Course: https://store.leanb2bbook.com/lean-b2b-build-products-businesses-want-course

1. How to Turn a Full-Time
Job Into a B2B Business
Opportunity

2. >
2x B2B Startup Founder
(Flagback & HireVoice)
Recognized Usability &
UX Research Expert
2013 Most-Liked
SlideShare Presentation
Creator
Author of Lean B2B:
Build Products
Businesses Want

3. >

4. Where did the majority of Inc. 500
founders find their business ideas?

5. 50% of founders got their idea at
their previous employer

6. 50%*
* Study by University professor Amar Bhidé for The Origins
and Evolution of New Business (2000)

7. Outside-In
vs.
Inside-Out?

8. Part I
The Insider’s Competitive Edge

9. 1.
Easy access to customers
Start a business where you can
get access to customers easily.
- Max Cameron, Kera Co-Founder and CEO

10. 2.
You know the initiatives
& business priorities
If you don’t, you can ask...

11. 3.
You can define the problem owner,
the buyers & figure out where to
start selling

12. 4.
You get credibility and expertise
because you're from the market
If not, you can fake it...

13. 5.
You can run ROI calculations
and start with real data

14. 6.
You understand the risks & what it
takes to sell to large businesses
To overcome the “Status Quo Coefficient”,
your solution should be at least two times
faster, two times better and two times
cheaper than the known alternatives.

15. 7.
You can build a relevant professional
network on company hours

16. 8.
You can pivot on the cheap at
the idea level
It takes a while to get on people’s calendars [...]
For this reason, it doesn’t make sense to leave
your job before having a good indication that
you are working on a real business opportunity.

17. 9.
You can turbo-charge long sales
cycles by starting with a paying
customer

18. Part II
Other people have done it

19. +
Martin Ouellet

20. +
Pyramid Digital Solutions Sells Assets to SunGard Business Systems
Dharmesh Shah

21. +
iBwave Makes PROFIT 200 List of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies for Third Consecutive Year
Martin Bouchard

22. Part III
Obvious Challenges

23. Is it a market of one?

24. Will anyone buy?

25. Can it be productized?

26. How will you transition from
employee to entrepreneur if
you’re successful?
Fire !!

27. Part IV
How to do it

28. The First Question to Ask Yourself:
Core Business?
Non-Core Innovation?

29. Keep your eyes out for explicit
and implicit problems.

30. People love to talk about their
problems. The moment that you’re
talking about a person’s problems,
they’re happy.
- Brant Cooper, The Lean Entrepreneur Co-Author

31. Network. Talk around the
problem. Get different inputs.

32. Narrow the field. Score problems
by pain, budget availability and
impact potential.

33. Understand what you need to
replace.

34. Understand the market, the
watering holes, influencers, risks,
buyers, buying processes, etc.

35. Create a plan to test your
hypotheses.
There are
other
customers
The product
can be
productized
The market
is wide
enough to
sustain a
business
Th
won
le
restr

36. Solicit a broader set of voices.
+ =

37. “Interesting” is a distraction,
watch out.

38. Don’t build. Negotiate your exit.
Leave on good terms.

39. Part V
Key Takeaways & Conclusion

40. Which makes most sense?

41. A Paid Work
B Saving up?
Which makes most sense?

42. The best time to be an entrepreneur is
when you, and your team, have really
learned about an unmet need,
understand the customer’s pain and you
are ready to take the plunge.
- Ken Morse, Serial Entrepreneur &
MIT Entrepreneurship Founder

43. The shortest path to successful
entrepreneurship is what you already
know. Start there.

44. «This is a must read for every B2B entrepreneur, SaaS creator or
consultant and business school student. It's the kind of book you
don't read once, you go back to it on a regular basis. » - Carmen
Gerea, CEO & Co-founder, UsabilityChefs
«Treat this book like a map to show you where you are and a
compass to show you the direction. I wish I could have read it 2
or 3 years ago. » – Jonathan Gebauer, Founder, exploreB2B
« Lean B2B is filled with rock-solid advice for technology
entrepreneurs who want a rapid-growth trajectory. Read it to
increase your certainty and your success rate. » - Jill Konrath,
Author of AGILE SELLING and Selling to Big Companies
«The book I read of which I have learned the most. » - Etienne
Thouin, Founder and CTO, SQLNext Software
«This book is essential reading for would-be entrepreneurs who
face the daunting task of entering B2B markets. » – Paul Gillin,
Co-Author, Social Marketing to the Business Customer
Thousands of innovators
around the world use
LEAN B2B
@egarbugli /egarbugli
www.leanb2bbook.com
Étienne Garbugli: