I gave this talk at the Real Estate Connect conference on 7/10/13. This chronicles my lessons learned not applying lean startup principles on Garious.com as well as my lessons learned applying them (and helping others apply them) as an Innovation Catalyst inside Intuit.
Introduce myselfShare 2 stories (success & failure)Lots of ideas, always juggling
2009 – Intuit, Webglimmer & ZG.Marketing ZG + JugglingShort on time
Scratching my own itch.Designed Garious.Increase in salesInner voice: Turn this into a business.How hard could that be.
HiredGraphic designerStarted networking – positive2 customers – wasted 2 hours teaching themDoesn’t make senseFriend introduced me to lean startup.Pivoted to focus on social media marketersHired blogger and SMMBegan interviewing & getting feedback.
Learned alotGarious too narrow for themOnly 2 people on the planet?Spending thousandsCustomers won’t click BUY
Frustrated, but still determinedFriend suggests real estate agents. I try.NO!Agents without controlSelf doubt (inner conversation)Search: site updates, groupon, blogging, teaches.Nothing working, good at spending money
Gave up after 2 yearsWho has 70k to invest?could have proven / disproven this business idea in about 30 days and $5000.
What I learned:Don’t assume customers are like you. Lots of effort to shift team to new segments. All a wasteTeam was trying to execute. Ask yourself where you are. Use the right tool.New features, etc. Experiment.
If I had to do it all over again….
LS missing puzzle pieceIC IntroWeekend hackathonsSerendipity + Ben
Demand tests + pre-registerPilot class – 4 teamsWent well – scheduled MV event
Teams – insanityJudging on LS behaviorBrad dropped by
Continuing forwardIs this a California thing?100x100Not our day job – had to convince leadershipApproved for 50kSummer bouncing, continuous improvement