Kate Rutter walks through the process of validated learning and helps you take your entrepreneurship to the next level. This content was produced for the 2013 San Francisco Winter chapter of Founder Institute by Founder Institute mentor Kate Rutter, lean startup expert and co-founder of LUXr. Follow her on Twitter to learn more: https://twitter.com/katerutter

1. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
From cold-sweat questions
to hot validated learning
{or, Customer Development
= awesome}
MONDAY, NOV 25, 2013

2. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Kate Rutter
Co-Founder
www.luxr.co
TWEET!
@katerutter
@luxrco
Luxr makes tools to help startups
deliver products that people want,
need & love to buy.

3. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
I am not an expert on your business.
You are.
My goal is to help you explore
what ideas solve real
problems for humans...
so you can validate them and
move them forward.
What to expect...

4. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
Recognizing Startup Failure

5. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
Recognizing Startup Failure
FAIL

6. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
“But the code validated!”
“The design was brilliant.
It just never launched.”
“We made an amazing thing.
But nobody wanted it.”
Recognizing Startup Failure
waste

7. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Lean Startup
Agile & UX
Customer Development
New approaches

8. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
The big idea...
Get out
of the
building!

9. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
The big idea...
Get out
of the
building!

10. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
How do I
know it
doesn’t suck?
so...
I have a
product.

11. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who will use this?
cold-sweat questions
Why will they
care?
What can it do
that people will
pay for?
What features
are most
important?How does
everything
fit together?

12. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who will use this?
cold-sweat questions
Why will they
care?
What can it do
that people will
pay for?
What features
are most
important?How does
everything
fit together?

13. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who will use this?
with a bit of tweaking...
Why will they
care?
What can it do
that people will
pay for?
What features
are most
important?How does
everything
fit together?

14. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
with a bit of tweaking...
Who is it for?
Why does it matter
to them?
What can they do that
they couldnʼt do before?
What features do they
need to do that?
How do those limited
features fit together?

15. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who is it for?
Questions == Stack
Why does it matter
to them?
What can they do that
they couldnʼt do before?
What features do they
need to do that?
How do those limited
features fit together?
users
needs &
goals
uses
features
product,
brand & voice

16. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who is it for?
Questions == Stack
Why does it matter
to them?
What can they do that
they couldnʼt do before?
What features do they
need to do that?
How do those limited
features fit together?
users
needs &
goals
uses
features
product,
brand & voice

17. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who is it for?
Questions => Activities
Why does it matter
to them?
What can they do that
they couldnʼt do before?
What features do they
need to do that?
How do those limited
features fit together?
Customer
development
or...user research
Sketches &
prototypes
before UI. Before code.
Experiments,
MVPs, Metrics
and...usability testing

18. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Who is it for?
Questions => Activities
Why does it matter
to them?
What can they do that
they couldnʼt do before?
What features do they
need to do that?
How do those limited
features fit together?
Customer
development
or...user research
Sketches &
prototypes
before UI. Before code.
Experiments,
MVPs, Metrics
and...usability testing
Interviews

19. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
SSCI
(Super Simplified Customer Interviews)
• Identify who you want to talk to.
• Articulate your hypotheses.
• Jot down conversation prompts.
• Have the conversation
• Debrief!

20. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
“Have you ever had ________ experience?”
“Can you tell me the story about that?”
“And then what happened?”
“Why [or how] did you do that?”
“What did you love [or hate] about that?”
“If you could wave a magic wand,
what would it be like?”
Conversation Prompts

21. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
DO
• Take notes
• Smile
• Ask open-ended questions
• Get their story
• Shut up and listen
DONʼT • Talk about your product
• Ask about future behavior
• Sell
• Ask leading questions
• Talk much
90% Listening
10% Talking
During the Interview

22. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
After the Interview: Debrief
DUMP (5min, solo)
1 idea per sticky
“What I heard”
“What I saw”
“What stood out”
SORT (10min, team)
• Collect similar items
• Label groups
• Stack duplicates
• Note trends and exceptions
Validate or invalidate your hypothesis

23. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013

24. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Go be awesome.

25. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Q&A + Discussion

26. @katerutter | luxr.co | Founder Institute SF | NOV 25, 2013
Core Curriculum
Online Workshops
7-week path to greatness for startup
entrepreneurs.
Actionable workshops for your most urgent
and important problems.
LUXr delivers practical tools to
entrepreneurs worldwide, helping
early-stage entrepreneurs deliver
products that customers want,
need and love to buy.
http://luxr.co @luxrco