Innovation accounting at BackupAgent v2 This is how BackupAgent applies Lean Startup and Innovation Accounting.

1. Innovation Accounting at BackupAgent (2013)
Lean startup principles put to practice
Robbert van Geldrop| Founder and CTO
1

2. About BackupAgent
 Vendor of Cloud Backup Software
• Based in Delft, The Netherlands
• Funded in 2007 by Solid Ventures
• Funded in 2013 by Runa Capital
 No direct sales; exclusive through:
• (Hosting) Service Providers
• Telcos
• Cloud Service Brokers
 Where are we
• Profitable business
• 400+ partners in 50+ countries
2

3.  We build Cloud Backup Software
 We sell our technology to service providers
 We apply Scrum and Kanban
The key question is always what to build or improve next
3
Build

4.  We have a lot to measure:
• Which features are customers
using?
• On which platform are they
installing it?
• Which features can our
partners sell best and why?
 Business model:
• How to charge partners?
• How much customers are
they bringing in?
4
Measure

5.  We measure software usage
through DeskMetrics:
• Features
• OSes
• Demographics
 We keep track of our install
base through license
reporting:
• Increase of users
• Increase of TBs
5
Measure

6. We wanted to know if further improvement of our Exchange 2007
plugin would be a good idea:
Remember: we interviewed our partners about this too and they
confirmed this finding
6
Validation of features and improvements

7. 7
Estimation of the opportunity of feature

8. ‘A cohort is a group of people who share a common characteristic within a
defined period’
Cohorts can teach us about potential to scale and sustainability:
The hard part is how to choose your cohort
Do it yourself: http://www.alivelearn.net/?p=1240
8
Measure – Cohorts!

9.  We wanted to validate the
sustainability of our partner model:
• Recruiting new partners is
expensive
• Not all of our partners are selling
our services successfully
 A sustainable partner network
validates further investment:
• Increase marketing
• Develop new features faster
9
BackupAgent’s cohorts
Cohort analysis shows partnerships are
very sustainable over time:
This includes churn, so successful partners outgrow churning
partners consistently.
Invoiced usage fees per cohort of activated partners per Q
Metrics validate scaling of marketing effort:
• Average Lifetime Value (LTV) = ±12,000 EUR
• Cost of Acquisition (COCA) = ±5,500 EUR
• 100% recurring revenues

10.  BackupAgent ALWAYS enriches data with in-depth interviews:
• You need to know about cause and reason that hides behind data
• These reasons and causes make the data actionable
Customer development is the best methodology for this
10
Measure – qualitative data

11.  Learning is not a system:
• BackupAgent is only starting to embed the learning part
• It’s the softest side of Lean Startup
 Active learning can be captured by the Business Model Canvas
 It’s the process that goes behind making and updating the canvas
that really matters
 Not all learning takes places at a time you plan for it, ideally
anyone could instantiate his/her own little iteration
11
Learn

12. 12
Learn – BackupAgent’s Canvas

13.  Your canvas will be a mess if you put all opportunities in the
model – so how do you deal with that?
 We implemented the concept of ‘option cards’
• You draw a ‘mini’-canvas on a card symbolizing your option
• You do this for each opportunity
• By doing this you can log and track progress on everything
 The deck of cards get prioritized and actions are agreed on weekly
basis
13
Learn – Converting your canvas into actions

14.  The Option Cards Kanban:
14
Learn – Converting your canvas into actions

15. Follow us
@BackupAgent
facebook.com/BackupAgent
youtube.com/user/backupagent
linkedin.com/company/backupagent-bv
Questions?
Thank you for listening
Robbert van Geldrop
robbert@backupagent.com
@rvangeldrop