Final project for 1-week course on Customer Discovery "Lean Launchpad" at Columbia University with Steve Blank. This was our final pitch for ContactTree- an intelligent contact manager.

1. Contact Tree
It’s your tree. See it. Grow it.
35
Interviews
56
Unique website visitors
11
Sign-ups

2. KP
Contact Aggregation:
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Google+
• Skype
Customer
Organizations:
Professional Schools
Select Companies
(ie. Companies who
benefit from employees
having a strong
network)
KA
Platform
Development
KR
Human (key staff)
Intellectual
Value Prop
Current need:
Networking is
important, but time
consuming and
currently not formally
managed.
Service: Formal
management of your
network through
contact
aggregation, visualizatio
n, analytics and
searchability. Use of
personal assistant to
reduce user’s time
burden.
Customer Relation
Automated web based
service
Acquisition: Free
service within
professional schools
Maintenance: value
added services
Growth: Word of
mouth, benefiting
companies
CH
Online (Web)
Customer Seg
Professionals
Students emerging
from professional
schools
Sales facing roles
Mass market
(personal use)
C$
Cost Driven business (automated service)
• Staff
• Business Development, Legal
R$
Subscription fee for advanced
service
Business Model Canvas
Day 1: 26 August 2013

3. What we have learned
Facts Extract
D1/
D2
Need
• Don’t need a simple aggregator of contacts (94% of interviewees)
• Need to be able to categorize their network (sub-groups) (75% wanted)
• Validated that a reminder or automated service was necessary (81% of our interviews)
• Search functionality in LinkedIn and Facebook does not meet standards, but wouldn’t use an
additional platform just for search
• Time saving is a value proposition – want automated services
Customer
• 100% of interviewees are on LinkedIn but not necessarily on Facebook
Revenue Model
• People are 84% don’t want to pay for the product, 16% said they would pay a minimal amount
• Focused our value prop by
discarding simple aggregation and
search function
• Discovered a new customer
archetype - career services, alumni
services, meetups
• Changed potential revenue model
D3 Need
• Prioritized list of people to network with
• Personalized yet automated is the winning combination and makes people want to join
Customer:
• Additional customer type – meet ups and career services
• Research on ‘curating’ your list of
contacts
• Hypothesis of customer
acquisition tipping point
D4 Competition Landscape
• Personal contact manager is a crowded market place with lots of players focus on different
feature set
Customer interviews:
• Personalization very important – smart algorithim to provide meaningful way to connect
Get strategy through partners
• Career service may not be a valid customer. However, we may consider event organizers with a
vested benefit in keeping contacts among attendee
• Crucial to differentia ourselves
from competitor
• Partners need to validated

4. Key Partners
Contact Aggregation:
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Google+
• Skype
Key Activities
Web service
Development
Key Resources
Human (key staff)
Intellectual
Value Proposition
• Current need:
• Networking is
important, but time
consuming and
currently not formally
manage
Service:
Reduced time and effort
 Virtual personal
assistant
 Easy search through
smart analytics
Strengthen the quality of
networks
 Frequency and
quality of
communication
Influencers
Strengthen alumni
network
Customer Relation
Automated web based
service
• Acquisition: Free
service within
professional schools
• Maintenance: value
added services
• Growth: Word of
mouth, benefiting
companies
Channels
Online (Web)
Customer Segments
• Professionals
• Students emerging
from professional
schools
• Sales facing roles
• Mass market
(personal use)
End Users:
• Alumni (1 – 5 years)
• MBA students
Influencers/Reccomen
ders:
• Alumni Relations
Directors, Organizati
onal
Professors, Career
Services Coach
Cost Structure
Cost Driven business (automated service)
• Staff
• Business Development, Legal
Revenue Streams
• Subscription fee for advanced service
• License fee charged to schools
• License fee charged to partnership websites
Business Model Canvas
Day 2: 27 August 2013

5. Customer Archetypes
Job seekers
• 24-32
• Male and female
• Top tier MBA or recent
graduates
• Active job seeker
• 1-3 targeted industry
• Working with Career
Services
• 300+ LinkedIn contacts
• Access to targeted industry
and exclusive groups
• Need super connectors
• 26-40
• Male and female
• Passive job seekers
• 500+ LinkedIn contacts
• Care about small
inner-circle of 30+
• Time-starved
• Need reminder to keep
contact
Time starved professionals
• Advocates of
professional networks
• Part of their VP is
teaching people how
to strengthen
networks
Career Services
End User End User Influencer

6. Key Partners
Contact Aggregation:
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Google+
• Skype
Influencers/Reccomender
s:
• Alumni Relations
Directors, Organization
al Professors, Career
Services Coach
Key Activities
Web service
Development
Key Resources
Human (key staff)
Intellectual
Value Proposition
• Current need:
• Networking is
important, but time
consuming and
currently not formally
manage
Service:
Customer Relation
Automated web based
service
• Acquisition: Free
service within
professional schools
• Maintenance: value
added services
• Growth: Word of
mouth, benefiting
companies
Channels
Online (Web)
Customer Segments
• Professionals
• Students emerging
from professional
schools
• Sales facing roles
• Mass market
(personal use)
• End Users:
• Alumni (1 – 5 years)
• MBA students
Cost Structure
Cost Driven business (automated service)
• Staff
• Business Development, Legal
Revenue Streams
• Subscription fee for advanced service
• License fee charged to schools
• License fee charged to partnership websites
Business Model Canvas
Day 3/4: 27/8 August 2013
Early MBA/Job
Seeker
Mid career MBA
Search
Reminder
Sub-group
Reminder
Broadcast with one
click
Paid
Free

7. Dashboard
(access to
multiple
social
network)
Reminder Subgroup/
prioritized
group
Network
Assessment
Visual
Display
Contact Tree
(Free/$
Contactually
($20/mo.)
Nimble
($15/mo.)
Rapportive
(Free)
Plaxo
($5/mo.)
Xobni
($8/mo.)
Competitive Landscape – Value Proposition

8. 90% male MBA
27% finance
45% professional services
NY, CA >> IN, NC, UK

9. Key Partners
Contact Aggregation:
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Google+
• Skype
Influencers/Reccomender
s:
• Career Services Coach
• Alumni Relations
Directors,
• Organizational
Professors
• Event organizer
Key Activities
Web service
Development
Key Resources
Human (key staff)
Intellectual
Value Proposition
• Current need:
• Networking is
important, but time
consuming and
currently not formally
manage
Service:
Customer Relation
Automated web based
service
• Acquisition: Free
service within
professional schools
• Maintenance: value
added services
• Growth: Word of
mouth, benefiting
companies
Channels
Online (Web)
Direct sales
Customer Segments
• Professionals
• Students emerging
from professional
schools
• Sales facing roles
• Mass market
(personal use)
• End Users:
• Alumni (1 – 5 years)
• MBA students
Cost Structure
Cost Driven business (automated service)
• Staff
• Business Development, Legal
Revenue Streams
• Subscription fee for advanced service
• License fee charged to schools
• License fee charged to partnership websites
Business Model Canvas
Day 5: 30 August 2013
Job Seekers
• 24 – 32, M/F, top
tier MBA or
recent
graduates, work
with career
services
Time starved
Professionals
Search
Reminder
Reduce time and
effort
Suggested
personalized
interactions
prioritization of
network Sub-group
Reminder service
Broadcast with one
click
Free Free Paid
Meet ups / Event
organizations
Drive repeat business
by increasing quality of
connections made

10. What we are going to do next
Today To-do
Customer
Segments
• Early-stage MBA/job seeker
• Mid career MBA
• Meetups / event organizer
• Test other industry professionals (ie. Lawyers)
• Adwords campaign to test sign up rate
• Test value proposition through customer interviews with
business development leads
Revenue
Stream
• Free for end user
• Event meet up
• Test pricing with meet up organizations (interviews)
• Test pricing with end users (current hypothesis testing in
progress through website, $4.99 – $19.99 per month)
Key Activities • Web service development • Validate algorithm to automate service

11. Backup

12. Market Size
Total;
G8 Top 20 Professional Schools
Current: 2.5 M
Alumni: 12.5 M
Accessible Customers
Current: 1.9 M
Alumni: 9.4 M
Top 20 MBA
schools
MBA: 180K
30K
Current,
150K
alumni
Assumptions:
American Top 20 Professional Schools Columbia 25K X 20 schools X 5years X 5 countries (for G8 including size difference) = 15
M
% of people able to access web based service – 75%
100%
75%
1%

13. Channels
Contact
Tree
Direct Sales
E-Commence
(Contacttree.wordpr
ess.com)
MBA Students
MBA Alumni
MBA Career Service
Partnership Social
Networks