2. Proprietary and Confidential
START UP
SECRETS
An insider’s guide to unfair competitive advantage
Hi
Turning Products into Companies
by Design & Architecture
twitter: @mjskok startupsecrets.com
Michael J Skok
3. Proprietary and Confidential
Agenda:
Closing the Product Company GAP by Design & Architecture
Design
• Product Go To Market Fit
PVP
MVP
MVS
MRP
Architecture
• Business Model
SLIPPERY Products
Russian Doll Pricing and Packaging
Whole Product
Services
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 9
4. Proprietary and Confidential
Design for
Product Go To Market fit
MVP and introducing MVS, MRP
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 10
5. Proprietary and Confidential
The Product Market Fit
MarketProduct
Fit
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 11
6. Proprietary and Confidential
Adding to Lean Startup thinking…
Minimum Viable
Product (MVP) .
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 12
MarketProduct
Fit
7. Proprietary and Confidential
The Product Market Fit Question
here?
here?
here?
here?
MV
P here?
Market
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 13
Product
8. Proprietary and Confidential
The Product Market Fit Problem
here?
here?
here?
here?
Fit ?
Stretch
?
MV
P
MVP
++
here?
Market
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 14
Product
9. Proprietary and Confidential
Market
not here
not here
not here
not here
Fit
MV
P
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 15
Product
The Product Market Fit Solution = MVS
10. Proprietary and Confidential
MV
S
MVP
Adding to Lean Startup thinking…
16
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
+ Minimum Viable Segment (MVS)
Repeat?
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies
11. Proprietary and Confidential
MV
S
MV
P
Adding to Lean Startup thinking…
17
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
+ Minimum Viable Segment (MVS)
= Minimum Repeatable Product (MRP)
MR
P
Repeatable
MR
P
= same NEEDS
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies
12. Proprietary and Confidential
MV
S
MV
P
Adding to Lean Startup thinking…
18
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
+ Minimum Viable Segment (MVS)
= Minimum Repeatable Product (MRP)
Smaller target to reference
lead, dominate
MR
P
Repeatable, Referenceable
MR
P
= same NEEDS
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies
13. Proprietary and Confidential
Minimum Viable Segment…
Maintains MVProduct footprint
• Same functionality needed by all customers
People reference according to the same NEEDS
• Customers can compare solutions
Potential for leadership, domination
• At least initial Beachhead
Segment according to the same NEEDS
MV
S
MV
P
= same NEEDS
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 19
MR
P
MR
P
14. Proprietary and Confidential
vs. Office Worker
vs. White Collar
vs. Sales
vs. Office Equipment
vs. Medical Clinics
vs. Diagnostics
+ Blatant Critical need if possible:
Mobile Professionals
Field Workers
Services
Hospitals
Critical Care
Medical Equipment
Targeting, Segmentation - example
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 20
15. Proprietary and Confidential
Targeting, Segmentation – Need Attribution
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 21
To what do you attribute their need?
Brainstorm all the attributes you can think of…
Obvious examples
- Size / Stage
- Domain, sub domain, (eg Financial Services, Insurance,
- Sub sector (eg Property and Casualty)
What are your LESS obvious, and MORE specific examples?
- What kind of end customer they serve
- What problem that end customer is solving?
- etc
16. Proprietary and Confidential
No longer just Product Market Fit
It’s about Product Go To Market Fit
• Narrow your target
• Segment it by need
• Focus your product
Vital for
• Positioning, Messaging, Communication
• Packaging and Pricing
• Channels & Distribution, Partner Alignment, Support etc
Enables
• Reference selling, network effects, virality
• Overall Business alignment
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 22
18. Proprietary and Confidential
Narrow as possible to start!
• Think small targets to dominate
Which would you rather…
• Expand on success?
• Contract on failure?
Balance Vision vs. Execution
• See post on startupsecrets.com
NUMBER ONE Startup Secret =
FOCUS!
Don’t be afraid to pick one thing and focus on it!
#1
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 24
19. Proprietary and Confidential
• Simple
• Low to no initial cost
• Installs easily
• Proves value quickly
• Plays well with others
• Easy to use
• ROI is obvious
• Your customers can’t live without it – it’s stickY
Friction Free, SLIPPERY products
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 25
20. Proprietary and Confidential
• Simple
• Low to no initial cost
• Installs easily
• Proves value quickly
• Plays well with others
• Easy to use
• ROI is obvious
• Your customers can’t live without it – it’s stickY
Friction Free, SLIPPERY products
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 26
Think of how this
improves the Gain/Pain
Ratio in our Value
Proposition Workshop
Gain
Pain
25. Proprietary and Confidential
Simple
Simplify to your C.O.R.E. value [link on startupsecrets.com]
• Create a whole product with partnerships
• And or Open Source etc
Capabilities
Of
Really
Exceptional
Value
Focus on it!
C.O.R.E.
Value
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 31
26. Proprietary and Confidential
Low to no initial cost
Potential for
• Frictionless trials
• Lower initial CARC
• Self identifying Freemium prospects
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies
“Freeconomics"
32
27. Proprietary and Confidential
Low to no initial cost
Potential for
• Frictionless trials
• Lower initial CARC
• Self identifying Freemium prospects
Free-fall, free-fail ?
• It’s worth what people are paying for it = nothing
= no proof of value
• And perceived value can also be zero
• Ultimately have to upsell
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 33
28. Proprietary and Confidential
Low to no initial cost
• Value
• Network
• Monetization
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 34
29. Proprietary and Confidential
Installs easily, integrates well
Slippery not Trip-up-ery!
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 35
30. Proprietary and Confidential
Installs easily, integrates well
Reducing the Pain for customers to try, adopt, deploy
Inertia,
RISK
Gain
Pain
>10
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 36
31. Proprietary and Confidential
• Integrates well
– “Embrace & Extend”
Open & Extensible…
• Assume
– Change = risky, painful, time consuming & costly
Incumbents far and wide
Applications
Operating environments
Business processes
Human skills
Installs easily, integrates well
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 38
32. Proprietary and Confidential
Products that integrate, play well with others…
Encourage others to
play with them…
®
LINK Technology
Partners
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies
LINK program
39
33. Proprietary and Confidential
Proves value quickly
Consumer
• Instant gratification
Enterprise,
• Rapid payback
≤3 months is great
>12 months is bad
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 40
34. Proprietary and Confidential
For example
• If your product is about improving a process…
Provide proof as part of the product!
• Baseline current before the product usage
• Provide key metrics, visibility into progress
• Integrate analytics, dashboards
• Clearly surface reports that prove the value
Self proving value
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 41
38. Proprietary and Confidential
Easy to use and apply
“OOBE!”
• Out Of the Box Experience
• Delight & entrance users
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 46
39. Proprietary and Confidential
Example Salesforce vs SIEBEL
VS.
Easy to use and apply
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 47
40. Proprietary and Confidential
ROI is Obvious
Quantifiable
• Increase revenue
• Reduce time, resources, costs
Or
• Reduce risk
• Drives competitive advantage
(ties to fast payback)
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 48
41. Proprietary and Confidential
ROI is Obvious
(Supported by Self Proving Value)
Example: Unidesk
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 49
42. Proprietary and Confidential
StickY
Your customers can’t live
without it!
• Avoids Churn
Leaves customers
wanting more !
• Encourages Upsell
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 50
43. Proprietary and Confidential
• Simple
• Low to no initial cost
• Installs easily
• Proves value quickly
• Plays well with others
• Easy to use
• ROI is obvious
• Your customers can’t live without it – it’s stickY
Friction Free, SLIPPERY products
@mjskok startupsecrets.comTurning Products Into Companies 51
Think of how this
improves the Gain/Pain
Ratio in our Value
Proposition Workshop
Gain
Pain
Per our most recent newsletters to you, formally introducing U first which was announced just yesterday.
We wanted to be first to intercept the entpep, we want to be founder first and we want to help our founders get to market first introducing… U first.
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the _U First
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the _U First
Intelligent line art only
Text in box resizable
Product shrinks
a set of actual or potential customers for a given set of products or services who have a common set of needs or wants, and who reference each other when making a buying decision.
Moore, Geoffrey A. (2009-03-17). Crossing the Chasm
By Chris Anderson 02.25.08
By Chris Anderson 02.25.08
“NPG!”
Fast path to value
Per our most recent newsletters to you, formally introducing U first which was announced just yesterday.
We wanted to be first to intercept the entpep, we want to be founder first and we want to help our founders get to market first introducing… U first.