The 100 Day Challenge - Learnings from a Rapid Hardware Entrepreneur
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•302 views
This 5 point list provides guidance for hardware startups in their first 100 days. It emphasizes that moving quickly is more important than waiting for perfection, having determination is more valuable than just being intelligent, building a cohesive team is stronger than individual comfort, creativity can overcome a lack of resources, and concentrating effort is better than trying to do too much.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (16)
More from Lean Startup Co.
More from Lean Startup Co. (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
The 100 Day Challenge - Learnings from a Rapid Hardware Entrepreneur
- 5. #1. Speed beats perfection
- 8. #2. Hungry beats smart
- 11. #3. Tribe beats comfort
- 14. #4. Creativity beats resources
- 18. #5. Focus beats force
- 21. @elkehag
Editor's Notes
- It was Friday night, and a Geek Girl Meetup. On the table was wine….and Arduino boards… On the floor was my purse. I worried it might be taken. When the Arduino fell onto my bag, an idea was born.
- Like many good inventions, the project took shape in a dream. I scribbled my ideas on a piece of paper, set a firm deadline, and my quest began… Could I possibly build a hardware startup… in 100 days?
- 100 days? So where do you start? I needed something tangible, a prototype. This wasn’t my day job, and I didn’t have an R&D department. But I did have PowerPoint! … And two hours to spare. I quickly realized that I needed a prototype.
- I’m a recovering perfectionist. It was pretty hard to start with this printout. Hardware prototypes tend to be expensive. They can take months to do… … this was just a piece of paper and a few hours work. This is weak: To be honest…
- So that was my first learning. (By the way, I’ll tweet all five later today.) I was on a 100-day quest. I didn’t need perfection. I needed answers NOW. My two-hour prototype was perfect for that. ----------------------------- The initial logo clearly wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. It helped me illustrate my project, and communicate my vision. …my first learning is that Speed beats perfection. (The idea I had was that it could be good to emphasize that this is a learning or takeaway that they might want to take notes of or tweet about. Then they will recognize the pattern even if I won’t read out or refer directly to the numbered learning in the coming slides) Lets talk about this one…
- I found a small gadget at home, that was about the right size, and taped the logo on it. This became my first MVP, my Minimal Viable Product! It still wasn’t perfect, but everyone who touched it, instantly got it!
- I was ready to start building. But how, and with what? I needed various sensors and other components, but where do I buy them, and how do they work? I spent the next few weeks asking hundreds of questions to find out.
- The best thing about NOT being 22 anymore, is that I’m not afraid to ask stupid questions… (giggles?) I was hungry to learn everything I could, and since I was willing to admit that I didn’t know, people were happy to help me. I got a lot of good answers. --------------------------- This is cleaner I think: The other one is OK, but a bit awkward to my hearing… Now that I’m a grownup, (or NOT 22) I’m no longer afraid to ask stupid questions. (giggle) I am hungry to learn everything I can. It’s OK to admit what I don’t know. And when I do, people are quick to help me find good answers.
- So what is this gadget? It’s peace of mind in an intelligent motion sensor button. Do you want something to stay in place? An iPad, Breifcase, or Baby? If it moves, you will be notified. ----------------------------------- You description is good for people who already know what this device is…I think the one above is better for the first time listener. It doesn’t tell you how you are notified, because we will do that in the next story…building the intrigue… forcing them to listen for answers to their questions…. Anything that shouldn’t move. We are providing peace of mind, in the shape of a smart button. Put it on something that shouldn’t move, like a door or a bag…and if it does… …you’ll get notified via your phone or wearable device.
- A critical question remained… Could this button pair with the Apple Watch? On day 29 I showed my MVP to someone at a South Bay cocktail party who knew the answer… The CTO of Apple! (And He liked what we were up to!) ___________________________________________________ He really liked what we were up to! A critical question was whether the button could pair with the new Apple Watch. At a cocktail party in South Bay I showed my MVP to someone who turned out to know the answer… The CTO of Apple. (… who really liked what we were up to). – COMMENTS FROM: LEAN STARTUP – What feedback did the CTO of Apple Say. A critical question was whether the button could pair with the new Apple Watch. At a cocktail party in South Bay I showed my MVP to someone who turned out to know the answer… The CTO of Apple. (… who really liked what we were up to). – COMMENTS FROM: LEAN STARTUP – What feedback did the CTO of Apple Say.
- One year ago I pivoted my life... I moved from Sweden to San Francisco. Spontaneous meetings with the CTO of Apple, just don’t happen back home. To be on my creative edge, I needed to live among my “tribe.” (if that last sentence seems awkward…just think of it as an American Colloquialism. “among the tribe, is correct) And the comfort of home was less important than finding my “tribe”.
- It’s Day 57. Time to use a bit of clay and some kindergarten art skills to give us a much needed prototype upgrade. These simple clay prototypes worked great for A/B-testing of shapes, colors and sizes with future customer. ------------------------- We need to put a day to an earlier slide… what day was the CTO of apple?) Tough to fit all that in 15 seconds… did I get it all in? and I needed prototype upgrade. With a bit of clay and my kindergarten art skills, With limited recourses I used my kindergarten art skills to enhance my MVP. (
- An unexpected benefit was new use case suggestions. “If the iPad moves, Kevin isn’t doing his homework.” “When the door rattles, my deaf Grandpa knows someone knocked.” “My stroller is safe while I play with my kids in the park”
- I didn’t have a million bucks to invest in market research or fancy prototypes. But $47 dollars worth of clay and paint, and early customer interactions, taught me a lot. My confidence that we were on the right track was growing every day…
- Day 68, and it was time to make a serious decision. Should we invest the substantial time and money needed, to turn a fun idea, into something real? Based on all the validated learning and positive customer feedback, we decided to go for it!
- Now the real work began—around the clock strategy meetings three continents. Chinese manufacturers. Swedish Designers and Clients And American lawyers and engineering teams It was exhausting…. -------------------------------------- The key to this slide is the parallelism of the phrasing…does this work for you… During the final phase I worked nearly 24/7, with people on 3 continents. I Skyped with manufacturers in China, worked with designers and clients in Sweden, and spoke with my engineering team and lawyers in the US.
- We were nearing the end of our 100 days. Besides design and production iterations, web development, legal agreements, patent applications, and Delaware registrations. We went from this (point) to this (point) in 32 days!! We went from this piece of clay (Point up behind me) to this finished prototype… in 32 days!
- We spent two months of validated learning, and $47 dollars worth of clay to narrow down our focus, to see what the customers really wanted. Then we spent the last crazy intense, but fun, month actually building it.
- On day 100 I went to the UPS store and was super excited to getting my new prototypes from China. I hade made the deadline and built a 100 day Startup!
- If I just had gotten them a few minutes earlier though… Then I would have been alerted that someone was taking my bag of clothes while I was focused elsewhere… This is just the end of the beginning, so I look forward to see what the next 100 days of this adventure have installed. (Walk off…) I hope this story inspires you to start your own 100 day project!