The document provides guidance on how to design a startup idea using design thinking principles. It discusses defining the problem or design challenge, being empathic by observing customers and seeing things from their perspective, synthesizing information about customer benefits, gains, jobs and outcomes. The key is to focus on customer needs and what will provide value rather than starting with a predetermined solution.

1. How to DESIGN
0.
your STARTUP
idea.
Fred Ooms
Web: sopartec.com, vivesfund.com
Twitter: @fredooms
Blog: thebraintwist.com
Linkedin: fredooms

2. Tom and Anne, 26 and 24, PhD
2

3. Sarah, 25, Business School
3

4. VivesII - Investment
Manager
4

5. BLOG-
THEBRAINTWIST.COM
5

6. Killer idea...

7. Lots of $$$$$$$$$...
7

8. A lot of them fail...
8

9. How could I help them?

10. + +
My toolbox...

11. think outside of the
box...

12. 1.
“Design thinking can be described as a discipline that uses the designer’s
sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is
technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into
customer value and market opportunity.” - Tim Brown (Ideo)

15. Business
(viable)
Human
values
(usability,desirability)
Technology
(feasibility)

16. Uncertainty Business Clarity
(viable)
Human
values
(usability,desirability)
Technology
(feasibility)
“Design thinking can be described as a discipline that uses the designer’s
Inspiration Ideation Implement
sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is
technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into
Synthesize Prototyping
customer value and market opportunity.” - Tim Brown (Ideo)

17. “If I had an hour to solve a problem
and my life depend upon the solution. I would
spend the first fifty minutes determining how
to...
Frame the problem
...for once I know the proper question to ask I
can solve the problem in less than 5 minutes”
Albert Einstein

18. Define constraints...

19. Spend some time defining the right question
(Identify a design challenge)
?

20. Spend some time defining the right question
(Identify a design challenge)
5 + 5 =?

21. Spend some time defining the right question
(Identify a design challenge)
? + ? =10

22. Spend some time defining the right question
(Identify a design challenge)
How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits
of fresh food so they can make better choices?
What global challenge do you think innovation
leaders should work to solve right now?
How might we increase the availability of
affordable learning tools & services for students
in the developing world?

23. Design
challenge
5 minutes
exercice

24. “Genius is 1% inspiration and
99% perspiration”
Thomas Edison
Pay attention
Stock your creative reservoir
before you go fishing for
ideas

25. leave the school !

26. leave

27. IDEAS COME FROM
EVERYWHERE
“Ideas are coming from
everywhere” - Marissa
Mayer

28. Learning is everywhere

29. Learning is everywhere
Netfix

30. Learning is everywhere

31. Being empathic (observe)
step into someone else’s shoes

32. Being empathic (observe)
look through customers’ eyes

33. Being empathic (observe)
and ...defer judgment

34. How ?
How ?

35. Conduct interviews

36. Never stop asking open questions
and challenge the status quo
Ask questions with the same
innocence as a child
+ 5 Why...
+ What if...
+ Why not...
+ How else can we do this...
+ How can we improve this...

37. “Think like a Traveler”

38. Being empathic (observe)
The ability
to step
outside of
yourself...
source Ideo

39. Being empathic (observe)
...and see the
world as
other people
see it
source Ideo

40. Look with fresh eyes

41. Ideo Method cards: http://www.ideo.com/by-ideo/method-cards

42. synthesize

45. F T
Which savings would make your customer happy?
(e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)
What outcomes does your customer expect and what
would go beyond his/her expectations?
(e.g. quality level, more of something, less of something, …) Rank each gain according to its relevance to
your customer.
How do current solutions delight your customer? Is it substantial or is it insignificant?
For each gain indicate how often it occurs.
What would make your customer’s job or life easier?
A
What positive social consequences does your
customer desire?
(e.g. makes them look good, increase in power, status, …)
What are customers looking for?
What do customers dream about?
Gains
(e.g. big achievements, big reliefs, …)
How does your customer measure success and failure?
Customer Job(s)
(e.g. performance, cost, …)
Describe the benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by.
This includes functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings. What would increase the likelihood of adopting a solution?
(e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality, performance,
design, …) Describe what a specific customer segment is trying to get done. It could be the tasks
they are trying to perform and complete, the problems they are trying to solve, or the
needs they are trying to satisfy.
What functional jobs are you helping your customer get done?
What social jobs are you helping your customer get done?
(e.g. trying to look good, gain power or status, …)
What emotional jobs are you helping your customer get done?
(e.g. esthetics, feel good, security, …)
What basic needs are you helping your customer satisfy?
(e.g. communication, sex, …)
Besides trying to get a core job done, your customer performs ancillary jobs in differ-
ent roles. Describe the jobs your customer is trying to get done as:
Pains (e.g. takes a lot of time, costs too much money, requires substantial efforts, …)
Buyer (e.g. trying to look good, gain power or status, …)
Co-creator (e.g. esthetics, feel good, security, …)
Describe negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks that your What makes your customer feel bad?
customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the (e.g. frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …) Transferrer (e.g. products and services that help customers dispose
job done. of a product, transfer it to others, or resell, …)
How are current solutions underperforming for
your customer?
(e.g. lack of features, performance, malfunctioning, …) Rank each job according to its significance to your customer. Is it
crucial or is it trivial? For each job indicate how often it occurs.
your customer encounters?
is done, because that may impose
resistance, …)
constraints or limitations.
What negative social consequences does your (e.g. while driving, outside, …)
customer encounter or fear?
(e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …)
Rank each pain according to the intensity it
What risks does your customer fear? represents for your customer.
Is it very intense or is it very light.?
What’s keeping your customer awake at night? For each pain indicate how often it occurs.
(e.g. big issues, concerns, worries, …)
What common mistakes does your customer make?
Source : http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/
(e.g. usage mistakes, …)
What barriers are keeping your customer from
adopting solutions?
(e.g. upfront investment costs, learning curve, resistance to change, …)
downloads/value_proposition_canvas.pdf

46. Ideation

47. Brainstorming rules
Don’t Do it the IDEO way
- the boss speaks first + defer judgment
- everybody gets a turn + build on the ideas of others
- experts only please + encourage wild ideas
- do it off-site + go for quantity
- no silly stuff + be visual
- write down everything + stay focused on the topic
+ one conversation at a time

48. Classify
and Vote

49. Do they…
Create savings that make your customer happy? Do something customers are looking for?
(e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)
Produce outcomes your customer expects or that go
beyond their expectations? (e.g. help big achievements, produce big reliefs, …)
(e.g. better quality level, more of something, less of something, …)
Produce positive outcomes matching your customers
Copy or outperform current solutions that delight your success and failure criteria?
customer? (e.g. better performance, lower cost, …)
Help make adoption easier?
Make your customer’s job or life easier? (e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality,
A
performance, design, …)
cost of ownership, …)
Rank each gain your products and services create according to its relevance to your
Create positive social consequences that your customer. Is it substantial or insignificant? For each gain indicate how often it occurs.
customer desires?
(e.g. makes them look good, produces an increase in power, status, …)
Gain Creators
Products & Services Describe how your products and services create customer gains.
How do they create benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised
by, including functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings?
List all the products and services your value proposition is built around.
Which products and services do you offer that help your customer get either a
functional, social, or emotional job done, or help him/her satisfy basic needs?
Which ancillary products and services help your customer perform the roles of:
Buyer
(e.g. products and services that help customers compare offers,
decide, buy, take delivery of a product or service, …)
Co-creator
(e.g. products and services that help customers co-design
solutions, otherwise contribute value to the solution, …)
Transferrer
(e.g. products and services that help customers dispose of
a product, transfer it to others, or resell, …)
Products and services may either by tangible (e.g. manufactured goods, face-to-
face customer service), digital/virtual (e.g. downloads, online recommendations),
intangible (e.g. copyrights, quality assurance), or financial (e.g. investment funds,
financing services). Pain Relievers
Rank all products and services according to their importance to your customer. Describe how your products and services alleviate customer pains. How do they
Are they crucial or trivial to your customer? eliminate or reduce negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks
your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting
the job done?
Do they…
Produce savings? Eliminate risks your customers fear?
(e.g. in terms of time, money, or efforts, …)
Make your customers feel better? Help your customers better sleep at night?
(e.g. kills frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …) (e.g. by helping with big issues, diminishing concerns, or eliminating worries, …)
Fix underperforming solutions? Limit or eradicate common mistakes customers make?
(e.g. new features, better performance, better quality, …) (e.g. usage mistakes, …)
Get rid of barriers that are keeping your customer
customers encounter? from adopting solutions?
Source : http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/
(e.g. make things easier, helping them get done, eliminate resistance, …)
resistance to change, …)
Wipe out negative social consequences your
customers encounter or fear? Rank each pain your products and services kill according to their intensity
(e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …) for your customer. Is it very intense or very light?
downloads/value_proposition_canvas.pdf
For each pain indicate how often it occurs. Risks your customer experiences or
could experience before, during, and after getting the job done?

50. “What I hear, I forget
What I see, I remember
What I do, I understand”
Lao Tse
Prototyping
“Language is convincing
Seeing is believing
Touching is reality”
Alan Key

51. Build to learn...

52. Build to learn...
source Ideo

53. Build to learn...

54. Build to learn and test all your
hypothese..

55. Build to learn and test all your
hypothese..
+

56. Build to learn...
www.balsamiq.com/

57. The Marshmallow exercice

58. Build to learn...and iterate fast
& cheap

59. Build to learn...and be open-minded
to feedbacks

60. Build to learn and test all your
hypothese..
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

61. Great exemples

62. Being empathic (observe)
Insulin purity vs patient convenience

63. source Ideo

64. Being empathic

67. IDEO shopping cart

68. 2. JUST DO IT!

69. Implement
“An idea is not a company...”
- Steve Blank

70. Build a great A team...
70

71. The team

72. +
Design
Challenge
+