This is a training I did for AOL employees in 2012 along w/ Adam Berk from the Lean Startup Machine

1. AOL UnU
October 23, 2012
INTRO TO LEAN

2. Danny Boice
Co-Founder & CTO, Speek /
Resident, AOL Fishbowl Labs
Twitter: @DannyBoice
Danny@speek.com
Adam Berk
Director, Lean Startup Machine
Twitter: @AdamBerk
Adam@LeanStartupMachine.com

3. Product/Market Fit
? Customer Development
Bootstrapping ? Iterate
? UX Design
Eliminate Waste
? Pivot
?
Problem/Solution Fit
Agile Development
?

4. WHAT IS LEAN?

5. A set of processes used Agile
to developby
entrepreneurscombining Customer
and markets, and existingproducts
Software Development, software
Development
platforms (usually FOSS).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_Startup

6. Lean = What to build
Agile = How to build

7. What is a “pivot”?

8. A structured test athe product. new
course correction
designed toabout fundamental
hypothesis
Build -> Measure -> Learn -> Pivot or
Repeat

9. What is a “Minimum
Viable Product
(MVP)”?

10. An MVP is the smallest thing you can
build in order to start measuring and
learning.
“If you aren'tlate”
shipped too ashamed of your product, you
- Reid Hoffman

11. WHY SHOULD
I CARE?

12. Something is
fundamentally wrong

15. Why do products
fail?

16. Big Idea #1
The vast majority of products fail
NOT because it couldn’t be built...
but because nobody wanted the product.

17. Steve Blank

18. “No business plan survives
first contact with customers.”
- Steve Blank

19. Why do products succeed?

20. Big Idea #2
“The vast majority of
[successful] startups
abandoned their initial plans
and learned what would and
would not work in the market.”
-Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma

21. PIVOT!!!

23. FAILURE
The Secret to Success

24. OMG!!!

28. Curious...

29. LEAN = PROCESS

30. NOT
Black & White

31. LEAN’s Mission:
Entrepreneurship & Product
is a Management Science
that can be Learned

32. YOUR Mission:
Don’t Waste Time Building Something
Before Learning
Whether People Actually Want it

33. Get Out of the Building
TALK TO PEOPLE

34. Customer
Development

35. Who Are
They?

36. Customer Hypothesis
&
Problem Hypothesis

37. GOOBing is HARD

38. What’s the point?
• Uncovers how users think and behave
• Validates assumptions/removes bias
• Shows difference between intent and reality
• Provides direction and data instead of
opinion or speculation
• Provides the ability to inform design

39. It is NOT
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Your Head
• Friends & Family

40. Go in with 2 to 3 objectives
and have a real conversation. Brant Cooper
Know your goals and questions. Giff Constable
Use a script. Ash Maurya
Use a script. Ash Maurya

41. 3-POINT INTERVIEW
1. Has [insert specific problem] been a
problem for you? (context)
2. Tell me about the last time you dealt
with this problem? (story)
3. What’s your ideal solution for this?
(solution)

42. No Selling Allowed

43. Talking to Customers
What is the Problem?
What is the Problem?
• Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• Avoid Would & Future Tense
• The more you ask someone to imagine
something, the less you can trust their data
• People SAY and DO completely different things.

44. Find Early Adopters
“FOAMING AT THE
MOUTH”
1. Have the problem
2. Know they have the problem
3. Searched for a solution
4. Hacked their own solution
5. Have budget for a solution

45. LEAN is Complex
Be Skeptical of Simple Solutions
Be Skeptical of Simple Solutions

46. 3-POINT INTERVIEW
1. Has [insert specific problem] been a
problem for you? (context)
2. Tell me about the last time you dealt
with this problem? (story)
3. What’s your ideal solution for this?
(solution)

47. PROCESS

48. Use the
Validation
Board

49. Use the Manual

50. Use One Another

51. OBJECTIVE:
Learn

54. MVP Method
3 Stages...
1.Problem Exploration: Exists? Who?
2.Product Pitch: Collect currency
3.Concierge: Deliver customer experience
Stages increase in opportunity cost

56. Minimum Success Criterion
Make a Prediction:
If we [do this], [numeric] of target customers
will [behavior]

57. Validation Board
• It’s a valuable communication tool
• 5-7 words in black sharpie
• WRITE IN ALL CAPS
• Mentors will enforce strongly
Following guidelines = better experience

58. Validation Board
Demo
http://bit.ly/lsm-canvasvideo

59. Read the fine print
on the Canvas

60. Get Out of the Building
TALK TO PEOPLE

62. Intensive 3-Day Workshops
200 Workshops Globally in 2013