M.V.P. - Minimum Viable Product or a Mediocre Value Proposition?

Another great article can be found here

It makes sense that everything about a lean startup is trimmed down as much as possible – including the product itself. This is not just a pure result of limited time, scarce resources, and the pressures of the rapidly changing market. The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an important, central strategy. It is a not only the best option for smaller startups that by their nature need to scale up from a simple core, it is also a time-tested path to success. 

Markets, being unpredictable as they are, are not guaranteed to embrace a new product no matter how much polish, effort, planning, and research go into it. This being the case, it is best to play the odds, get a product out the door that meets the right functional standards for wider adoption, and fine-tune later if it happens to gain a foothold. The MVP is also considered to be the beginning of the “learning period” for the business; it adapts to the needs of sustaining itself on the market rather than trying to ensure it through an overbuilt planning phase. 

The online file sharing service Dropbox has been seen as one of the prime examples of a startup that took off by applying this principle. What is interesting is that in this case the MVP was not the service itself, but rather a video demonstration that not only showed the usefulness of the finished product but was also filled with in-jokes and references that made the content meaningful to the community of adopters that it targeted. The result was 10,000 “Diggs” in a 24 hour period, and an additional 70,000 people on the beta waiting list.

Of course, the MVP is by its nature meant to mitigate risk, which means it is no guarantee of success. In fact, this recent article from the Harvard Business Review argues that some careful precautions should be taken to ensure that it does not become a Mediocre Value Proposition instead, citing the recently defunct service Maghound as an example. The simple premise of applying the “Netflix” delivery model for magazine viewing did not pan out for the company, a fate that could have been avoided with the proper personnel, a more-fleshed out idea of the business model, and stronger adjustment to underperformance.

UFOstart is also taking the MVP approach and is improving its product according to the feedback from the community. If you want to contribute to the platform development, you can vote on features you would like to see added. Let us know if you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you!

Are you leaner than the government?

Who knew Uncle Sam was a modern entrepreneur at heart? In light of the Presidential Election today, we would like to bring back to mind that even an American institution as well-established as the federal government is lining up with the lean-startup movement.

The trend started back when President Barack Obama took office in 2008 and immediately challenged federal agencies to streamline services and improve customer experiences. As the president’s initiative widened, it began to parallel many of the principles Silicon Valley business guru Eric Ries had outlined in his 2011 book, “The Lean Startup.” Even before the book’s publication, he’d been encouraging entrepreneurs to fast-track prototypes to get real-time market feedback, then modify on the fly.

So when the feds agreed to start up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010, the White House’s then-Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, gave Ries a call, according to a Public CIO article.

“I was surprised at first to hear of the interest,” Ries says in the article. “Yet here was the federal government talking about using some of these ideas, and they were quite serious about getting some value out of them.”

Ries hadn’t thought of governments using his approach, but as he and Chopra began applying lean-startup principles to the new bureau, the value of his ideas took hold.

The Public CIO article goes on to detail Chopra and Ries’ role in getting the bureau on its feet, and how Ries’ philosophy helped the federal healthcare.gov website get up and running in just 90 days — blazing fast, by federal timeframes.

Since then, other government agencies — including the municipalities of Palo Alto, Calif., and Los Angeles — have joined the lean-startup movement. The basic applications seem as limitless as they are logical: Move quickly, listen to crowd feedback and be ready to change in a heartbeat. We are embracing this concept and are building a community of lean-minded, innovative startups with crowdsourcing interests. Since we are always ready to pivot we held a UX Review Session with selected community members today. The feedback and inputs can be found on our getsatisfaction.com/globumbus page as well as on youtube. 

Always remember Ries' wise words: “Think big, start small, scale fast and be flexible. Life’s too short to have no impact.”

Contact us and we'll show you how it could work for your startup.

-bmt

Listen To Your Customer. We're all ears!

As Forbes recently reported (http://onforb.es/RU7n6l), a lean-startup that begins with a great idea is off to a good start; but the sooner you shift your focus to the customer, the better.

In early October, the Entrepreneurs Challenge was happening at the Stern School of Business.  70 teams were on the receiving end of priceless advice from experienced coaches.  This year, the program was focused on the customer. The "customer is king" - to be successful you have to find ways to incorporate their feedback, ideas and critique into your product development. 

“Concentrating on the costumers and the market is probably the only way to be successful,” said Gilbert Sabater, who has been a mentor for ten years.

“I want to see them examine their ideas in depth,” said Lloyd Newman, who has extensive experience in sales and marketing. “I want them to get the facts and come back with hard data.”

That kind of discovery can be hard to manifest. Bad research won’t yield good data. Most customers can’t express exactly what they want, and won’t tell you exactly how they’ll respond to hypothetical situations. Placing an unyielding focus on customer experience is the only way to overcome common obstacles faced by lean start-ups. At some point, most start-ups experience frustration over stalled deals and customers that won’t make a decision.

It’s important to be in a position to examine the effectiveness of your product, which is a different process than examining the effectiveness of your marketing. Your experiments should be conducted with customer feedback in mind, and the results should be measureable. The most reliable way to find out what your customers are thinking is to simply ask them. You need to gather first-hand knowledge of your product through their eyes.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What value am I creating?
• How can I best deliver that value to my target customer?

Conscious experimentation and planning causes you to pay attention to the noise that your potential customers are making, and start treating it like the data it is. You need to be able to diagnose the problems in your sales process. Those little complaints that lead to hard truths are a great place to start. When your business processes sync up with your customers’ needs, your start-up will rise to a new level of success.  

We are working on improving the UX  of our platform. We are trying to build a relevant, attractive and effective product and would love to hear your thoughts! Join us in an UX feedback session to help shape for our product development. Please refer to our facebook event for further information!

-bmt

From Moonlighting to Full Time: Move Your Business Forward

There is something that every small business owner, dreamer, and future successful entrepreneur wants and needs more than anything. If you are moonlighting as CEO of your small business, you know that unless you are willing to stop sleeping, take a leave of absence from your day job, or subject yourself to risky multi-tasking at your day job it’s hard to make your business grow. Time is not on your side when you are trying to balance your career and your dream. The transition can be brutal, but it’s worth the extra work.

Make a list of things you wish you had time to do for your business.

If you know that setting up a Facebook page for your business is essential to taking your sales to the next level, or you’ve been meaning to attend a networking dinner but haven’t had the time, just put it on the list. Really wring out all of your ideas and write everything down. Don’t get intimidated by the size of the list, and don’t get caught up in going into great detail. Just get the ideas down on paper.

Give yourself 15 minutes.

Numerous studies show that giving a task your undivided attention increases your productivity. If you are trying to balance your new business with your day job, you are used to constant interruption and may be developing a short attention span. Choose something on your list, and set a timer for 15 minutes. Begin the task. When the timer goes off, stop. Note how much you did, or did not get done. Ask yourself, “Do I need to ask for help with this task? Is it going to turn into a huge time-suck?” If you think you are making good progress, think about your schedule and carve out another 15 minutes to work on it some more. Can you get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning? If you are used to taking a lunch break, could you use the first 15 minutes to further your cause?

Learn to give a speech.

It’s true that fear of public speaking is nearly epidemic among even the most successful business owners. But there’s no need to get short of breath over this assignment. If you can’t answer the question, “So, what do you do?” in less than 30 seconds, you’ll miss out on dozens of networking opportunities. This speech is your Elevator Pitch, and if it isn’t at the top of your “to do” list, please put it there. Equally important is the two minute pitch you’ll prepare for potential investors. Be prepared to give it at any time. According to Kay Koplovitz, author of “The Elevator Pitch that Rises to Success”

The elevator pitch can be the most important, not to mention the most nerve racking, most rewarding, and possibly most devastating presentation of an entrepreneur's life.

You can bring your business from part time to full time, and take yourself from moonlighting entrepreneur to full time business owner. With a bit of organization, and fifteen minutes here and there, you’ll see the kind of progress that will fuel your desire to succeed.

For more information about how to make your business a success, please contact us - we are currently inviting startups with crowd-sourced business models into our private Beta.

-bmt

How a smart entrepreneur achieves economic success in the first year

 If you are considering starting a new business before the big ball drops on the year 2012, you aren’t alone. New businesses are popping up all over the US as the entrepreneurial spirit spreads like wildfire. To give your idea the best possible chance of becoming a real money making, full time endeavor, you’ll need to have your finances in order. Here’s how to get started.

Equity is key. It is not only an optimal solution if your short on cash, but a great source of motivation for hard working employees. Offer a talented crowd an attractive yet reasonable bit of equity. Get to know them during a probation period, give them an incentive to stay and motivate them to help make your startup a success. 

Plan to run your business with the word lean in mind. Vendors might agree to let you pay for goods over time, or you may be able to trade services with another start up. Think creatively and frugally. You may be able to squeak by in the beginning by bartering for equipment, computers, and even furniture. Have a clear idea of what you need to get started, and leave the “wants” for later.

Take care of your personal financial life. Smart entrepreneurs take risks, but they aren’t putting it all on the line. It’s important to be willing to invest your own time, resources, and money in your new venture. Just don’t put yourself in a situation where you could lose your home, car, relationships, and good health all in one swoop. Keep a cool head and move forward one calculated risk at a time.

Transitioning from working full time for someone else to being your own boss is a rocky road. But if you can keep your expectations realistic, control your spending, and bet on yourself in a smart way, you’ll see the kind of economic success that every new business owner dreams of.

For more information on how to UFOstart your startup and how to experience economic success in the first year feel free to contact us.

-bmt

Lean it out

Have you ever considered the people behind some of the biggest consumer ideas and products? Who are they, and what prompted them to come up with their idea? Did they spend months, even years, perfecting their concept? You might think that until you read Eric Ries book The Lean Startup. 

As Ries explains in his book, there are too many novice entrepreneurs launching startups only to fail because they build something no one wants. Before you jump into the fire, be sure to ask the all-important question: Will anybody buy this? And once you’ve asked, ask the same question over and over again for everything you do.

Startups need what Ries calls “validated learning.” Instead of learning through failure – a very expensive and wasteful process – they learn through “build-measure-learn.” By obtaining continuous customer feedback, entrepreneurs learn whether to continue on their current path or to “pivot” (take a new approach) in a different direction.

Success isn’t (just) about being in the right place at the right time. Successful startups use “lean startup methodology” to build and improve the product or services customers want using customer feedback and the least amount of effort. Consider the story of Zappos, the world’s largest online shoe store.

In 1999, Nick Swinmurn decided to test his belief that there were people out there ready and willing to buy shoes online. He started by talking to local shoe stores. He asked permission to take pictures of their inventory. He posted these pictures online. Once a customer bought a pair of shoes from his website, he purchased the same pair from the store. Knowing what shoes customers bought helped Swinmurn understand where there was demand.

Launching a successful lean startup means knowing your market – what consumers want. If you have a great idea and are ready to launch your lean startup, contact us. We can help you get the funding and support you need!

At UFOstart, we always have the lean startup concept in mind. We are dedicated to a constant product development and are currently improving the usibility and UX of our platform. What we are working on:

• complete revision of our visual design 
• reduction of entry barriers through development of a new landing page
• improved contact import and project creation process
• seamless integration of social networks
• leverage of social media data to connect community and place users in a social context (contacts, skills, forme companies etc) 
• Bug fixing, performance bottleneck reduction
• improvement of the technical foundation of our app (testing and new CSS framework) 

As explained above, customer feedback is of high importance. We would love to hear your thoughts on the usibility of UFOstart! Please leave us a comment or send us any feedback - we are dedicated to a continuous improvment of the user experience of our platform. Thank you!