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Startup Secrets:
Building a Compelling
Value Proposition
6.14.19
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Startup Secrets
Workshops
2
1. What’s Your Roadmap to Success?
2. Building a Compelling Value Proposition
3. Turning Products into Companies
4. Culture, Mission and Vision
5. Hiring A+ Talent
6. Game-Changing Business Models
7. Go to Market Strategies
8. Getting Behind the Perfect Investor Pitch
9. Funding Strategies to go the Distance
10. Have You Got What It Takes?
11. Mastering Mutual Mentorship
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Agenda
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
3
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● For (target customers)
● Who are dissatisfied with (the current alternative)
● Our product is a (new product)
● That provides (key problem-solving capability)
● Unlike (the product alternative)
Value
Proposition
4
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● For Mobile Enterprises
● Who are unable to deliver Apps to users bringing their
own devices to work
● Our product is an Enterprise App Services
Environment (EASE)
● That provides for users to securely access Apps and
Information
● Unlike (MDM), our patented Cloud based (MAM)
solution is instantly turned on and scales to tens of
thousands of users
Example:
Apperian
5
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Where Might You Start?
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
6
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Ideas: Free Floating?
7
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Agenda: Problem
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
8
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Unworkable
● Unavoidable
● Urgent
● Underserved
Problems worth solving
are usually the 4 U’s…
Problem
9
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Broken business process
● Consequences?
If the consequences are costly or painful,
so much the better.
e.g., Who gets fired if this doesn’t work?
Unworkable
10
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Accounting
● Regulation
Unavoidable
11
Is the problem so fundamental
you can’t avoid it and just have to comply?
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Relative to Other Needs
● Priority
○ Determines resources allocated
Urgent
12
If you’re not at the top of the list, are you at least in the top 3?
If not, will you get moved up or down over time and why?
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Underserved:
Business
13
● You will compete in a zero-sum game
● Finite:
○ Money
○ Time
○ People
○ Attention
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Social
○ Find
○ Connect
○ Communicate
○ Meet
○ Share
○ Entertain
○ Date
Examples:Needs:
● Social
● Security
● Physical
● Economic
● Recognition
● Responsibility
● Achievement
● Growth
Underserved:
Consumers
14
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Qualify
the Need
Is it BLAC & white?
● Blatant
● Latent
● Aspirational
● Critical
Blatant
Latent
Aspirational Critical
White
Spac
e
15
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Is it addressing a “white space” in the market?
○ an open area of opportunity
○ which you can capture
○ uniquely well
○ AND defend with a moat
■ NOT just technology, business model too
moat
Startup
Secret!
Create a
Moat
16
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Is it 4 U?
○ Unworkable
○ Unavoidable
○ Urgent
○ Underserved
● Is it BLAC and white?
Problem:
Summary
17
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Ideas Can Now Be Applied!
18
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Blatant
Critical
Ideas: Fit to Problem
19
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Agenda: Solution
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
20
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Solution
21
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
• Faster
• Cheaper
• Better
Startup
Opportunity?
22
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
What is your compelling
breakthrough?
3D
Break
Something!
23
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
3D
Breakthrough
Opportunities
24
● Discontinuous innovation
● Defensible technology +
● Disruptive business model
A breakthrough that
COMPELS people to
ACT !
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● It’s often as much work going after a small fight…
● Big problems often = big opportunities
Startup
Secret!
Pick a
BIG Fight
25
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● It’s often as much work going after a small fight…
● Big problems often = big opportunities
● Start small (Execution), think BIG (Vision), develop
a ROADMAP
● See Roadmap to Success on startupsecrets.com
○ e.g., Uber
■ An app with the potential to disrupt an
industry
Startup
Secret!
Develop a
Roadmap
26
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Agenda: Evaluate
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
27
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Before After
Acute Pain ☹ Absolute Joy ☺
Qualitative
Evaluation
28
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Before After
Acute Pain ☹ Absolute Joy ☺
Qualitative
Evaluation
29
Vitamin vs. Morphine
uTest* Example
*later renamed Applause
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● For companies with web or mobile apps
● Who are dissatisfied with apps that work as expected in the QA lab, but
not in the hands of end users
● Our in-the-wild testing
● Enables them to test their apps under real-world conditions
● Unlike outsourced testing, which merely moves the QA lab to a cheaper
part of the world, but doesn’t actually improve app quality
uTestBefore & AfteruTest - Value Proposition
31
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Before: Test In The Lab & Hope
Testing inside the lab is vital. But today’s web & mobile apps require a new approach to
augment lab testing: in-the-wild testing
After: Test Where Your Users Are
Before & AfterBefore & After
32
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Introducing the gain / pain ratio
Gain Pain
Quantitative
Evaluation
33
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
The gain delivered to the customer
vs.
The pain and cost for the customer to adopt
Gain Pain
Gain/
Pain
Ratio
34
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Revenue
● Cost savings
● Time
● People
● Competitive advantage
● Reputation
● Etc.
Gain
35
Gain Pain
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Pain
● Find (See)
● Try
● Buy
● Implement
● Deploy
● Own – e.g., TCO
36
Gain Pain
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Gain from uTest:
○ Scale infinitely and immediately
■ From 3 testers, to 30, to 300, and back to 0
○ Lower total cost of testing
■ EG: SMBs - unlimited testing for ½ the cost of one FTE
○ Test under real-world conditions
■ Live testers, real devices, imperfect conditions… in-the-wild
● Pain from uTest:
○ More testing reports, creating more work
■ Takes time to re-produce, vet and rate 50+ bugs
○ More collaboration, creating more oversight
■ Coordination between in-house & crowd testers
● Goal:
○ Maximize in-the-wild testing, while minimizing overhead
uTest: Gain vs Pain
37
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Switching costs?
● Default = do nothing
● Alternatives?
● Good enough =
good enough!
● RISK on a startup
Inertia
38
Gain Pain
Inertia,
RISK
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
What’s
the Right
Ratio?
39
Gain Pain
Inertia,
RISK
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
> 10 to overcome:
● Inertia
● RISK
Inertia,
RISK
Gain >10
Pain
Gain/
Pain
Ratio
40
Actifio Example
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Average of 30:1 benefit
● $34m vs $1.2m
● Recovery used to take 8.5 hours vs. 2 minutes
Gain/
Pain
Ratio
42
Inertia,
RISK
Gain >10
Pain
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Customer
View:
Gain/Pai
n
Ratio
● Revenue
● Cost savings
● Time
● People
● Competitive
advantage
● Reputation
● Etc.
● Inertia
● Switching costs?
● Default = do
nothing
● Alternatives?
● Good enough =
good enough!
● RISK on a
startup
● Find (See)
● Try
● Buy
● Implement
● Deploy
● Own – e.g., TCO
43
Inertia,
RISK
Gain
>10 Pain
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Customer
View:
Gain/Pai
n
Ratio
● Revenue
● Cost savings
● Time
● People
● Competitive
advantage
● Reputation
● Etc.
● Inertia
● Switching costs?
● Default = do
nothing
● Alternatives?
● Good enough =
good enough!
● RISK on a
startup
● Find (See)
● Try
● Buy
● Implement
● Deploy
● Own – e.g., TCO
44
Inertia,
RISK
Gain >10
Pain
An Order of
Magnitude!
uTest* Example
*later renamed Applause
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Tough to quantify precisely, but here’s what we’ve learned
Gain vs. Pain Ratio
Gain Pain
Cost Savings: 10X
Lower Escape Rate by
75%
Make Testing Mirror User
Base
Launch Confidence
Higher Quality Apps
vs
.
Increased Overhead
5:1
on cost basis
20:1
on cost + value basis
Customer Gain / Pain Ratio
46
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Test latest version of Google Chrome across 300 highest trafficked URLs
on the web
Traditional Outsourcing vs. uTest
Testers 8 Testers 30
Hours / Tester 40 Hours / Tester 10
# of Days 5 # of Days 2
# of URLs Tested 300 # of URLs Tested 300
# of Discovered Issues 19 # of Discovered Issues 129
Price $15,000 Price $10,000
Price-per-Issue $789 Price-per-Issue $78
Sample Customer ROIGain vs. Pain Ratio
Sample Customer ROI
47
Apperian Example
Mobile Application Management
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
▪ Increase revenue by 40% at counters
▪ Roll out 17,000 iPads
▪ Deliver worldwide no IT touch required
▪ Saved $2.5M+ in direct IT costs
Example:
Apperian
49
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Disruptive innovation
Yet…
NON-disruptive
adoption
Startup
Secret!
50
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Agenda: Build
Evaluate Build
Gain Pain
Value
Prop
Define
Ideas
Problem
Solution
51
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● For (target customers)
● Who are dissatisfied with (the current
alternative)
● Our product is a (new product)
● That provides (key problem-solving capability)
● Unlike (the product alternative)
Value
Proposition
52
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● What problems do you understand
uniquely well?
● What solution can you deliver uniquely
well?
● What kind of disruptive business model
can you bring?
Build
Around
YOU
53
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● Define
○ 4U Need (Unworkable,
Unavoidable, Urgent,
Underserved)
○ 3D Solution (Discontinuous,
Defensible, Disruptive)
● Evaluate
○ Gain / Pain >10
● Build
○ Around YOU!
Summary
54
Startup Secrets:
Building a Compelling
Value Proposition
6.14.19
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
1 2 3
• Easy install for all platforms
• Sites are part of the Disqus network
Sites integrate Disqus Users engage with Disqus
Users discover new content &
sites across Disqus
• Sites see tangible benefits, including
increased traffic on their pages
Audience development made easy.
Millions of users use Disqus to participate online and we make
that valuable for publishers in a way that they can measure.
How DISQUS Works
56
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
A COMMUNITY ECOSYSTEM
is the foundation of our
business.
USERS
GOALS
Discovery
Community
ADVERTISERS
GOALS
Acquisition
Retention
PUBLISHERS
GOALS
Engagement
Growth
Revenue
The DISQUS Ecosystem
57
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
DISQUS:
Value
Proposition
for
Publishers
● FOR publishers, like online media or bloggers
● WHO CARE ABOUT building more engaged, loyal
audiences directly on their sites
● OUR PRODUCT IS the most widely used discussion
platform online
● THAT PROVIDES an “engagement management platform”
for publishers, and direct reach into millions of engaged
community participants online
● UNLIKE social networks, which don’t properly serve the
needs of publishers, or white-label software, which
doesn’t provide the wide network reach of users.
58
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● FOR those in the developing world
● WHO ARE DISSATISFIED WITH limited
access to diagnosis
● OUR PRODUCT IS A patterned paper-based
diagnostic technology
● THAT PROVIDES low-cost, easy-to-use,
point-of-care diagnostics
● UNLIKE no diagnosis
Diagnostics
for All:
Value
Proposition
59
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
Before
Need
After
Solution
53%
of Rwandan women
cannot afford healthcare
26%
of Rwandan women
live too far from a hospital
[1] National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) [Rwanda], Ministry of Health
(MOH) [Rwanda] http://www.measuredhs.com/publications/publication-fr259-
dhs-final-reports.cfm
Point-of-care
Minimal training required
Cost = 1¢
Diagnosis by telemedicine
Image: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/alertnets-top-20-big-ideas-that-
dont-cost-the-earth/
Diagnostics for All
60
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
● NO current solution => huge
● NO infrastructure required
● NO training required
● NO time required
● Customers’ Gain / Pain ratio = ∞
DFA:
Gain/Pain
Ratio
61
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
DFA:
Example
At-risk pregnancy
Liver function
● 8 million affected globally
● Conducting ~700 person trial in Vietnam
● Test for ALT/AST enzymes
● Cost: $14 v. 1¢ (DFA)
Child nutrition
Small farmer support
Customer ‘pain’ is real pain
62
Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc
63
How Thoroughly Should You Define?
A little and then iterate?
or
A LOT and then execute?
“A problem well stated is a problem half solved” - Charles Kettering

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Startup Secrets: Building a Compelling Value Proposition

  • 1. Startup Secrets: Building a Compelling Value Proposition 6.14.19
  • 2. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Startup Secrets Workshops 2 1. What’s Your Roadmap to Success? 2. Building a Compelling Value Proposition 3. Turning Products into Companies 4. Culture, Mission and Vision 5. Hiring A+ Talent 6. Game-Changing Business Models 7. Go to Market Strategies 8. Getting Behind the Perfect Investor Pitch 9. Funding Strategies to go the Distance 10. Have You Got What It Takes? 11. Mastering Mutual Mentorship
  • 3. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Agenda Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 3
  • 4. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● For (target customers) ● Who are dissatisfied with (the current alternative) ● Our product is a (new product) ● That provides (key problem-solving capability) ● Unlike (the product alternative) Value Proposition 4
  • 5. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● For Mobile Enterprises ● Who are unable to deliver Apps to users bringing their own devices to work ● Our product is an Enterprise App Services Environment (EASE) ● That provides for users to securely access Apps and Information ● Unlike (MDM), our patented Cloud based (MAM) solution is instantly turned on and scales to tens of thousands of users Example: Apperian 5
  • 6. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Where Might You Start? Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 6
  • 7. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Ideas: Free Floating? 7
  • 8. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Agenda: Problem Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 8
  • 9. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Unworkable ● Unavoidable ● Urgent ● Underserved Problems worth solving are usually the 4 U’s… Problem 9
  • 10. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Broken business process ● Consequences? If the consequences are costly or painful, so much the better. e.g., Who gets fired if this doesn’t work? Unworkable 10
  • 11. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Accounting ● Regulation Unavoidable 11 Is the problem so fundamental you can’t avoid it and just have to comply?
  • 12. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Relative to Other Needs ● Priority ○ Determines resources allocated Urgent 12 If you’re not at the top of the list, are you at least in the top 3? If not, will you get moved up or down over time and why?
  • 13. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Underserved: Business 13 ● You will compete in a zero-sum game ● Finite: ○ Money ○ Time ○ People ○ Attention
  • 14. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Social ○ Find ○ Connect ○ Communicate ○ Meet ○ Share ○ Entertain ○ Date Examples:Needs: ● Social ● Security ● Physical ● Economic ● Recognition ● Responsibility ● Achievement ● Growth Underserved: Consumers 14
  • 15. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Qualify the Need Is it BLAC & white? ● Blatant ● Latent ● Aspirational ● Critical Blatant Latent Aspirational Critical White Spac e 15
  • 16. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Is it addressing a “white space” in the market? ○ an open area of opportunity ○ which you can capture ○ uniquely well ○ AND defend with a moat ■ NOT just technology, business model too moat Startup Secret! Create a Moat 16
  • 17. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Is it 4 U? ○ Unworkable ○ Unavoidable ○ Urgent ○ Underserved ● Is it BLAC and white? Problem: Summary 17
  • 18. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Ideas Can Now Be Applied! 18
  • 19. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Blatant Critical Ideas: Fit to Problem 19
  • 20. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Agenda: Solution Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 20
  • 21. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Solution 21
  • 22. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc • Faster • Cheaper • Better Startup Opportunity? 22
  • 23. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc What is your compelling breakthrough? 3D Break Something! 23
  • 24. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc 3D Breakthrough Opportunities 24 ● Discontinuous innovation ● Defensible technology + ● Disruptive business model A breakthrough that COMPELS people to ACT !
  • 25. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● It’s often as much work going after a small fight… ● Big problems often = big opportunities Startup Secret! Pick a BIG Fight 25
  • 26. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● It’s often as much work going after a small fight… ● Big problems often = big opportunities ● Start small (Execution), think BIG (Vision), develop a ROADMAP ● See Roadmap to Success on startupsecrets.com ○ e.g., Uber ■ An app with the potential to disrupt an industry Startup Secret! Develop a Roadmap 26
  • 27. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Agenda: Evaluate Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 27
  • 28. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Before After Acute Pain ☹ Absolute Joy ☺ Qualitative Evaluation 28
  • 29. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Before After Acute Pain ☹ Absolute Joy ☺ Qualitative Evaluation 29 Vitamin vs. Morphine
  • 31. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● For companies with web or mobile apps ● Who are dissatisfied with apps that work as expected in the QA lab, but not in the hands of end users ● Our in-the-wild testing ● Enables them to test their apps under real-world conditions ● Unlike outsourced testing, which merely moves the QA lab to a cheaper part of the world, but doesn’t actually improve app quality uTestBefore & AfteruTest - Value Proposition 31
  • 32. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Before: Test In The Lab & Hope Testing inside the lab is vital. But today’s web & mobile apps require a new approach to augment lab testing: in-the-wild testing After: Test Where Your Users Are Before & AfterBefore & After 32
  • 33. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Introducing the gain / pain ratio Gain Pain Quantitative Evaluation 33
  • 34. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc The gain delivered to the customer vs. The pain and cost for the customer to adopt Gain Pain Gain/ Pain Ratio 34
  • 35. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Revenue ● Cost savings ● Time ● People ● Competitive advantage ● Reputation ● Etc. Gain 35 Gain Pain
  • 36. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Pain ● Find (See) ● Try ● Buy ● Implement ● Deploy ● Own – e.g., TCO 36 Gain Pain
  • 37. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Gain from uTest: ○ Scale infinitely and immediately ■ From 3 testers, to 30, to 300, and back to 0 ○ Lower total cost of testing ■ EG: SMBs - unlimited testing for ½ the cost of one FTE ○ Test under real-world conditions ■ Live testers, real devices, imperfect conditions… in-the-wild ● Pain from uTest: ○ More testing reports, creating more work ■ Takes time to re-produce, vet and rate 50+ bugs ○ More collaboration, creating more oversight ■ Coordination between in-house & crowd testers ● Goal: ○ Maximize in-the-wild testing, while minimizing overhead uTest: Gain vs Pain 37
  • 38. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Switching costs? ● Default = do nothing ● Alternatives? ● Good enough = good enough! ● RISK on a startup Inertia 38 Gain Pain Inertia, RISK
  • 39. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc What’s the Right Ratio? 39 Gain Pain Inertia, RISK
  • 40. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc > 10 to overcome: ● Inertia ● RISK Inertia, RISK Gain >10 Pain Gain/ Pain Ratio 40
  • 42. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Average of 30:1 benefit ● $34m vs $1.2m ● Recovery used to take 8.5 hours vs. 2 minutes Gain/ Pain Ratio 42 Inertia, RISK Gain >10 Pain
  • 43. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Customer View: Gain/Pai n Ratio ● Revenue ● Cost savings ● Time ● People ● Competitive advantage ● Reputation ● Etc. ● Inertia ● Switching costs? ● Default = do nothing ● Alternatives? ● Good enough = good enough! ● RISK on a startup ● Find (See) ● Try ● Buy ● Implement ● Deploy ● Own – e.g., TCO 43 Inertia, RISK Gain >10 Pain
  • 44. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Customer View: Gain/Pai n Ratio ● Revenue ● Cost savings ● Time ● People ● Competitive advantage ● Reputation ● Etc. ● Inertia ● Switching costs? ● Default = do nothing ● Alternatives? ● Good enough = good enough! ● RISK on a startup ● Find (See) ● Try ● Buy ● Implement ● Deploy ● Own – e.g., TCO 44 Inertia, RISK Gain >10 Pain An Order of Magnitude!
  • 46. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Tough to quantify precisely, but here’s what we’ve learned Gain vs. Pain Ratio Gain Pain Cost Savings: 10X Lower Escape Rate by 75% Make Testing Mirror User Base Launch Confidence Higher Quality Apps vs . Increased Overhead 5:1 on cost basis 20:1 on cost + value basis Customer Gain / Pain Ratio 46
  • 47. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Test latest version of Google Chrome across 300 highest trafficked URLs on the web Traditional Outsourcing vs. uTest Testers 8 Testers 30 Hours / Tester 40 Hours / Tester 10 # of Days 5 # of Days 2 # of URLs Tested 300 # of URLs Tested 300 # of Discovered Issues 19 # of Discovered Issues 129 Price $15,000 Price $10,000 Price-per-Issue $789 Price-per-Issue $78 Sample Customer ROIGain vs. Pain Ratio Sample Customer ROI 47
  • 49. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ▪ Increase revenue by 40% at counters ▪ Roll out 17,000 iPads ▪ Deliver worldwide no IT touch required ▪ Saved $2.5M+ in direct IT costs Example: Apperian 49
  • 50. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Disruptive innovation Yet… NON-disruptive adoption Startup Secret! 50
  • 51. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Agenda: Build Evaluate Build Gain Pain Value Prop Define Ideas Problem Solution 51
  • 52. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● For (target customers) ● Who are dissatisfied with (the current alternative) ● Our product is a (new product) ● That provides (key problem-solving capability) ● Unlike (the product alternative) Value Proposition 52
  • 53. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● What problems do you understand uniquely well? ● What solution can you deliver uniquely well? ● What kind of disruptive business model can you bring? Build Around YOU 53
  • 54. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● Define ○ 4U Need (Unworkable, Unavoidable, Urgent, Underserved) ○ 3D Solution (Discontinuous, Defensible, Disruptive) ● Evaluate ○ Gain / Pain >10 ● Build ○ Around YOU! Summary 54
  • 55. Startup Secrets: Building a Compelling Value Proposition 6.14.19
  • 56. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc 1 2 3 • Easy install for all platforms • Sites are part of the Disqus network Sites integrate Disqus Users engage with Disqus Users discover new content & sites across Disqus • Sites see tangible benefits, including increased traffic on their pages Audience development made easy. Millions of users use Disqus to participate online and we make that valuable for publishers in a way that they can measure. How DISQUS Works 56
  • 57. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc A COMMUNITY ECOSYSTEM is the foundation of our business. USERS GOALS Discovery Community ADVERTISERS GOALS Acquisition Retention PUBLISHERS GOALS Engagement Growth Revenue The DISQUS Ecosystem 57
  • 58. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc DISQUS: Value Proposition for Publishers ● FOR publishers, like online media or bloggers ● WHO CARE ABOUT building more engaged, loyal audiences directly on their sites ● OUR PRODUCT IS the most widely used discussion platform online ● THAT PROVIDES an “engagement management platform” for publishers, and direct reach into millions of engaged community participants online ● UNLIKE social networks, which don’t properly serve the needs of publishers, or white-label software, which doesn’t provide the wide network reach of users. 58
  • 59. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● FOR those in the developing world ● WHO ARE DISSATISFIED WITH limited access to diagnosis ● OUR PRODUCT IS A patterned paper-based diagnostic technology ● THAT PROVIDES low-cost, easy-to-use, point-of-care diagnostics ● UNLIKE no diagnosis Diagnostics for All: Value Proposition 59
  • 60. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc Before Need After Solution 53% of Rwandan women cannot afford healthcare 26% of Rwandan women live too far from a hospital [1] National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) [Rwanda], Ministry of Health (MOH) [Rwanda] http://www.measuredhs.com/publications/publication-fr259- dhs-final-reports.cfm Point-of-care Minimal training required Cost = 1¢ Diagnosis by telemedicine Image: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/alertnets-top-20-big-ideas-that- dont-cost-the-earth/ Diagnostics for All 60
  • 61. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc ● NO current solution => huge ● NO infrastructure required ● NO training required ● NO time required ● Customers’ Gain / Pain ratio = ∞ DFA: Gain/Pain Ratio 61
  • 62. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc DFA: Example At-risk pregnancy Liver function ● 8 million affected globally ● Conducting ~700 person trial in Vietnam ● Test for ALT/AST enzymes ● Cost: $14 v. 1¢ (DFA) Child nutrition Small farmer support Customer ‘pain’ is real pain 62
  • 63. Confidential & Proprietary @underscorevc 63 How Thoroughly Should You Define? A little and then iterate? or A LOT and then execute? “A problem well stated is a problem half solved” - Charles Kettering