This document provides guidance on how tech startups can achieve traction by focusing on learning through customer interactions and validation. It emphasizes discovering customer needs through interviews, observing how problems manifest, and testing solutions with minimum viable products. Pivoting based on customer feedback is presented as key to building efficiently with a constant focus on learning rather than assumptions. Specific questions are provided to elicit factual problem descriptions from customers rather than opinions and to obtain commitments to validate hypotheses.
2. Salim Virani
Direct Mail Agency - 5 Startups - Leancamp - Founder-Centric
www.saintsal.com @SaintSal
3. DO NOT OPEN
the kit until I say GO!
You ll have 18 minutes to build:
- the tallest freestanding structure.
- with the entire marshmallow must be on the very top.
Use as much or as little of the kit contents as you want,
but nothing else!
EXERCISE
15. flickr - nolifebeforecoffeeflickr - narciss
Time limits.
Letting go.
Being picky about customers.
Multiplying deliberately.
Limiting work-in-progress.
How to do less.
24. flickr - thomasleuthard
Earlyvangelists
EXERCISE
List 5 to 10 potential customers.
Then, apply this checklist to each.
Can describe the need in their own
words.
Have invested time or money.
Have tried something.
25. Slicing off segments
They are real people (not attributes!)
It s clear where to find them.
You ll walk away if they aren t a good fit.
29. flickr - emiliano-iko
Zoom in!
Find early adopters &
compelling value propositions.
Specific value propositions are
more compelling and help you
get early traction.
Specific customer definitions
help find them quickly, and
point out scalable channels to
reach them.
32. Jobs Obstacles Goals
Current
Solution
Customer Slicing
Decision
Trigger
Interest
Trigger
How deep do you go?
They are real people (not attributes!)
It s clear where to find them.
You ll walk away if they aren t a good fit.
EX
ER
C
ISE
51. flickr - nolifebeforecoffeeflickr - narciss
A customer wakes up,
turns on their computer,
logs in to their email
using a new program
they use and love.
Their free trial is over.
The program asks them
to pay. They say no.
Why?
One day...
58. Actual phrases used by customers.
(Great for positioning & copywriting.)
A way to group interviews and
analyse them as a team.
Where could 5 customer interviews get you?
59. flickr - nolifebeforecoffeeflickr - narciss
Past, not future
Fact, not opinion
Specifics, not general
(Talk about their life, not your idea.)
How to get facts.
83. Why write it down?
Highlights invalidation signals from both yourself and
customers. Learning you re wrong is actionable.
Customers exact wording tells you how they imagine the
problem and what they search for.
Pivot smarter, without re-doing interviews.
84. screened.com
Their words - not yours!
One phrase per card.
Pair. One interviewer, one notetaker.
Recording the
right stuff.
112. Tweetable Text
How do authors pre-build their customer list?
How do authors test copy and learn about their readers?
How do authors prioritise their time when writing?
113. Leancamp
What awareness channels can we partner with?
What do people learn at Leancamp that they apply?
What do famous thought-leaders get out of conferences?
114. XERCISE
What are your Big 3 right now?
Does it do what it says on the tin?
Do people really, truly want it?
What could kill you?
Take 3 minutes to write them down.
Are they to learn or confirm?
EX
ER
C
ISE
141. Credit due!
Ian Collingwood, Alex Osterwalder, Brant Cooper, Rob Fitzpatrick, Johanna Kollmann, Janice Fraser, Patrick Van
Der Pijl, Dave Gray, Alan Smith, Nicky Smyth, Steve Blank, Cindy Alvarez
Thanks!
I m Salim Virani.
smile@saintsal.com
blog: www.saintsal.com
training: www.foundercentric.com
143. Some strong questions
Please show me how you... Please tell me what... I m trying to learn... Please help me
understand... Can I ask why? Can you please tell me more about that?
What has made this challenging, time-consuming, go off track, wasteful, unpredictable?
When does this happen? How recently/frequently does this come up? Can you think of
other times this comes up? Who else is affected by this?
How do you decide? What is the process you go through? Give me a detailed play by
play. What do you do before/after you do this?
If this were free... how long to install and who needs to approve it?
Other people have to told me that...
What else do you wish you could be doing? If you had a magic wand, what would you
change? What else should I have asked?
144. SAYING
SEEING
THINKING & FEELING
HEARING
Boss says
Friends Say
Friends Say
Clients Say
Complaints
Praise
DOING
Process (left to right)
Visual layouts of interview cards
(Cards can contain text, drawings, photos, etc.)
Topic Map
Exploration
Aids
Empathy Map
145. Group cards from a set of interviews, based on :
topic, emotional states, problem, alternatives ...
This is a discussion tool.
Learn anything new?
What hypotheses were invaldated?
What new questions arise?
Analysing your interviews.