Product Thinking for Startups

Dinker Charak * ddiinnxx@gmail.com * www.ddiinnxx.com
"An entrepreneur is someone who will jump
off a cliff and assemble an airplane on the way
down.”
- Reid Hoffman, Founder: LinkedIn
What would you assemble first?
[ ] Wings
[ ] Engine
[ ] Landing Gear
[ ] 1st Class Seating
1

Dinker Charak * ddiinnxx@gmail.com * www.ddiinnxx.com 2

7 Reasons Why
Your Product Will Fail
(I’m reading your customer’s mind)

1 “I don’t like it”
4

5
A Jackson Pollock paintings sell for millions. What people like is
hard to predict.

“A lot of times, people don't know what
they want until you show it to them.”
- Steve Jobs
6
Rapid Prototyping Wire-Frames
Reference Products
(X of Y for Z)
Try:

2 “I don’t even want it”
7

What the
Users Wants
What Your
Software Does
Well
What Other
Software Does
Well
8

There are around 5M software
products in the market
9
Gap
Analysis
USP Identification
Product
Definition
Try:

3 “I don’t even know how to use it”
10

“The adult public's taste is not necessarily ready to
accept the logical solutions to their requirements if the
solution implies too vast a departure from what they
have been conditioned into accepting as the norm.”
- Raymond Loewy
12
Experience
Design
User Interface Habit Building
Try:

4 “I am happy with what I have”
13

“I am not lazy ...
I just love inertia.”
14

People go for new software if existing
one is broken badly or the new
software is kind of amazing.
15
Empathy Maps Product Migration Product Marketing
Try:

5 “I don’t want to pay for it”
16

The amount most people are willing
to pay for an app is $0—until they’ve
actually downloaded it.
18
Product Pricing User Research Business Models
Try:

6 “No one else is using it”
19

Expert social proof, Celebrity Social
Proof, User Social Proof, ‘Wisdom of
the Crowds’ Social Proof and ‘Wisdom
of Your Friends’ Social Proof matters.
21
Go To Market Product Marketing Product Branding
Try:

7 “I don’t trust it”
22

"We want to build a website where
people publicly post pictures of their
bedrooms, the bathrooms. And then,
over the Internet, they're going to
invite complete strangers to come
sleep in their homes. It's going to be
huge!”
- Joe Gebbia on AirBnB
24
Product Support Product Reviews User Psychology
Try:

6 Traits You Need to
Develop as a Founder

1
Be comfortable with starting with
ambiguity, change and half-information
26

2
Switch “Big Picture” and “Narrow Detail”
for everything and at every turn
27

3 Have opinions & articulate them
28

4
Be aligned to the customer’s behavior and
not necessarily to the customer
29

5 Be courageous
30

6
Have a life
Learn to laugh. Learn to cry.
31

12 Tools You Should Use To
Improve Your Chances

1
Elevator pitch. Not for an elevator. Not
for an investor. Not for someone else.
But for youself.
33

FOR
[ target customer ]
WHO
[ statement of the need or opportunity ]
THE
[ product name ]
IS A
[ product category ]
THAT
[ key benefit, compelling reason to use ]
UNLIKE
[ primary competitive alternative ]
OUR PRODUCT
[ statement of primary differentiation ]
FOR
[ target customer ]
WHO
[ statement of the need or opportunity ]
THE
[ product name ]
IS A
[ product category ]
THAT
[ key benefit, compelling reason to use ]
UNLIKE
[ primary competitive alternative ]
OUR PRODUCT
[ statement of primary differentiation ]
34

2 Always be experimenting
35

Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
The Experiment Canvas is a lean innovation tool. It allows you to articulate an experiment, the hypothesis it will test along with success & failure criteria.
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Designed by Dinker Charak, http://www.ddiinnxx.com, Version 0.2.
The Experiment Canvas
Risks
Key Resources
In Order To We Will Build That Will
State the hypothesized valuable outcome here
And Be a Success If
State the success criteria
While Keeping in Mind
Experiment Name:
Or Fail If
State the experiment here
State the failure criteria
State the key capabilities / actions here
State the key assumptions and risks here

3 An idea is as good as well thought it is
37

Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
The Idea Canvas is a lean innovation tool. It allows you to develop and describe an idea and to think holistically about it.
The Idea Canvas
Risks
Key Resources
Trends Idea Benefits
that support the idea as a statement the idea delivers
Tech
Business
Society
Innovations needed to make the idea feasible
Tech
Business
Society
Black Mirror possible dark sides
Idea Name:
Tech
Business
Society

4 Step into their boots
39

5 Envision a platform for your product
41

Platform Name: Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
The Platform Visioning Canvas, is a strategic management and entrepreneurial articulation tool. It allows you to describe a platform covering it in its
expanse.
The Platform Visioning Canvas
Platform
APIs, Messaging, SDKs, Manual, etc.
APIs, Messaging, SDKs, Manual, etc.
In Partners, Data Sources, Other Platforms Used, and
other mediums of value coming in
Out Customers, Users, Data Consumers, and other
mediums of value coming in
External Controls
Regulatory, Labour
Internal Controls
Administration, Data Governance

6 Your ecosystem is your strength
43

Ecosystem For: Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
The Ecosystem Visioning Canvas
User Facing
Inside Facing
Apps / Websites /
WebApps /
Dashboards / Etc
Integrating Platform With
3rd
Party Apps
Integrating to 3rd
Party
Platforms
Like Social Networks, App
Stores,
Technology Platform, etc
3rd
Party SDK Platform SDK
API Layer
Dashboard /
Admin Portals /
Analytics / Etc
Integrating Platform With
3rd
Party Apps
Integrating to 3rd
Party
Platforms
Like SFDC / Etc
API Layer
Platform SDK
3rd
Party SDK
Customers / Users
Admins / ProMa / Business

7 Business is more than a cool product
45

8 Why would any customer care?
47

9 Think inside the box
49

Product
Promise
Logo
Company,
Price,
Regulatory
Information
for
Users
Contents
of
This
Box,
Requirements
to
Use
This
Product
Product Name
Product’s Visual
Representation
50

10 Describe you product, as wide as you
can
51

Market
Product Name: Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
Problem / Opportunity
What Unique Need / Dormant Need /
Aspiration That Needs To Be Addressed?
Idea
The idea that will address the above.
Market Size
Market Opportunity
How much of this market size can be
addressed?
Key Partners
Competitors
Elevator Pitch
Content Strategy
Terminology
SEO Strategy
Brand Assets (Domains, etc.)
Social Media Presence
What Social Networks Are In Focus?
The Product Management Canvas, is a strategic management and entrepreneurial articulation tool. It allows you to describe a product having the highest
return on investment versus risk.
Idea
The Product Management Canvas
Metrics
Success Criteria
Viability Criteria
Failure Criteria
Shortcomings
Assumptions
Disruption Readiness
B2B
Startup, SME, Business Houses, MNC
B2C
BPL, LMC, MC, UMC, HNI
Early Adopters
Customer Segment
Name
Logo, Icons
Brand Playbook
Presentation & Docs Template
Product Docs Templates
Social Network Assets
Display Ads Assets
Licenses
3rd Party Platforms
Analytics Tools, SDK
Evangelism Risks
Visual Identity Key Resources
Business Value
Product - Organization Fit
Product - Market Fit
Revenue Model(s)
Cost Analysis
Regulatory & Compliance
Features
Value Propositions / USP
Other Key Features
Support Channels
Time of Launch
Launch Strategy, Collaterals
Sales, Delivery Channels
Positioning, Promotion Strategy
Decision Makers, Influencers
Recommenders
Sales Collateral
Marketing Collateral
User Support Docs
Training Collaterals
Change Management
Go To Market

11 There is more to competion that being
competitive
53

Similar & Competing Similar & Not Competing
Similar & Different Domain Inspirational
54

12 Your competition is your best teacher
55

Stuff we’re
good at
Criteria that
makes us look
good
Us
Them
56

Competition For: Canvas by: On:
Iteration #:
The Competition Analysis Canvas
Strength What competition strength you need to overcome?
Weakness What competition weakness can you exploit?
Objectives Are the basic objectives of the competition know and what are they?
Markets What markets do the competition target?
Market Share What is the competition’s market share and how to grab it?
Marketing Strategy What marketing strategy does the competition employ?
Response to You How will competition respond to your entry / scale?
Competition Plans Is competition expanding or scaling back?
Financials What are the competition’s sources of funds?
Threat Competition Co-Existence Collaboration Irrelevant

4 Roles You Have
To Perform

1
A startup discovers a product that is
valuable, usable & feasible and helps
their team ship the right product to
their users.
59

2
60
A startup discovers a product that is
valuable, usable & feasible and helps
their team ship the right product to
their users.
You

3
61
You

4
62
Intuitive Data Driven
Diplomatic
Direct
Humble
Arrogant
H
u
s
t
l
e
r
P
l
a
n
n
e
r
B
i
g
P
i
c
t
u
r
e
T
u
n
n
e
l
V
i
s
i
o
n
Conflict Resolver
Rabble Rouser
Product
Manager

5 Sales Lessons you need
to learn

1 Understand Pricing
64
• Cost Plus Pricing
• Usage based Pricing
• Time based Pricing
• Value based Pricing
• Outcome based Pricing

2 Telling isn’t Selling
65
• Start listening before talking
• Selling =/= Pitching
• How are you, with what are you and who all are selling

3 Real Selling Starts with Customer’s ‘No’
66
• “What can I do to get your business?”
• For a give and take, have something to give
• Selling to a person vs selling to the person’s team
• Stakeholder mapping

4 People Buy from People They Trust
67
• Personal
• Social
• Professional
• Evidential
• Referral

5 Don’t Burn Bridges
68
A no from customer is a product of circumstances,
time and place. All these can change. Always leave a
thread open for you to go back after an appropriate
period of time

“Anybody can write a program. The brilliance is in
writing a program that someone else finds useful!”*
* not really his quote

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