Why everyone talks about MVPs and customer interviews but few know what they are. Delivered at USC for the new Incubator program. Fight on!

1. The Minimum Viable Product,
Customer Discovery Interviews
& Why Few Know What They Are
Paul Orlando
Venture Partner & Adjunct Professor
@porlando

2. What causes the most difficulty for
early-stage companies?
…How can we solve this?

3. What They Say…
The MVP
“The minimum viable product is that
version of a new product which allows a
team to collect the maximum amount of
validated learning about customers with
the least effort.” -- Eric Ries

4. What We Hear…
The MVP
“Our MVP is the crappy version of what we’re
going to build later.”
-- most new companies talking about MVPs

5. New Translation…
The MVP
“blah blah blah get validated learning
blah blah blah use least effort blah blah
and have testable hypotheses.” -- me

6. Solve
Problems
Satisfy
Needs
Fuel
Addictions

7. Ideal Customers
1. They have a problem
2. Are aware of having a problem
3. Have been actively searching for a solution
4. Have hacked together a solution
5. Have or can acquire a budget

8. MVP technique What it is
In-person
Interviews
Talk to people to learn about them and
their problems
Landing Page /
Adwords
Use a product description to test actions
from lots of people
Mockup /
Wireframe
Paper or digital non-functioning
iterations to test reactions
“Parasite” Ride on top of an existing network to
speed up data collection
Concierge People do work of a not yet built system
Video Show what it’s like to use it
Prototype Actually build a basic version

9. MVP technique What can go wrong
In-person
Interviews
Delays, Bad interviewers, Wrong
interviewees, Can’t find interviewees
Landing Page /
Adwords
Don’t know what to measure,
distribution
Mockup /
Wireframe
Disbelief, No data collection, Becomes
design and feature focused
“Parasite” Disbelief
Concierge Can’t actually build it
Video Cost distribution
Prototype Time, cost, can’t build it
All Can’t get enough people (or the right
people) involved

10. The Siren Song of the Startup Survey
Would you like to take a survey so I
can feel like I’m learning something?

11. Startup Weekend Surveys Gone Wrong
We built a website and mobile app to let
you find free fruits and vegetables near you
as well as share yours with others. Would
you use it?

12. Startup Weekend Surveys Gone Wrong
How much would you be willing to pay for a
consumer product that creates a stable
“sand free” zone at the beach?

13. Startup Weekend Surveys Gone Wrong

14. How to Interview - test
How much would you
pay for this?

15. How to Interview – is this a good question?
How much would you
pay for this?

16. How to Interview – is this a good question?
No hypothetical questions
How much would you
pay for this?

17. The Mom Test.*
Talk about their life, not your idea.
Ask about specifics in the past.
Future-tense opinions are lies.
You gain nothing by convincing them.
* Thanks to Salim Virani and Rob Fitzpatrick

18. How to Interview – Sample questions
Why do you do that?
Tell me more about that.
When does that happen?
In what situations does this happen?

19. How to Interview – Sample questions
Who else is affected by this?
Tell me about the last time you dealt
with this.

20. How to Interview – Sample questions
If you had a magic wand, what would
you do or change?

21. How to Interview – Sample questions
What else should I have asked?
Other people have to told me that...
I actually have a [thing] available now.
You can [download / buy] it here.

22. How to Interview
Know what you want to learn.
No hypothetical questions.
Testing action is better than
asking a question.
Take notes.

23. Then what?
The forgotten hypotheses...