These are the slides used in the 150 Startups kick-off workshop held at Bow Valley College May 12th to 14th that was facilitated by Evan Hu & Craig Elias

1. Startups
Kick Off Weekend

2. 150 Startups
1
Provincial Winner
2) Institutional winners participate in a summer
program that helps them develop their ideas & pitch
skills
Institutional Winners
3) At the Innovation Rodeo institutional winners
compete in regional pitch competitions and regional
winners compete in a provincial pitch competition
Each college / university selects it’s most
promising first-time Entrepreneur
8 Regional Winners
150 First-time Entrepreneurs
1) On campus activities get 150 students to Ideate
promising business ideas they want to pursue

3. Schedule
Friday
6:00PM to 8:00PM Meet and greet, teams created
8:00PM to 10:00PM Team work
Saturday
8:00AM to 9:00AM 60 Second Pitch
9:00AM to 12:30AM Workshop
12:30PM to 5:00PM Team work
5:00PM to 6:00 PM Check-in | Q&A
6:00PM to 10:00PM Team work
Sunday
8:30 AM to 10:00PM MVP Presentation & Feedback
10:00AM to 12:30PM Workshop

5. Take Action

6. Before We Get Started

7. Name
From
Company
Idea
Problem
Your ‘ask’

8. Team Creation

9. Andy Rachleff’s
Law of Startup
Success

10. The #1
company-
killer is
lack of
market.

11. When a great team meets a lousy
market, market wins.
When a lousy team meets a great
market, market wins.

12. When a great team meets
a great market,
something special
happens.

13. Marc Andreessen’s
Corollary of
Andy Rachleff's
Startup Success

14. The only thing that matters is
getting to product/market fit.

15. The only thing that matters is getting to
Value Proposition to
Customer Segment fit.
Market = Customer Segment
Product = Value Proposition

16. Save your time, money, energy,
The only thing that matters is
getting to Value Proposition to
Customer Segment fit.

17. Don’t drink your
own Kool-Aid.

18. “The primary objective of a startup is to
validate its business model hypotheses
(and iterate and pivot until it does).”
Steve Blank

19. BUSINESS
MODEL
CANVAS

20. A Business Model
Canvas (BMC) is a tool
or framework used to
organize and clarify your
thinking.
It describes how you create,
deliver and capture value.

21. A critical outcome of
using a BMC is the
ability to identify your
hypotheses and risks.

22. Business
Model
Canvas

23. 23
Value Proposition
What is the problem
you are solving?
Are you a vitamin or a
drug?
What value is delivered
to customers?
What is your offering?
Do they care?
Characteristics:
- Newness
- Performance
- Customization
-“Getting the Job Done” Design
- Brand/Status
- Price
- Cost Reduction
- Risk Reduction
- Accessibility
- Convenience/Usability

24. 24
Customer Segments
Which types of
customers and
users are you
serving?
Mass Market
Niche Market
Segmented
Diversified
Multi-sided Platform

25. 25
Customer Relationships
What relationships
are you establishing
with each segment?
Personal?
Automated?
Acquisitive?
Retentive?Examples:
- Personal assistance
- Dedicated Personal Assistance
- Self-Service
- Automated Services
- Communities
- Co-creation

26. 26
Channels
How can each customer
segment be reached? How do
they prefer to be reached?
Channel types:
• Your own vs. partners?
• Direct (sales force, your website)
vs. indirect (e-commerce sites,
partner stores or channels)
Channel Phases:
• Awareness
• Evaluation
• Purchase
• Delivery
• After sales

27. Desirability
Will this solution fill a need?
Will it fit into people’s lives?
Will it appeal to them?
Will they actually want it?
Feasibility
Is the technology needed to power the design solution available or within reach?
How long will this take?
Can the organization actually make it happen?
Viability
Will the design
solution align with
the business goals?
Does this solution
honor the client’s
budget?
What will the return
on the investment
look like?

28. The BMC with its 9 building
blocks focuses on the big
picture.
The VPC zooms in on two
of those building blocks,
the Value Proposition and
the Customer Segment.

29. BMC helps you create value for
your business.
VPC helps you create value for
your customers.

30. Your proposed solution
The problem you’re solving
Who is the customer segment
(target market)
Why your customer segment
wants ‘it’
Changes to the above in the last
12 hours
60 Second Pitch

31. SATURDAY

32. Your solution
The problem you’re solving
Who is the customer segment
Why they want ‘it’
Changes in the last 12 hours
60 Second Pitch

33. A Business Model
Canvas (BMC) is a tool
or framework used to
organize and clarify your
thinking.
It describes how you create,
deliver and capture value.

34. But using a BMC is not a
silver bullet.
It can still result in great
products that NOBODY wants
to buy.

35. So, how do we avoid that?

36. 18Minutes…In
Marshmallow Tower
Challenge

37. teams must
build the
Tallest
Freestanding Structure
with the
Marshmallow on top

38. Tom Wujec has run this
same marshmallow experiment
hundreds of times and found some
interesting patterns.

39. Business students
and lawyers
built about half the
average height
of 20 inches.

40. Engineers and
Architects did the
best (and so they
should)!

41. Kindergarten KIDS usually do as
well as architects and engineers!
BUT here is the really interesting thing...

42. HUH?

43. MBAs and lawyers want to
their way to an optimal
outcome and then execute on
the plan.
PLAN

44. Instead of wasting time trying to
make a plan or establish who is in
charge, kindergarten kids simply
over and over until they find a model
that works.
EXPERIMENT

45. On virtually
every measure
of innovation
they create
taller and more
interesting
structures.

46. Under conditions of
ambiguity, where outcomes
are unknown, most people fall
back on a planning mindset.

47. A planning mindset increases
your chances of failure
because you waste time
devising strategies
instead of trying out ideas.

48. THE
LEAN
STARTUP

49. Principles of the Lean Startup
The
Steve Blank, Eric Ries, Alexander Osterwalder

50. Entrepreneurs Are Everywhere
Entrepreneurship Is Management
Validated Learning
Innovation Accounting

51. The fundamental activity of a startup is to
turn ideas into products,
measure how customers respond
and then learn whether to pivot or persevere.
and
Build
Measure
Learn

52. Build – Measure - Learn with a
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
An MVP a version of a new product or service which
allows your team to collect the maximum amount of
validated learning about your hypothesis with the
least effort.
It puts your hypotheses to the test.
MVP

53. The Lean Startup process
builds new ventures more
efficiently.
It has three parts:
• a business model canvas to frame
hypotheses,
• customer development to get out of
the building to test those hypotheses,
• and agile engineering to build
minimum viable products

54. What’s a
hypothesis?

55. A hypothesis is an
educated guess, that
requires some
experimentation and
data, to either validate or
invalidate.

56. about failing
56
It’s not
learning
It’s about

58. What are the most
critical hypotheses
to test?

59. Problem*
Who has it?
How severe is it?
Are my target customers
willing to change their
behaviour to solve it?

60. Problem Validation
• Do your customers recognize they have the problem you want
to solve?
• Why do they have the problem?
• How big a problem is it for them? How does the problem impact
them? Do they all have it equally, or does it affect some more
than others?
• Is the problem one they care about enough, that they will buy a
solution (of some kind)?

61. Learn Early
Learn Often
Learn Cheap
Validate (or invalidate)
your assumptions.

62. Customer*
Who is my customer –
early adopters vs. later?
Users vs. buyers vs.
influencers?
Segmentation?

63. Customer Validation
• Which customers/segments have the problem you are solving?
How can you get as granular as possible as to the segment
definition (i.e. geographic locations, demographics,
psychographics, etc)?
• Who are the early adopters?
• Can you define a “persona” for your ideal or typical
customer/user?
• Who is MOST interested? Are they willing and able to buy a
solution?

64. Learn Early
Learn Often
Learn Cheap
Get out of the office.

65. Solution
What potential solutions
to my customer problems
are most attractive to
them?
What do they most value?

66. Solution Validation
• Can we build a solution for that problem? What would our
solution have to include in order for the customer to buy it (not
just try it)?
• How else do they solve this problem today? Are there other
solutions that already exist?
• What are the gaps/issues with alternatives? How is our solution
better/different?
• What would it take for the customer to buy it from us? What are
their preferences and priorities for features?

67. Learn Early
Learn Often
Learn Cheap
Pivot or Persist.

68. Market
How big is my market?
Is it growing?

69. Market Validation
• How big is your target customer segment? Is it growing? How
fast?
• Is the market large enough for you to build a viable business?

70. Who can help you
validate you’re solving
the right problem(s) for
the right customer
segment(s)?
Potential users, buyers,
influencers. Prospective partners,
suppliers. Competitors.

71. Hypothesis
(Leap of Faith Assumptions)
“Genchi Gembustsu”
(go see for yourself)
“Get Out of the Building”
Learning Milestones
Minimize
TOTAL time
of the MVP
through loop
Pivot (or Persevere)
Innovation Accounting
(evaluate progress)
Build. Measure. Learn.
Most learning for
the least effort

72. An MVP is the smallest version
of your product that allows you
to learn about your customers,
their problems, and how you
might solve them – with the
least effort, cost, and
resources.

73. So, your MVP is geared to test
your hypotheses, answer
solution design questions, and
provide insights into feasibility.

74. It’s NOT a bunch of features
thrown against the wall to see
what sticks.
Nor is it v 1.0 of your product.
Or perfect.

75. Your MVP can be a functional
prototype or wireframe.
But it can also be a landing
page, email campaign,
crowdfunding campaign,
video, paper mockup…

76. MVP Approaches
• TO BUILD….
• Functional prototype
• Wireframes
• OR NOT TO BUILD…
• Wizard of Oz, or Concierge
• Data sheet/brochure, illustration or
storyboard
• Landing page
• Email campaign
• Mock sales online (Google or
Facebook ads) or live, aka “dry wallet”
• Presales online (crowdfunding
campaign or landing page) or live
• Video
• Innovation games like “buy a feature”,
“product box” or “speedboat”

77. BUILD a functional prototype
• Functional prototype:
• Full featured prototype design for a narrow customer set (Example:
Facebook for .edu only)
• Minimally functional prototype with a micro-feature set, but for many
customers (Example: Twitter)
77

78. Other ways to BUILD it…
• Wireframes: a skeleton of your software or website that outlines
the screen layout, how the various elements are arranged, and
how navigation will work. It doesn’t have any design, colours or
other visual elements.
• Mockups: are the next step with wireframes, where a designer
mocks up how each screen (or a sample of screens) will look.
They can be made interactive by using prototyping tools, or can
be static designs.

79. No Cost / Low cost Prototyping
• Maker Community
• http://www.protospace.ca/
• http://makezine.com/
• http://www.instructables.com/
• http://hackerspaces.org
• Manufacturing Resources
• Alibaba.com
• GlobalSources.com

80. No Cost / Low cost Prototyping
Tools
• 3D Modeling Tool: Google Sketchup
• Application Wireframe modeling : myBalsamic, UXPin
Crowd Services
• 3D modeling services : TurboSquid http://www.turbosquid.com/
• Work Market Place : Amazon Mechnical Turk
http://aws.amazon.com/mturk/
• Professional Services market place : Fiverr
http://fiverr.com/

81. MVP: Fake it
• Wizard of Oz
• Versions: Imposter Judo, Dry Wallet, Landing Page
• Example: Zappos
• Concierge, personalized service prototype. Maximized feature
set, one or two customers or offering:
• Example: Village Laundry Service

82. MVP: “Marketing” versions
• Data sheet: specifications (for technical products)
• Brochure: mocked up sales/marketing brochure
• Illustration or sketch: of a scenario, problem, or your imagined
solution
• Storyboard/video: of a customer scenario

83. MVP: Email Example
• Craigslist: “Crude and Rude” email blast to “get the job done”
rudimentary

84. Startups are a TEAM SPORT
DIVERSITY
The MARKET matters
BIGGER IS BETTER
What is the VALUE PROPOSITION ?
WHAT JOB IS GETTING DONE?
It takes a VILLAGE to raise a startup
NETWORK
The SOFT STUFF is the HARD STUFF
CULTURE

85. OF ITERATIONS
BEATS
SPEED
QUALITY
OF ITERATIONS

86. How do I test a
hypothesis?

87. How far will the
right answers to the
wrong questions get you?
@JullienGordon

88. 10 Testing Principles
1. Realize that evidence
trumps opinion.
2. Learn faster and reduce risk
by embracing failure.
3. Test early; refine later.
4. Experiments do not =
reality.
5. Balance learnings and
vision
6. Identify idea killers.
7. Understand customers first.
8. Make it measurable.
9. Accept that not all facts are
equal.
10.Test irreversible decisions
twice as much.

89. Data Traps to Avoid
• False positive: seeing things that aren’t there
• False negative: not seeing things that are there
• Local maximum: missing out on the bigger potential by only
testing locally
• Exhausted maximum: overlooking limitations
• Wrong data: searching in the wrong place

90. Caution!
• Watch your question structure!
• People will answer the question you ask. But an improperly structured
question may not give you the answer you are seeking.
• Be systematic – ask the same questions, using the same
scale(s), so you have comparative data.

91. Finding Answers
• Reference third party data – online/other
• Talk to experts
• Domain, industry or functional experts
• Competitors, channel and value chain partners
• Look within your own network, and beyond
• Connect with potential customers/users
• F2F interviews, discussions, observation
• Online surveys, ads, groups
• Other?

92. And a few more…
• Use Calls to Action (CTA) to get evidence and data
• Focus testing on
• Customer interest
• Customer preferences & priorities
• Customer willingness to pay
• Consider “split” or “A/B” testing to evaluate different options
(features, pricing, copy text, packaging, etc.)

93. Your resources are precious.
Energy
Time
Money

94. timeis more valuable than
money
While money can fluctuate up or down time only
moves in one direction.

95. Personal
Energy
You only have a finite reservoir that you
can draw from and must share with family
and friends.
is the most precious of all.

96. Risk
decreases as your hypothesis are validated

97. Iterateuntil you find a
sustainable and scalable
business model before
you run out of resources:
personal energy, time,
money.

98. In a Nutshell…

99. What are your Hypothesis?
What do you Measure to validate your Hypothesis?
MVP features = Measurements
Build an MVP with the least effort
Get out of the office and Measure
Learn from your Data that you measured

100. 現地現物

101. Genchi Genbutsu
“go and see for yourself”

102. ONE ITERATION
of a
Lean Startup
MVP Cycle
in
20 HOURS

103. Guidelines For Getting Out of the
Office
• 12:30PM Saturday to Sunday 8:30AM
• One iteration of a Lean Startup MVP Cycle in 20 hours
• Present back Sunday at 8:30am for 3 minutes

104. MVP Presentation

105. Guidelines For MVP Presentation
• 3 minute presentation
• Slide 1: Team name, members, roles, mantra, Twitter summary
• Slide 2: Updated BMC highlighting:
• Summarize key changes
• Highlight any new hypotheses that require testing

106. Guidelines For Presentation
Slide 3: MVP Show & Tell
• Recap MVP approach and rationale
• Recap key hypotheses tested
• Review Getting OoO. For each of your key hypotheses:
• Actions/approach required to validate each key hypotheses
• Who is responsible for each action, who else is involved
• Validating data gathered
• Slide 4: Next Iteration
• What did you learn from the MVP?
• What are your next steps; pivot, persist, more validation?
• What will you next MVP be and what hypothesis will be test?

107. SUNDAY

108. MVP PRESENTATION
MVP Show & Tell

109. Guidelines For MVP Presentation
• 3 minute presentation
• Slide 1: Team name, members, roles, mantra, Twitter summary
• Slide 2: Updated BMC highlighting:
• Summarize key changes
• Highlight any new hypotheses that require testing

110. Guidelines For Presentation
Slide 3: MVP Show & Tell
• Recap MVP approach and rationale
• Recap key hypotheses tested
• Review Getting OoO. For each of your key hypotheses:
• Actions/approach required to validate each key hypotheses
• Who is responsible for each action, who else is involved
• Validating data gathered
• Slide 4: Next Iteration
• What did you learn from the MVP?
• What are your next steps; pivot, persist, more validation?
• What will you next MVP be and what hypothesis will be test?

111. FOLLOW ON

112. Failure

113. I have not failed,
I've just found
10,000 ways
that won't work.
- Thomas A. Edison

114. Wear your failure
as a BADGE OF
HONOR
Sundar Pichai

115. David Kelley, Ideo 1997
Fail faster to succeed sooner.
Eric Raymond, Art of Unix Programming 1999
Fail early, fail noisily.
John Maxwell, Falling Forward 2007
Fail early, fail often, fail forward.

116. Business
Model
Canvas

118. Key Activities
Which activities do you
need to perform well in
your business model?
What is crucial?
Categories:
- Production
- Problem Solving
- Platform/Network

119. Key Resources
Which resources
underpin your
business model?
Which assets are
essential?
Types:
- Physical
- Intellectual (brand patents,
copyrights, data)
- Human
- Financial

120. Key Partners
Which partners and
suppliers leverage
your model?
Who do you need to
rely on?
Types of partnerships:
- Strategic alliances
- Co-opetition
- Joint ventures
- Buyer-suppler
Motivations for partnerships:
- Optimization and economy of scale
- Reduction of risk and uncertainty
- Acquisition of particular resources and activities

121. Cost Structures
what is the
resulting cost
structure?
which key
elements drive
your costs?
Is your business more:
- Cost Driven (leanest cost structure, low price
value proposition, maximum automation,
extensive outsourcing)
- Value Driven ( focused on value creation,
premium value proposition)
What are KEY costs?
Sample characteristics:
- Fixed Costs (salaries, rents, utilities)
- Variable costs
- Economies of scale
- Economies of scope

122. Revenue Streams
What are customers
really willing to pay for?
How?
Are you generating
transactional or
recurring revenues?
Examples:
- Asset Sale
- Usage Fee
- Subscription Fees
- Lending/Renting/Leasing
- Licensing
- Brokerage Fees
- Advertising
Fixed Pricing:
- List Price
- Product Feature Dependent
- Customer Segment Dependent
- Volume Dependent
Dynamic Pricing:
- Negotiation
- Yield Management
- Real-time Market

123. Revenues
• What are customers really willing to pay for?
• How much will they pay? What is it worth to them
(value) to solve their problem? How much are they
paying today for alternative/competitive solutions?
• What capacity do my customers have to pay?
• What is the timing/type of payment? Are you
generating transactional or recurring revenues?
• What are all the different ways to capture revenue in
your venture? Are they all worth it?
• Based on above… How will you package and price
your product ?

124. Two types of companies
• Companies that care about revenues
• When will I get to $100k/month in revenues?
• When will I get to $1M/month in revenues?
• What assumptions about my business am I making when I reach these
milestones?
• Companies that don’t care about revenues
• How do you get to 10M monthly users?
• How do you become one of the top 5 websites visited?

125. Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting
Customers
• Traction = customer acquisition
• Most founders focus on the “traction channels” they are familiar
with or think they should be using… thus many focus on the
same channels (SEO, PR) and ignore other options
• It’s hard to predict what will work best. You can guess, but until
you start running tests, you can’t tell which is the best one for
you right now.

126. Pirate
Metrics
AARRR
A Acquisition. You acquire the customer.
For a SaaS product, this means a sign up.
For a retail store, this means a a person who walks in your door.
A Activation. The customer uses your product, indicating a good first visit.
For a SaaS product, this means logging on and using the software.
For a retail store, this means purchasing a product.
R Retention. The customer continues to use your product.
For a SaaS product, this means a daily active customers
For a retail store, this means return purchases
R Referral. The customer likes your product so much they refers other new customers.
R Revenue. The customer pays you.

127. Pirate Metrics AARRR Example
127

128. Traction: Framework
• Use the “Bullseye” framework: a repeatable
process that maximizes your chance of getting
customer traction
• Brainstorm
• Rank
• Prioritize
• Test
• Focus
• Traction’s Bullseye approach works hand in hand
with the Lean approach – focused on customer
interaction and iteration
• Should be run IN PARALLEL with the lean approach
to product development

129. 19 Traction Channels
• Viral marketing (referrals)
• PR
• Unconventional PR (stunts)
• Search engine marketing (SEM)
• Social and display ads
• Offline ads
• Search engine optimization
(SEO)
• Content marketing (blogs)
• Email marketing
• Engineering (tools, widgets)
• Targeting blogs
• Business development
• Sales
• Affiliate programs
• Existing platforms (Facebook,
Twitter, app store)
• Trade shows
• Offline events
• Speaking engagements
• Community building

130. Traction: Guidance
• 50/50 rule: Spend 50% of your time on product, and 50% on
traction
• Focus on moving the needle – the activities that result in
measurable, significant impact on your company
• Early on, you can do things that DON’T scale.
• First you make something people want. Then you market it. Then you
scale your business. In that order.

131. Traction: Guidance
• Recognize that growth can happen in spurts
• If you’re not seeing strong traction, look for “bright spots” in your user
base, and find out what they like and why… and expand from there
• Consider a pivot when you see lack of user engagement – that is
measurable
• Timing matters – over time, all activities will eventually lead to poor quality
click throughs
• Focus on 1 traction channel at a time, and spend very little in the early
stages
• Research how other companies in your space (or adjacent spaces) have
succeeded or failed at getting customer traction
• Use A/B testing to optimize

132. SUMMARY

133. Your resources are precious.
Energy
Time
Money

134. timeis more valuable than
money
While money can fluctuate up or down time only
moves in one direction.

135. Personal
Energy
You only have a finite reservoir that you
can draw from and must share with family
and friends.
is the most precious of all.

136. Risk
decreases as your hypothesis are validated

137. Iterateuntil you find a
sustainable and scalable
business model before
you run out of resources:
personal energy, time,
money.

138. In a Nutshell…

139. Save your time, money, energy,
The only thing that matters is
getting to Value Proposition to
Customer Segment fit.

140. What are your Hypothesis?
What do you Measure to validate your Hypothesis?
MVP features = Measurements
Build an MVP with the least effort
Get out of the office and Measure
Learn from your Data that you measured

141. Some great resources…
Online
• https://strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas
• https://www.udacity.com/course/how-to-build-a-startup--ep245
Books

142. Steve Blank: Udacity
Lesson 1.5A: Business Model
• Business model
• BMC value prop
• BMC customer segments
• BMC channels
• BMC customer relationships
• BMC revenue streams
• BMC key resources
• BMC key partners
• BMC key activities
• BMC costs
Lesson 1.5B: Business Models
and customer development
• Hypotheses or guesses
• Customer development process
• Hypothesis testing
• MVP
• Pivot
• Customer discovery
• Customer validation
• Market opportunity analysis
• Total available market (TAM)
• JerseySquare Market Size
(example)
• Market size summary

143. Steve Blank: Udacity
Lesson 2: Value prop
• Value prop
• Value prop and the MVP
• Customer archtype
• Talk to customers
• Value proposition – product
• Value proposition – service
• Pain killers – hypotheses
• Pain killers – problem or need
• Pain killers – ranking
• Gain creators – hypotheses
• Gain creators – ranking
• The art of the MVP
• Common mistakes with value propositions
• Value prop questions **
• Technology and market insight
• Types of value props
Lesson 3: Customer segments
• Product market fit
• Rank and day in the life
• Customer gains
• Customer pains
• Customer in context
• Signals and experiments
• Two sided market
• Multiple customer segments

144. Steve Blank: Udacity
• Lesson 4: Channels
• Direct channel fit
• Indirect channel economics
• OEM channel economics
• Lesson 6: Revenue model
• Common mistakes
• Revenue streams and price
• Direct and ancilliary models
• Pricing
• Lesson 7: Partners
• Partnerships
• Partner definition
• Partner resources
• Greatest strategic alliance
• Startup partner strategies summary
• Lesson 8: Resources, Activities, Costs
• Resources, activities, costs
• Four critical resources
• Costs

146. Contact Info
📱 +1.403.703.0365
✉️ Evan@Alavetta.com
📱 +1.403.703.0365
✉️ CElias@BowValleyCollege.ca