What I learned from Lean Startup Machine

1. Emily Holmes | @uxemily
LEAN STARTUP
MACHINE
Boston, June 15-17, 2012

2. Emily Holmes | @uxemily FRIDAY NIGHT
Round 1
Problem Hypothesis
Julie likes science but doesn’t
know what career she wants.
Solution Hypothesis
A website where Julie can
connect to scientists + receive
mail from them.
Riskiest Assumption
Julie cares about planning her
career.

3. Emily Holmes | @uxemily FRIDAY NIGHT
Round 1: tests
Landing page

4. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY MORNING
Round 1: tests
Get out of the building
In person:
• Museum of Science
• Galleria Mall
Online:
• Teen message boards

5. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY MORNING
Round 1: results
• The few teens we spoke to in person said they don’t
worry much about their careers.
• There are teens who are planning careers, but it
would be hard to reach them during the weekend.
• It might be easier to shift our focus to parents.
Julie cares about
planning her career.

6. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY MORNING
Round 1: what we learned
• It was really fast to set up a landing page.
• Within 20 minutes we brainstormed many
possible options for reaching more teenagers.
However, we would have needed more time to
pursue them adequately.
• It helps to have a girl on the team. It’s less
creepy for parents when approaching them.

7. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Round 2
Problem Hypothesis
Ben wants to spark his
kids’ interest in science.
Solution Hypothesis
A website where Ben can
connect Julie to scientists
to receive mail from them.
Riskiest Assumption
Ben will pay for this
service.

8. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Round 2: tests
Get out of the building
In person:
• Museum of science
Online:
• Parent message boards
• Craigslist
• Google AdWords
• Twitter

9. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SATURDAY EVENING
Round 2: tests
Landing page

10. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY MORNING
Round 2: results
• People didn’t get it right away.
• For the purposes of this weekend, we should
switch to a concept that dazzles people.
Ben will pay for this
service.

11. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY MORNING
Round 2: what we learned
• Parents definitely want to encourage their kids’
interest in science.
• People generally liked the idea but would want more
information before signing up. For example, what
would be in the box?
• The concept wasn’t immediately clear to strangers.
• The Lean Startup Machine mentors pushed us hard
to sell a fake idea to people as if it was totally real.
We weren’t comfortable taking money or lying.

12. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY MORNING
Round 3
Problem Hypothesis
Ben wants to spark his
kids’ interest in science.
Solution Hypothesis
Learning adventures!
Educational adventure trips
led by local science
experts.
Riskiest Assumption
Ben wants to sign up.

13. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY MORNING
Round 3: tests
Get out of the building
In person:
• At a local park
Online:
• n/a

14. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY MORNING
Round 3: tests
Meetup + EventBrite

15. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Round 3: results
• 6 / 7 people we talked to were willing to sign up
on the spot.
• People immediately understood the idea. It
required no deep explanation.
Ben wants to sign up.

16. Emily Holmes | @uxemily SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Round 3: what we learned
• Switching to a simple, clear idea helped us
pitch the concept faster to people.
• Our team was more comfortable collecting
email addresses than money.
• We came in second place!

17. Emily Holmes | @uxemily
Process
Experiments 1 2 3
Customer Julie, a kid who Ben, Julie’s dad Ben, Julie’s dad
likes science
Riskiest Julie cares about Ben will pay to Ben will pay for Julie
Assumption planning her receive packages to attend science-
career in the mail for Julie. related learning
experiences.
Result Low interest 0 / 20 signups 6 / 7 signups
(5/15 thinking
about careers)
Learned Low enthusiasm. Parents want to Valid solution
Teens aren’t engage kids, but hypothesis. Validated
primary package idea is just riskiest assumption.
purchasers. okay. Solved a real
problem.
Decision Customer Customer need Concierge test
segment pivot pivot

18. Emily Holmes | @uxemily
The good, the bad and the ugly
Good
• We got a huge amount done in 48 hours.
• It helps to avoid getting attached to one idea.
• It was useful to focus on making sure we’re solving a real user problem.
Bad
• Promoting our idea to friends on Twitter is uncomfortable and I think it removes the
objectivity from an experiment.
• The success criteria were totally arbitrary, but some people believed they were a “scientific”
way of testing.
Ugly
• I didn’t like being pushed to tell friends and family (or strangers) about a fake idea as though
it was real. If I’d been working on a real business, that would not have been a problem.
• This methodology emphasizes a quick buck over a meaningful purpose. Okay for a weekend
workshop, but I believe purpose matters. Startup L. Jackson said it well: