This document outlines steps for research and customer development for a startup called FIVietnam 2015. It discusses identifying problems customers face and validating solutions through non-technical trials to avoid premature coding. A business model and pricing assumptions should be validated before development. Market size should be measured across locations. There should be flexibility to pivot ideas if initial solutions do not work. The goal is to experiment and learn to find a repeatable and scalable business model.

1. FIVietnam 2015:
Research & Customer Development
Tuan Anh (Mike)
www.ticketbox.vn

2. agenda
identifying problem
validating ideas/solutions
business/revenue model/pricing assumption
market size assumption
pivot

3. identifying problems
who are the users ?
what is the problem to solve ?
how painful is the problem ?
what are the existing solutions ?

4. validating ideas / solutions
identify the riskiest assumption to validate
come up with non-tech solutions
go to customers and ask for money to use
do trial run manually WITHOUT CODING
if it works, continue; if not, pivot

5. business / rev / pricing model
what’s going to happen without me ?
how much time/money is spent for existing
solution ?
form a rev model BEFORE CODING
** validate again
faster | cheaper | better

6. market size
is user experience similar in different locations /
countries ?
how many people are having the same
problems ?
is this measurable ?
existing similar model numbers ?

7. pivot
if it doesn’t work out: pivot
have enough runway to support multiple pivots
the longer the runway, the higher chance for
success = bootstrap
early-stage startup = experiment = learning

8. “your job is not to code, to find customers...
startup is a temporary organization that
searches for repeatable and scalable business
model”
- Steve Blank

9. mike@ticketbox.vn
@mike726x
fb.com/mike726x
www.ticketbox.vn
500 startups