Interested in learning how you should structure your product vision and roadmap? In this session, Tristan Senycia will take us through the lessons he’s learnt and a case study of what is involved in preparing for the design and development of Mango RV, a platform for renting Recreational Vehicles in the United States. Tristan will explore: – What they did for pre-design & development (Product Visioning) – How to properly brief designers and developers – How to assess the commercial viability of a startup – Go-to-market & product development strategies Whether you’re a product owner, product manager or startup founder, join us for this session if you want to become better at product management, learn what the professionals do at the very start of the product development journey, or learn about fire testing & validating ideas and product concepts, About Tristan Senycia: Tristan is an Independent Product Strategy Consultant who has taken several software ventures from ideation to commercial sales and beyond. Key achievements have included: – Founder of London Investable & Australis Apps, Co-Founder of the Vault Product Accelerator in London – Alumni of the Accelerating Commercialisation programme in 2013/14 – Original founding team of YouTeam.io which graduated y-Combinator raised two venture rounds, a $5 million/year business – Commercialisation and Pre-Seed / Seed Raise for Med-EZ Ltd – Joint venture partner of Impellity Ltd’s ￡1 million scale-up accelerator in the Isle of Man Linkedin Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-senycia/ Feel free to add me on LinkedIn and reach out if you have interest.

1. Product Visioning
and the Road to
Development
Readiness
Tristan Senycia

2. My current involvement
Two different brands… two different use cases:
London Investable is a product acceleration
service for rapidly maturing startup initiatives
Strategy-driven Software Product
Development Studio:
Actually launch startups, gain
traction & raise funding
Software Development
Design
Product Strategy
Clarifying Product Strategy
Clarifying Validation Strategy, Competitor
Research, Contextual Inquiry, Consumer
Research, Product Concept Testing
Startup Coaching

3. Mango RV - A Case Study

4. Mango RV Project Brief
Client two medical professionals from San Antonio
Wanted to build a two-sided digital marketplace for
renting out RVs
Experience renting out their 4 RVs
Making direct sales through their own website
Wanting to scale their RV rental business
Software development company wasn’t confident in
advising on Product Strategy:
Concerns about competitive landscape…
is the market saturated? Commercial Viability?
2/3 Major / Underperforming Competitors
Scoping the first release

5. Mango RV’s Product Ownership Team?
Domain Experts = The Moggas,
Neurosurgeon & Pharmacist
London Investable
Product Strategy / Validation
Research Associates
ITernal =
Product Development
IT Project Management
Business Analyst
Design / Development
Online Marketplace Expertise

6. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Product Strategist Project Manager
Orientation Outside the building Inside the building
Focus Strategy Delivery
Fidelity High - Mid Mid - Detailed
Success Criterion Commercial Success Technical Success
IT Product Strategist vs IT
Project Manager

7. Stakeholder Functions
Domain Expertise Filter Strategy Filter Delivery Filter
Time
Cost
Implications
Trade-Offs
Does it make
commercial sense
What part of the product
to take to market first
Release planning
Positioning
Raw Ideas
Market Knowledge
User Representative
Contacts

8. The Road to Development
Readiness
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
Founders tends to skip the first
two phases, which contribute
to the startup failure rate

9. Simplified Mango RV
Roadmap
Validation = Product Acceleration

10. Taking a look at the
Feasibility of Mango RV?
Competitive Landscape
Analyse what the market & consumers are
rewarding with their cash
Winning Business/Operating model $$
raised, staff count
Look for a Reference product
Is the market growing & what rate?
Is there really an underserved need?
Discuss whether proposed MODEL really
works?
What will our Validation Strategy need to
be?
Is Mango RV a White Elephant?:

11. Feasibility of Mango RV
Opportunity
Growth Market
Over Demand for RVs ‘American Dream’
Lucrative Business Model
Clumsy competition
US competitors irritate both sides of the
marketplace
Quite an easy business to run
More efficient Reference Product in Bristol
‘Quirky Campers’

12. Feasibility of Quirky Campers
as a reference business
Much cleaner/better/simpler model
Weaker Market - British tend to go
overseas, may have changed
Under-capitalised, Under-staffed
Cottage business
Poor market selection > UK/NZ? US
would have been better
Scared off by the competition in the US
Go/No-Go
‘Quirky Campers’

13. What is the purpose Product Vision?

14. What we did during Feasibility /
Product Vision Stage for Mango RV?
Mark up of input documentation
High-Level 360 Traction Plan
Anticipate Go-To-Market challenges
3 & 6 Month Action Plan
Objectives & Key Results
Allocate Team Members to sub-projects
Venture Roadmap
Reviewed Detailed scope proposed by
Kate from ITernal
Product Documentation
Release Planning
App Type, Time & Cost Estimation

15. Much clearer/more compelling Product Vision
Much more accurate time & cost estimations from
designers / developers
Product concept & strategy underwent heavy
scrutiny
Saved about US$100k in design/development fees,
resulting from :
Avoiding False Starts
Scope Creep/Removed Unneeded features
Unclear release planning, incorrect scoping
of MVP2
Expensive Pivots
Failed launches & not knowing why
Market-Misaligned Product
Outcome of Product Vision
Phase of Mango RV

16. Ways of completing
Product Visioning
Consulting model - Larger Projects $60k+
Coaching Model - Smaller Projects
Accelerated learning
Not everyone gets into Plus 8
Much more investable
FFF & Founder Friendly

17. Thanks and see you
at the Sundowner
Any questions?
You can find me at
tristan@investable.london
Keen to chat with:
- Designers
- PMs & Developers
- Founders
Will place this presentation on
Slideshare
https://investable.london/ https://australisapps.com/