %) Capitulation * Innovation Adoption Curve
  • 16. Innovation Life Cycle TIMING CRITERIA Opportunity to enter diminishes as the market matures. Geoff Moore suggests entering at “the chasm” after demand is validated but still early enough to ramp before the market capitulates. New Entrant Opportunity Innovators (2.5 %) Early adopters (13.5 %) Early majority (34 %) Laggards (16 %) Late majority (34 %) Chasm Innovation Adoption Curve Ideal point to enter a market - Geoff Moore
  • 17. Commoditization of Technology TIMING CRITERIA It is difficult to imagine a more perfect commodity than a byte of data. As information technology’s power and ubiquity have grown, its strategic importance has diminished. Nicholas Carr Harvard Business Review, 2003
  • 18. $5,000,000 Commoditized Technology What cost $5 million to accomplish 12 years ago can now be done with less than $5,000. Mark Suster observed that commoditization and availability of more building blocks has radically reduced cost and risk of developing a software product. Hosting Commoditized Cloud Services (SaaS/PaaS) MLS IDX/RETS Feeds, SendGrid Email, etc $500,000 Open Source Software WordPress Pla=orm, Real Estate Themes, RESO & Placester IDX Plugins, $50,000 $5,000 A Web/Mobile App
  • 19. Commonplace Commodity As cost has fallen, so has the competitive barrier to entry. Competitive positioning is now the key strategic issue, not technological capability for most consumer Internet products. How do you cut through the noise? 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 &#!$!!!$!!!" &!!$!!!$!!!" %#!$!!!$!!!" %!!$!!!$!!!" #!$!!!$!!!" !" !"#$%&'%()*+%)& Data From NetCraft 2013 Web Server Survey 50x
  • 20. Competition Criteria GOOD COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE? Avoid being marginalized by excessive undifferentiated competition. That drives margin compression, commodi-tization and market consolidation. Look for inefficient markets where there’s still ‘play’ and find ways to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. MARKET DYNAMICS CLEAR MARKET INEFFICIENCY Stagnant or Fragmented Market LOW BARRIERS TO ENTRY Easy & Cheap to Compete? DIFFERENTIABLE POSITION Something Special or Different?
  • 21. Inefficient Market COMPETITION CRITERIA NEW MARKET DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY FRAGMENTED MARKET NO CLEAR MARKET LEADER STAGNANT MARKET READY FOR DISRUPTION? When a market is efficient, a single entity captures all of the value of a market. Look instead for a market that isn’t efficient either because it is new, stagnant, or splintered (fragmented).
  • 22. Low Barriers to Entry COMPETITION CRITERIA The general who makes many calculations before battle is wise. He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious. Sun Tzu War Strategist, Wrote The Art of War
  • 23. Low Barriers to Entry COMPETITION CRITERIA Avoid a fight you cannot win! A market can be much harder to enter if a competitor already has a mature offering that you must catch up to. THINGS TO AVOID • Existing Economies of Scale • Existing Mature Product (feature set) • Well-Established Brand (halo) • Price Competition
  • 24. Differentiable Position LOW PRICE LEADERSHIP FOCUS ON VOLUME & COMMODITY SEGMENTED MARKET FOCUS ON SPECIFIC CUSTOMER DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT DISRUPTIVE OR INNOVATIVE HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT? WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL? COMPETITION CRITERIA In order to be a desirable signal that stands out against a background of noise, you need to have a compelling value to some customers that others do not. There are 3 viable positioning strategies. Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies
  • 25. Financial Criteria GOOD FINANCIAL PROFILE? Look for opportunities to maximize returns without excess capital risk. Look for opportunities to start cheap and to realize higher margins through focused efforts and economies of scale. Avoid locking up too much capital. MARKET DYNAMICS LOW SUNK COSTS Up Front Capital at Risk? WORKING CAPITAL FLOAT Gap Between Payable/Receivables ECONOMIES OF SCALE Margins Increase With Volume?
  • 26. Low Sunk Costs FINANCIAL CRITERIA HOW MUCH CAPITAL RISK? OPPORTUNITY COST How much up-front capital must you commit to develop this product or business? Sunk capital represents risk since you don’t know if you’ll get it back, as well as opportunity cost since that money could be committed to other opportunities.
  • 27. Working Capital Float Some businesses require large cash outlay every month and payment can take 3-4 months to arrive. As a result the business may need to have cash or credit to cover the gap of 3-4 months of operating costs. This is both a cost (interest) and a risk! DO YOU NEED A LINE OF CREDIT? WHAT’S THE COST & RISK? Accounts Receivable 60 - 120 Day "Capital Accounts Float" Payable
  • 28. Economies of Scale Look for opportunities where profits increase with volume (scale). Supply, development, and distribution costs all diminish on a per-unit basis when working in volume. As a result profit margins and competitive advantage both increase. Quantity Profits Marginal Cost Scalable Profits
  • 29. Team Fit & Fitness Criteria WHAT’S GOOD TEAM FIT? Just because an opportunity exists, doesn’t mean your team is likely to succeed. Are you fit to compete? Does your team have a competitive advantage? Do you possess deep knowledge, technical skills to deliver, & access to key partners and resources? MARKET DYNAMICS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE Deep Knowledge of Market? FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE Technical Skills to Deliver SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIPS Access to Materials at Good Cost
  • 30. The Hacker & The Hustler TEAM-FIT CRITERIA A team needs deep subject matter expertise and technical skills to design a solution, in order to succeed. It is difficult for a single person to be efficient at “heads up” and “heads down” work. Subject Matter Expert The Functional Expert “The Hacker” Technical skills to design & develop a well-crafted and scalable solution. “The Hustler” Knowledge of customer or desire, and understanding of market dynamics to effectively position an offering.
  • 31. Supplier Partnerships TEAM-FIT CRITERIA Consider the dependencies you may have on external sources of materials, data, and services. Do you have access to the necessary resources to deliver your product and to price competitively? Preferred Sourcing Are you able to procure supplies at competitive prices? If affiliate mktg, can you get preferred commissions? Available Data APIs Are you able to access the data or integration APIs needed to build your product? Outsourced Vendors If planning to manufacture physical products or software, do you have a quality vendor you can rely on?
  • 32. SmarterStartup.org CONCLUSION www.SmarterStartup.org We have posted in-depth articles, diagrams, and downloadable references and worksheets on our website. Everything is free to use, so check it out.