I've given this talk a few times at Southern California startup Meetups. The thematic here is "get started".

1. MVP

2. Some Background
“a product guy”
• Lots of startups
• Non-developer
• Self taught
@gammill …
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acquired
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3. A Curriculum
Prototyping MvP Strategy
“No Code Prototype” “n=1 MVP” “Strategy Matters”
“from the trenches”
Bottoms up approach…

4. My Assumptions
“You’re ready to rock”
• Assumptions.
– Focused on pain killer
– You have a prototype
– You have tech resources
For those about to rock…

5. WTF MVP
“cliffs suck”
• Test your hypothesis
• Makes it consumable
• Can be killed off
Stop driving blind…

6. Delusions of Grandeur
Your Vision
Your Products
Your
MVP
Prototype
Prototype
Prototype

7. MVP Scope
Test Value Prop traffic/signups 60%
Deliver Utility or Fun engagement/wom 50%
Demonstrate Traction viral/cpa/etc 25%
Test
your
BS…

8. Create Addiction
“pills baby”
• Find your hook
• Tap behavioral trends
• Build for you
The doctor is in…

9. THE Goal
“focus. value. speed. ”
• Your prototype needs simplifying
• Objectives are get/engage
customers, generate revenue, raise
money, etc
• Focus on the minimum set of
features required to create value.
Be careful…

10. Laundry Time
“create the laundry list”
• List out all the features
• Categorize the features
• Define the MVP objective
Start making your list…

11. Choose Features
“a fine balancing act”
• Utility – drives usage
• Viral – drive Word of Mouth
• Monetization – makes money
• Risk – viability
• Wow - differentiation.
Be deliberate…

12. Feature Set
Activity Function Category Sub Category
ave trans
per user
trans
per
year
ave
trans
value ARPU
Checks Daily Agenda email summary usage email 3 x/wk 156
Reminds husband to pick up kids email, SMS and Social usage reminder 3x /wk 156
Creates GTD list Task list (internal) usage lists 1 x/wk 52
IM chats w/ friend re: dinner plans meebo.com usage communications 1x /wk 52
Creates grocery list Task list usage shopping 2x /m 24
Checks friends availability Check calendars usage schedule 2x /m 24
Updates Facebook Facebook WOM social 2 x/wk 104
Shares plans with her friends Facebook, twitter, etc WOM social 1 x/wk 52
Sends 'daily deal' to friend HUBnote (internal) WOM communications 1x /wk 52
Schedules lunch OpenTable rev dining 6x /yr 6 20 6
Plans holiday travel Kayak, etc rev travel 2x /yr 2 50 5
Gets movie tickets Fandango, MovieTickets.com rev entertainment 5x /yr 5 20 5
buys tickets to the concert ticketmaster.com rev entertainment 2x /yr 2 50 5
Buys brother a gift Amazon.com rev general 2x /yr 2 30 3
Orders flowers for mom FTD.com, 1800flowers rev gifts 3x /yr 3 20 3
Sends brother b-day card americangreetings, Hallmark rev gifts 5x /yr 5 1 0.25
Checks Weather weather.com, etc tbd conditions 3 x/wk 156
Checks Traffic Google Maps? tbd maps 3 x/wk 156
Checks news feeds tbd tbd news 3 x/wk 156
Total 27.25
* 5%

13. Force Feasibility
MfP
MvP
Fit
&
Finish
Launch
Milestone
Usage
Monitoring
User
Experience
Func5onal
Build
Internal
Milestone
Talk
Test
Core
Capabili=es

14. Recent Learnings
“Manage the process”
• Find a CTO friend – learn the lexicon
• Pick 1 platform - Mobile vs Web
• Stick to ‘standards’ – LAMP
Keep it simple…

15. Your Tools

16. Get Started
“Make bacon”
• Revisit the prototype
• Define the objectives
• List out your features
• Define MfP & MvP
• Get out of the building…
Be awesome…

17. One Rule
“n=1”
• Everything good starts with 1
• first idea, first line of code, first
deck, first term sheet, first
customer, first employee, first
exit, first dollar, first contract.
• Focus on first unit of value
Put on your lab coat…

18. TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT
contact
Chrsitian Gammill
Founder, Advisor & Helper
jgammill@gmail.com
310-526-3751
about.me/gammill

19. Backup

20. Pivot
Increments
Incremental Evolution
Well defined build (but not over spec’d)
Customer feedback for tweaks (UI/UX, etc)
Customer input for future features (capabilities, etc)
Very team and customer driven
“Bet the Farm” Pivots
Intense sprint driven builds (constrained
‘existing’ feature set)
Customer feedback for monetization
Business model projections and testing
Very customer and market driven
Pivot?

21. Objective
Find a business model (not just eyeballs or signups)
Drive customer advocacy (not just uptake)
Reduce cycle time (both versions and pivots)
Travature
SocialGuides
(B2C)
SocialGuides
(B2B)
Company
Pivot
Product
Pivot
Pricing
Pivot
18
M
9
M
6
M
Pivot Example

22. #TheStartLab
“shut up and start”
• We apply the principles of the scientific method.
• No BS. No funding. No PR. Just hard work.
• A learning lab for new entrepreneurs.
Saving millions while creating billions…