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My startup validation process

neilcocker.com

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Re: My startup validation process

#21

Post by randomsearch »

cpursley wrote: post #16
redm wrote: post #11

Two classic books that are fast reads and will also help you are 1) The Launchpad (about YC) and 2) The Lean Startup. Both are old books but they cover many of the same concepts and ways of thinking. I’d add that if you do nothing else, read the first 3 chapters of The Mom Test; it provides a great overview for evaluating ideas.

Meh, The Lean Startup is a bunch of "our VC funded company did a lot of bla bla bla" with very little detail or actionable information. It could have been a blog post or two. I'd love some book recommendations with actionable info and with actual details on how to execute.

Running lean is probably a lot better.

Re: My startup validation process

#22

Post by NeilRamp »

redm wrote: post #19
NeilRamp wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the whole section of the post where I recommend reading The Mom Test.... ;-) p.s. I've read Lean Startup, but will check out The Launchpad, thanks!

I was agreeing with you. Thats why I said, “if you do nothing else”.

Ah ha, sorry. I misinterpreted your comment :-)

Re: My startup validation process

#23

Post by NeilRamp »

Uberphallus wrote: post #18
NeilRamp wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha! I promise I don't receive a penny from the sales of the book. I wish I did, given how much I've recommended it over the years...

Totally reads like an ad, actually I verified whether those were affiliate links or not.

Interesting. I clearly need to dial back on my enthusiasm for it, then!

Re: My startup validation process

#24

Post by redm »

NeilRamp wrote: post #22
redm wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was agreeing with you. Thats why I said, “if you do nothing else”.

Ah ha, sorry. I misinterpreted your comment :-)

I was on my phone so I wasn't commenting at my best. So to be clear, I liked and appreciated your article! The more view points I can read on these topics, the better it is, because there's no one right answer (as I'm sure you've found).

Re: My startup validation process

#25

Post by NeilRamp »

randomsearch wrote: post #20

Probably drop the surveys and replace them with a sign up page. Surveys are low quality. Individual conversations will tell you more, and a sign up page requires action / intent (you can raise the bar as high as you like to increase confidence).

Yes, surveys are low quality. But personally I find that if they're well designed then you'll get more data out of them than you would a sign-up page. And there are always plenty of people out there who are happy to do an anonymous survey, but not give you their email address. Sometimes that's the best data. You would miss that with asign-up page.

Re: My startup validation process

#27

Post by NeilRamp »

redm wrote: post #24
NeilRamp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah ha, sorry. I misinterpreted your comment :-)

I was on my phone so I wasn't commenting at my best. So to be clear, I liked and appreciated your article! The more view points I can read on these topics, the better it is, because there's no one right answer (as I'm sure you've found).

Yeah. It's definitely a case of trying to do the best job quickly. Validation should be an ongoing process for the pretty much the whole lifecycle of a startup. I think most of us aren't that good at it, or subconsciously avoid doing it, a lot of the time. This is my own effort at trying to streamline that process somewhat.

Thanks for your feedback. Genuinely appreciate it!

Re: My startup validation process

#28

Post by dsubburam »

NeilRamp wrote: post #2

I'm spending time refining this, so would be genuinely interested in any feedback, or ways to improve. It's absolutely not the finished article, and intended to be quick and deliver results.

Enjoyed reading it, and also your writing style in general. Am saving the article in order to refer to when I start developing my new product idea. I have a genuine question, and maybe two further "optional" comments to offer since you're explicitly soliciting feedback.

The question: is there a distinction to be made between "startup" and "product"? How, if at all, would you change your process for a simple product idea, like, say, a new kind of umbrella?

As for the optional comments, I did find the "Read a book" a bit jarring in the bulleted steps of the process -- it is unlike the other steps in that you don't do it again and again for every single startup idea you might be evaluating, and so not really part of a process associated with each project.

Re: My startup validation process

#29

Post by tchock23 »

carterklein13 wrote: post #13

I see The Mom Test recommended anywhere. Can anyone shed some light into what other information it contains other than "focus on the problem (not your solution) and explain things simply and concisely enough that your mother could understand?"

I’ll summarize the book in one sentence so you don’t have to read it:

‘When talking to customers, ask about their current behaviors rather than hypotheticals (e.g., ‘would you buy this’).’

I have 20 years of experience in conducting customer discovery interviews professionally, so I found the information in the book to be incredibly simplistic and sometimes misleading or incorrect. I get frustrated every time I see it recommended as some kind of bible for startup founders doing discovery...

Re: My startup validation process

#30

Post by uxcolumbo »

tchock23 wrote: post #29
carterklein13 wrote: post #13

I see The Mom Test recommended anywhere. Can anyone shed some light into what other information it contains other than "focus on the problem (not your solution) and explain things simply and concisely enough that your mother could understand?"

I’ll summarize the book in one sentence so you don’t have to read it: ‘When talking to customers, ask about their current behaviors rather than hypotheticals (e.g., ‘would you buy this’).’ I have 20 years of experience in conducting customer discovery interviews professionally, so I found the information in the book to be incredibly simplistic and sometimes misleading or incorrect. I get frustrated every time I see i…

Which book(s) would you recommend?

I quite liked:

Validating Product Ideas

https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/lean-user-research/

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