This document provides advice on developing a new product or startup. It recommends focusing on solving a specific real-world problem and understanding target customers. It emphasizes simple, easy-to-use designs and ongoing testing to ensure usability and scalability. The goal is to create a product that provides clear benefits to users and a viable business model to generate revenue.
2. Who will use it?
Make clear who are your target customers.
Don’t say “every one who is single”
Should say:
2,5M singles, living in big cities,
having internet access,
age 22-27, young officers & “rich” students
3. What can it do (for me?)
Make clear the benefit it brings to the user
My product, [name], can help you to [benefit]
With [unique approach]
Eg:
My product, Noi.vn, can help you
to meet with potential dates
By offering 5,000 offline events/year
4. How does it make $$$?
Make clear the numbers.
Eg: the basic service is free, but if you want to use premium features, it cost $1/month
Show to investor: 10% paid of 500,000 members = 50K x $1 =$50K/month
If it’s free, please estimate ARPU via AD sales
Eg: we’ll make 500M/month via ADs with 500,000 members. ARPU = 1,000VND
7. I have an idea
To solve what ONE problem?
Just 1 specific problem.
Should come from REAL world. Look around you.
Don’t think product
Think human needs
10. Ask
Bring that mockup with you everywhere.
Ask. Ask. Ask:
Ask what?
Do you need it? Why not?
Do you like it? Like what most?
Will you pay for it? How much can you afford?
11. Benchmarking
Study similar models in other country & in Vietnam.
New-to-the-world
New-to-the-country
New-to-the-target segment
Learn how it grows, how it dies,
how it make $$$
12. Develop it
Okay. Great. Let’s do it
Make a draft plan (ask the developers) for product development
Stand by side, make sure they don’t get
any shits more than your storyboard
Take care of the UI, UX
13. Test it
Make sure it runs.
It it’s still buggy, don’t show demo to the investors.
Alpha version = cannot run
Beta version = still cannot run
Use focus group to test.
Watch their behavior & gather feedbacks
14. Feedback
Ask your mum.
Don’t ask your teacher or the coders.
Gather feedback based on the MAIN PROBLEM, the UX, UI.
Don’t listen to experienced users demanding new features.
You’ll kill them all later
15. Scalability
It runs well with 10 people.
What about 10,000? 1,000,000?
This is the critical part to make the business BIG
MySpace died when it grows too fast.
This is also to ensure the investors that
you can multiply it, brings to other markets …
16. User interface (UI)
Make it look beautiful
Even it sucks inside, very few investors can read the code :D
Think of a beatiful girl
Don’t know how smart she is, but you’ll want to continue talking
to her much more than an ugly one, rite?
17. User experience (UX)
This could make or break your product.
EASY
Make sure it’s easy to understand, easy to use,
follow all the guidelines.
UC: User context
Nokia lession
19. Ongoing development
For sure you’ll need to enhance your product a long the way.
Read the support@... email daily.
Kill the un-needed functions
(that YOU thought it was great)
If you end up having 1 or 2 buttons on the home screen,
congratulations!