Stanford Entrepreneurs- Accelerate Your Startup

12. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing •Women •Age 28-45 •Have kids •Socialize with other mom’s •Online with Facebook •86% said they’d like to be more organized •70% said they’d use an application that organizes them IDEATION

14. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Mary is a mom by choice. She had a successful career in accounting, but welcomed the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. She loves it. But it’s not like having kids purged her creative, social instincts. She wants to connect, she wants to learn, she wants to interact. Being a mom is a job and she wants to do it well. That means corresponding with other mom’s on relevant topics and keeping the family calendar in ship shape. She posts to Facebook at least twice a week and responds to other moms’ items more often than that. For household stuff, Costco is the go-to place, but she’ll pick up fresh items at the farmer’s market when it’s up and splurge at Whole Foods when they’re having company. Mary the Mom IDEATION

17. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Drafting Stories PERSONAS STORIES Epic Stories Stories Test Cases “As a [persona], I want to [do something] so that I can [derive a beneﬁt]” IDEATION ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

19. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING !5,000,000% 0% 5,000,000% 10,000,000% 15,000,000% 20,000,000% 25,000,000% 30,000,000% 35,000,000% 40,000,000% 45,000,000% 2012% 2013% 2014% 2015% 2016% 2017% 2018% 2019% 2020% Revenue% Expense% EBITDA% Five Year Plan Then Iterative Management Now 6.a PIVOT experiments disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 PIVOT OR PERSEVERE? 6.b PERSEVERE experiments prove hypothesis ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

20. !5,000,000% 0% 5,000,000% 10,000,000% 15,000,000% 20,000,000% 25,000,000% 30,000,000% 35,000,000% 40,000,000% 45,000,000% 2012% 2013% 2014% 2015% 2016% 2017% 2018% 2019% 2020% Revenue% Expense% EBITDA% Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

21. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNINGPLANNING Do I have real evidence from my buyer that this is compelling? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis What are the key assumptions required to make this business work? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis How do I definitely prove or disprove the assumptions with a minimum of time and effort? 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis 6.a YES results disprove hypothesis 01 IDEA! 02 HYPOTHESIS 03 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 04 EXPERIMENTATION 05 REVISE? 6.b NO we appear to have a valid hypothesis Am I reacting or am I focused on validating my pivotal assumptions? ‘Pivot or persevere?’ ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

22. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Priority Key Assumption Needs Proving? Experimentation 1 [A key assumption about the business] [Whether it needs proving [Experiment to prove or disprove] 1 Parents want to better organize the distribution of allowances Yes * Post the proposition in ads online * Measure sign-up’s on a landing page 2 Parents have smart phones No n/a PLANNING ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

28. Specialties (VARIOUS)DESIGN UNIXSYSADMIN RUBY PYTON JAVA PHP ... ... ... SEO ANALYTICS ... (VARIOUS)MGMT. ... Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Basic Technical Literacy SOFTWARE FUNDAMENTALS Model-View-Controller ARCHITECTURE FUNDAMENTALS App. & Platform Integration ROLES & SYSTEMS In a Technical Team Stories Personas Development Discussion Foundation Concepts ITERATIVE MANAGEMENT DESIGN THINKING CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT AGILE Collaboration AGILE As Product Owner ORGANIZATION ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

29. Big Company Recipes Applied Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing 5 Year Plan == 10x Returns! X: < Odds at Lotto VC-Encouraged Menagerie X: Too much too soon X: Lack of Experience in Hands-on Discovery X: Better Luck with the Lottery Time to Face the Music X: New Theories to Explain Plan v. Actual X: Fun and Profit- Unlikely ORGANIZATION ++ New Idea! Expanded Team Revisions to Plan == Edgy Board X: Want Lots of Capital at Work It Works! Working 5 Year Plan New HiresFounders Investors Board ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

30. Investors? Advisors? Focus on Validated Learning Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Key Assumptions ID’ed, Validated Lower Risk & Capital Requirement Resources As Needed Clear Focus in Hiring & Contracting Roles and Success Criteria Clear Progress is Quick and Measurable Time to Face the Music Validated Learning Answers Shared Questions Fun & Profit ORGANIZATION ++ New Idea! Full Tilt at a ‘Pivot or Persevere’ Moment Is approach working or not? Option for Non-Traditional Funding Strategies Expanded TeamNew HiresFounders Investors Board ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

32. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing Individuals Interactions > Processes Tools Working software Comprehensive Documentation > Customer collaboration Contract negotiation > Responding to change Following a plan > DEVELOPMENT ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

34. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing direction personas user stories hypothesis (assumptions) experimental design roles & team objectives working product DESIGN THINKING ITERATIVE MGMT. CUSTOMER DEV. AGILE ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

36. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing THE STORY . . . to pursue new ideas about the delivery of cloud services. NETWORK Application Servers Host Infrastructure Data Transport Customer Equipment CRM Order Management Service Delivery Billing Case Mgmt. Inventory Workﬂow IT Portals CONSULTING Service Design Process Design Customization & Integration

39. TOOL SETS AND FEASIBLE ARCHITECTURE AVAILABLE Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing IDEATION GOOD PLATFORMS AVAILABLE & LEONID’S LEARNING’S LIGHTWEIGHT ARCHITECTURES AVAILABLE LACK OF PORTAL CUSTOMIZATION TOOLS & ADD-ON WIDGETS PROVISIONING LABOR INTENSIVE & LEGACY SLOW TO ADAPT AN IT OVERHAUL REQUIRES RADICAL MODERNIATION

41. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing USER STORIES “As a receptionist, I want to receive an out of the box set up that’s created against best practices so I don’t have to set it all up by myself.” “As a receptionist, I want to change the buttons on my phone so they do what I want.” PROBLEM SCENARIO ‘I want a good out-of-the-box experience. And to change the display on my phone.’ PERSONA Rhonda the Receptionist IDEATION ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

42. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing STORY TEST CASE “As a receptionist, I want to receive an out of the box phone set up that’s created against best practices so I don’t have to set it all up by myself.” Make sure the available templates are editable in a visual environment usable by a Product Manager “As a receptionist, I want to receive an out of the box phone set up that’s created against best practices so I don’t have to set it all up by myself.” Make sure it’s possible to update the template at install time “As a receptionist, I want to receive an out of the box phone set up that’s created against best practices so I don’t have to set it all up by myself.” Make sure the template designation is available in all Loki provisioning interfaces “As a receptionist, I want to change the buttons on my phone so they do what I want.” Make sure it’s possible for the user to reset to the default template “As a receptionist, I want to change the buttons on my phone so they do what I want.” Make sure the available functions are filtered by the services assigned to the user “As a receptionist, I want to change the buttons on my phone so they do what I want.” Make sure available functions are filtered based on the capabilities of the phone key “As a receptionist, I want a custom configuration on my phone so that I can manage calls in the way I’ve come to expect.” EPIC STORY IDEATION

44. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing IDEATION Inﬂection Points New data structures on host platform (BroadWorks) Validated sucess in process design. Maturation of off-the-shelf platforms (SugarCRM, Salesforce.com) ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

46. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING Theses Growth? Retention? Supportability? Ongoing investment? Competition? Hypotheses Does anyone want this? Are we the people to do it? Pivot or persevere? ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

47. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PRIORITY KEY ASSUMPTIONS NEEDS PROVING? EXPERIMENTATION 1 End users at large want a visual tool to manage their phones No - Already proven by prototypes from partner 1 Giving the capability to end user admin’s will do more good than harm Yes - Beta testing with customers 1 The design and architecture are supportable in current customer environments Yes - Lab testing with customers...but really... - Field testing at scale 1 The target price point is bearable by the market Yes - Initial sales negotiations - Mainline (post beta) sales 2 The capability makes sense with end users (vs. admin’s) Yes - Some proxy data on overall activity by user type - Customer interviews - Beta testing 2 (Various makes and models of phones are worth investing in) Yes - Advanced orders PLANNING

49. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas. Fixed: product development, G&A Variable: field teams, support BroadSoft Other resellers Integrators Other network system vendors Product development Large account mgmt. Consulting Custom Dev. Actionable insight on cloud UC Best practice recipes Dev. Team Licensing Maintenance & Support Consulting Custom Development Dedicated personal assistance BroadSoft SIPhon Networks Direct Reduced time & risk to get to market Reduced cost Implementation of learned best practices Large/incumbent Medium/competitive Small/niche Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING

50. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas. Licensing Maintenance & Support Consulting Custom Development Dedicated personal assistance BroadSoft SIPhon Networks Direct Reduced time & risk to get to market Reduced cost Implementation of learned best practices Large/incumbent Medium/competitive Small/niche Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING

51. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas. Fixed: product development, G&A Variable: field teams, support BroadSoft Other resellers Integrators Other network system vendors Product development Large account mgmt. Consulting Custom Dev. Actionable insight on cloud UC Best practice recipes Dev. Team Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING

52. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.The templates here are made available on the same CC license terms as the original canvas. Fixed: product development, G&A Variable: field teams, support BroadSoft Other resellers Integrators Other network system vendors Product development Large account mgmt. Consulting Custom Dev. Actionable insight on cloud UC Best practice recipes Dev. Team Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing PLANNING

53. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishingsee alexandercowan.com/finplan operations begin 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Revenue (consulting) (+some software) (50% software) (scaling software) Expenses (small/me+) (variable) (++fixed costs) Financing (n/a) (small debt offer- family) (n/a) (bank-based financing) Earnings (profitable) Visibility (moderate) (low/ moderate) (low/ moderate) (high) (high) (current products: high new products: moderate) PLANNING

55. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing ORGANIZATION Customer Development (me) (dev & ops mgmt.) (dev & operations team) Scaling (me) (expanded sr. mgmt.) (dev & operations team) Feasibility (me) (dev contractors) ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

57. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing DEVELOPMENT LOKI PORTALS ITERATION 01 ITERATION 02 ITERATION 03 ITERATION 04 ITERATION 01 ITERATION 02 ITERATION 03 ITERATION 04 LOKI PROVISIONING LOKI BPM DOC’S & INFRASTRUCTURE A ITERATION 05 ITERATION 05 D E C G Predictive Content B F Predictive Content Predictive Content Predictive Content Adaptive Content Adaptive Content Adaptive Content Adaptive Content

58. Copyright 2012 Cowan Publishing BUY THE BOOK A practical primer for anyone wanting to actually implement today’s best practices in product development (available online or at any major retailer) VISIT THE SITE Free talks, tutorials, and resources for product development and new ventures. MORE? ALEX COWAN AlexanderCowan.com @cowanSF

Stanford Entrepreneurs- Accelerate Your Startup

Stanford Entrepreneurs- Accelerate Your Startup

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