Instead of doing the traditional market research work and figuring out what product to build, you should create your own market segment.

1. MARCELO CALBUCCI
marcelo@calbucci.com
@calbucci

3. How I did Sampa?
 Personal Pain
 Validation with Industry Experts
 Validation with Potential Customers
1
WORDS ARE CHEAP

4. How I should have done Sampa
 Pick a segment/niche (don’t try to boil the ocean)
 Build a 3-6 month V1 and Ship It
 Work Harder on Customer Acquisition
 Work Harder on Fine Tuning Revenue Model
2
ADOPTION OF A PRODUCT IS
THE BEST MARKET RESEARCH

5. Don’t listen to your customers…
 People don’t know what they want
 You don’t have customers if you don’t have a product
 The customers you have might not be the customers
you want
 Blue + Red + Green = Mud!
Unless…
 It’s an enterprise customer
 You are listening to the problems

6. Pain-Killer Vitamin

7. Every Startup Worst Enemy
COMPETITORS?
PRODUCT FEATURE SET? INDIFFERENCE!
LACK OF MARKETING?
NOISE!
FUNDING NEEDS?
SEO? INERTIA!
BRAND RECOGNITION?

8. BEAT INDIFFERENCE
Why should I care?
Why should I tell anyone?
Why this matter?
3
BE REMARKABLE

9. BEAT NOISE
Isn’t this just like…?
4
CHANGE THE GAME

10. BEAT INERTIA
Why should I change?
5
FIND WHO NEEDS YOU

11. Defensibility
(Usually) NO YES!
 Patents  Customer base
 More Features  Partnerships
 Better Features  Distribution deals
 In-house Genius  Exclusive Content
 Better plan  Better business process
 More marketing  Better sales strategy
6
CREATE REAL VALUE

12. Summary
1. Words are Cheap
2. Adoption of a Product Is The Best Market
Research
3. Be Remarkable (Beat indifference)
4. Change the Game (Beat noise)
5. Find Who Needs You (Beat inertia)
6. Create Real Value
CREATE YOUR MARKET

13. MARCELO CALBUCCI
marcelo@calbucci.com
Twitter: @calbucci