1.
WEBINAR
The 3 Most Common
Mistakes Smart
Entrepreneurs Make
Building their MVP
Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D.
co-founder, Shufflebrain

2.
Is this you? Are you eager to:
• accelerate your early design process?
• find exactly the right early customers?
• build a compelling, stripped-down MVP?

3.
Welcome
I’m glad
you’re here

4.
What You Will Learn Today
The 3 most common MVP mistakes
smart entrepreneurs make —
and how to avoid them

5.
As a
child
I loved
to play

6.
As a
child
I loved
to play
But I
didn’t
love to
compete

7.
one night
on a beach
in Greece
my creativity
was re-ignited

8.
I found another way to play

9.
I developed my coop design skills

10.
then one day, I got THE CALL

11.
we created a breakthrough hit

12.
which led to more breakthrough hits

13.
and insights into Game Thinking

14.
Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D.
• Social Game Designer
• Entrepreneur
• Startup Coach

15.
Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D.
• Social Game Designer
• Entrepreneur
• Startup Coach

16.
3 common
MVP
mistakes
- & how to
avoid ‘em

17.
Listening to the wrong feedback1
Early conversations can
be really important. We
thought we knew what
the answers would be -
and we were WRONG.
Jesse Schell
CEO, Schell Games

18.
building
next-generation
brain games
My Startup Journey

19.
building a
next-generation
collaboration tool
Bob’s Startup Journey

20.
building a
fashion game
with real brands
Covet Fashion Journey

21.
Fashion Browser
stay up-to-date on fashion trends
Co-Creator
shop & dress with a buddy
Armchair Stylist
tell other people how to dress
RESULTS
3 key
activity patterns

22.
Crossing the Chasm
Geoffrey Moore, 1991

23.
Everett Rogers, 1961
Innovation
Diffusion
Theory

24.
To cross
the chasm…

25.
Find & delight
a few passionate
early customers

26.
the fans out
there are
entertaining us,
the developers,
with their
creations!
Will Wright
designer, The Sims

27.
Find & leverage
your Super Fans

28.
Slack came to life as
a collaboration tool
for a distributed team
building a co-op game
solve a real problem for a small group

29.
Early adopters will put
up with cost and ridicule
for innovations that meet
real needs.
Erika Hall
Author, Just Enough Research
TIP: get early feedback from the right people

30.
Waiting too long to prototype2
If you’ve created a game
design document longer
than five pages, you’re
already on the wrong
track.
Erin Hoffman
Lead Designer, GlassLabs

31.
DANGER falling
in love
with
your
idea

32.
if you can’t
prototype your
idea, you cripple
your learning
prototyping is the fast path to learning

33.
discover what DOESN’T work
as early as possible

34.
building a
next-generation
collaboration tool
Bob’s Startup Journey

35.
building a
geo-centric
deals app
Bryan’s Startup Journey

36.
building an
enterprise
SAAS product
Megan’s Startup Journey

37.
Slack’s Startup Journey
3 years of
development as
an internal tool

38.
Your idea is worth nothing if
you can’t actually build it
and test it and take it to the
next step.
Katherine Isbister
Game Design Professor, UCSC & NYU
TIP: prototype your idea uncomfortably early

39.
Building the wrong MVP3
In a loop, you’re learnng
a skill & updating your
mental model. That’s
what leads to player
delight.
Dan Cook
co-founder, Spry Fox

40.
DANGER

41.
a beautiful,
innovative,
awaard-winning
social brain game
My Journey

42.
building
a connected
car app
Sam’s Journey

43.
building
a collaboration tool
from the ground up
Slack’s Journey

44.
is for Enthusiasts
Discovery
Onboarding
Habit-Building
Mastery
What is your
end-to-end
Customer
Experience?

45.
is for Enthusiasts
Discovery
Discovery is for Visitors
Is this right for me? What’s the value proposition?

46.
is for EnthusiastsOnboarding is for Newbies
Discovery
Onboarding
How do I learn the ropes? When do I start getting value?

47.
is for EnthusiastsHabit-building is for Regulars
Discovery
Onboarding
Habit-Building
What pulls me back? What am I getting better at?

48.
is for EnthusiastsMastery is for Enthusiasts
Discovery
Onboarding
Habit-Building
Mastery
Can I leverage the skills & knowledge I’ve built?

49.
is for Enthusiasts
Discovery
Onboarding
Habit-Building
Mastery
end-to-end customer experience

50.
is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Discovery is for Visitors
Social Discovery
via Friends &
Colleagues

51.
is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Onboarding is for Newbies
Learn the ropes
with a friendly bot

52.
is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Habit-building is for Regulars
Customized group
chat with emojis,
bots & integrations

53.
is for EnthusiastsStage 1: Mastery is for Enthusiasts
Launch a channel,
program a bot,
integrate your app

54.
a conversational,
extensible
environment —
built to enable
UGC & player
creativity
Slack evolves to match your skill level

55.
Slack didn’t start with
all these features

56.
FIRST: build
& test your
Core Loop

57.
Fake
landing page?

58.
Fake
landing page?

59.
Operant
Conditioning
AKA
Skinner Box?

60.
Operant
Conditioning
AKA
Skinner Box?
X

61.
Skill-building =
making customers
more awesome

62.
Skill-building =
making customers
more awesome

63.
Check Updates
urge to connect
with your team
Read &
Respond to
Updates
No More
Updates Need
Attention
Customize your
channel &
expressions
Activity Chain
Feedback &
Progress
Investment Path
Internal
Trigger
Core Loop

64.
Check Updates
urge to connect
with your team
Read &
Respond to
Updates
No More
Updates Need
Attention
Customize your
experience
Trigger
Activity
Engaging
activity
satisfies an
urge or need
Internal
Trigger
Core Loop

65.
Feedback &
progress
promote
learning &
mastery
EscapeTime!
urge to dive into
an escapist world
Read &
Respond to
Updates
No More
Updates Need
Attention
Customize your
experience
Feedback &
Progress
Core Loop

66.
EscapeTime!
urge to dive into
an escapist world
Read & Respond
to Updates
No More Updates
Need Attention
Customize your
experience
Investment Path
Investment
& triggers
pull people back
Engaged
Trigger
Check Notifications
Core Loop

67.
Find the fun
in your Core
Loop FIRST
Wanna build long-term engagement?

68.
Finding the fun in a
co-op music game

69.
PartyTime!
urge for a fun
social activity
Play a Song
Together
Get your Score,
Accolades, $$
get better, play
harder songs &
bigger venues
Core Loop
Feedback &
Progress
Investment Path
Activity
Internal
Trigger
Beat the Song
Engaged
Trigger

70.
Skill-building =
making customers
more awesome

71.
Core Loop =
making customers
more skillful

72.
It’s okay to test things that
don’t look very good but have
the right play mechanics. If
my game’s really ugly and it’s
still fun, I’m in good shape.
Jesse Schell
CEO, Schell Games
TIP: build & iterate your Core Loop

73.
How to avoid common MVP mistakes

74.
Customer Insights Funnel
gather
Actionable
Insights
on your ideas
from the right
early customers

75.
is for Enthusiasts
Discovery
Onboarding
Habit-Building
Mastery
Think through your end-to-end
customer experience
Customer Narrative

76.
Check Updates
urge to connect
with your team
Read &
Respond to
Updates
No More
Updates Need
Attention
Customize your
channel &
expressions
Activity Chain
Feedback &
Progress
Investment Path
Internal
Trigger
Create & Iterate
your Core Loop
Skill-building Core Loop

77.
Bring your
ideas to life
with Game
Thinking
Game Thinking Roadmap

78.
Amy Jo helped us create
our MVP in record time.
An invaluable investment
that’s still paying off.
Ranan Lachman
CEO, Pley

79.
How can YOU benefit from Game Thinking?
Accelerate & focus your design process
+
Identify & leverage the right early customers
+
Build a stripped-down yet compelling MVP

80.
Start Date: Jan 11 2016
MVP Design Club
high-impact VIP coaching for product teams
getting2alpha.com/club
30% discount for attendees who sign up by Fri 1/8/2016

81.
let’s stay
in touch
@amyjokim
amyjokim.com
getting2alpha.com