Steps in the Rapid Startup Design Strategy to Create a Viable Company (655-2)

The Rapid Startup Design Strategy

Overall: Go stepwise, don't dawdle, constantly always ask yourself, "Is this a dead end?", allow yourself to rethink, backtrack to an earlier step or restart.

Before you start: Define your values and personality.

1. Who do you want to help? Find your Ideal Target Customer
• Identify who is going to pay for your product or service. Start with identifying a person you know well or can easily talk to. Perhaps it is someone like you - think eBay.
• Or a family member or friend, existing customer, business associate or co-worker
2. Define a Problem Worth Solving
   • Create a story for a persona and see if the problem/challenge resonates
   • Are they doing anything to solve the problem today? No? Perhaps not a problem
   • How big a problem is this?
3. Find the competition and see if you can compete
   • You have competition. You need to figure out who they are and if your problem is one that they can already or easily solve before you go any further
4. Make up a name to describe your solution
   • Every product has a name. Brainstorm, find a URL, test with others and be prepared for this be far harder than you thought it would be.
5. What Words Describe the Solution to the Problem?
   • You need some words that describe the solution to the problem you have identified. A few words will do. What aspects of the solution are the most important or compelling? What kind of problem is it?
6. Create a Logo
   • A logo helps you pull together your idea to something that conveys the message to the world in the most efficient way. Pictures do indeed buy you a 100 words.
   • There are excellent sites to create logos for free
7. Rip Your Startup Solution Apart
• It's painful but you need to stop and find the flaws in your design before advisors, funders, or customers do.
8. Get Input from the Cloud
   • Build a landing page and see if anyone shows any interest (e.g. Buffer, Dropbox). KickoffLabs, UnBounce
9. What Does it Look Like?
   • You don't have a solution until you have an image of what the solution will look like. Use the image building process to simplify, refine, and improve your solution
10. Create a Banner and Show it off
    • Pull it all together. Your logo, Simple text of the problem and solution you offer. A visual of what the solution looks like all directed at the customer you seek.
11. Refine the Value are You Offering? Key Elements of a Value Proposition:
    
    1. Short, Specific to the Customer, Customer Language, Generates Enthusiasm [compelling, causes them to take action]
    2. Solves the problem, delivers benefit, improves the situation,
    3. What core value do you deliver to the customer?
    4. Which customer needs are you satisfying?
    5. What key activities does your value proposition require?
    6. What relationship does your target customer expect you to establish?
12. Make a Video Presentation and put it out there.
13. Would People Pay?
    1. Give people the option to purchase the product. Does anyone choose that? Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Self-starter is a great way to assess (e.g., Pebble). You can also use it to test the price point.You can also use it to test the price point.
    2. For what value are your customers willing to pay?
    3. What and how do they recently pay?
    4. How would they prefer to pay?
14. Can you Obtain Users?
    • How do you get people to your page? Know the customer (e.g., Airbnb person sleeps in AirBNBs).
15. Present the idea to a friend or folks you have a casual conversation with. 
    • I've been chatting up folks I sit next to on a chairlift. An airplane/train/bus companion works well too. Are they interested? Do they think its a good idea?
16. Can you Obtain Compassionate Users
    • Need excitement and passion (e.g., Pinterest).
    • Meet the users and understand their needs and passion.
17. Find a Solution that Resonates with Them
    1. Combine existing tools
    2. Demo with the target audience
18. Attend to the Supply Chain
    1. Product cost is not component cost. The process of building and delivering the product is a substantial cost. Supply chains include every company that comes into contact with a particular product. For example, the supply chain for most products will encompass all the companies manufacturing parts for the product, assembling it, delivering it and selling it. Pieces include buy, manufacture, move, transport, sell, services, replacement cost/lost product, customer support costs.
    2. What are the motivations for the partnerships?
    3. What activities are most important in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream?
    4. Through which channels that your customers want to be reached?
    5. Which channels work best? How much do they cost? How can they be integrated into your and your customers’ routines?
    6. What resources are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream?
19. Launch Startup
    1. When you have clear utility
    2. Prioritize Speed and Excitement
    3. Incremental and Iterative Development needs to address the underlying need not just be building elements of the final product. Youtube
    4. You need cash. Investigate multiple funding streams (Sweat, Kickstarter, Crowd Equity, Angel, SBIR, VC). Don't ask friends and family for money - you need them for support.