Course Wrap (LTV, Tuesday, Week 7)
launching-technology-venturesyear-twoCourse summary? That's what I've been doing all along...
Many of my classmates are way smarter than me: http://launchingtechventures.blogspot.com/
Some key points/thoughts:
Develop specific, falsifiable hypotheses
Falsifiable: can be rejected via testing
Specific: "Viral coefficient > 0.4" NOT "Product will spread via WoM"
Measurable: quantitative measures (if possible)
MVP thoughts:
-- Reduce product functionality to test hypotheses => MVP does necessarily mean a "bad" product; sometimes just an incomplete product
-- Rely on temporary/makeshift measures => Mechanical Turk, etc.
-- Smoke tests (as appropriate)
-- Consider risk of false positives and false negatives
Your startup's runway is the number of pivots you have left.
On raising small amounts of capital:
"Nothing focuses the mind like a hanging." -- Samuel Johnson
It's really hard to negotiate with big companies as a startup. Be careful.
Tools/techniques --- a laundry list
-- Customer discovery process
-- Focus groups
-- Customer surveys
-- Customer personas
-- Competitor benchmarking
-- Wireframing
-- Prototype development
-- Usability testings
-- Charter user programs
-- A/B testing
-- PR strategy
-- Conversion funnel analysis/Landing page optimization
-- SEM/SEO optimization
-- Inbound marketing design
-- Customer support analysis
-- Product feature prioritization
-- Lead qualification
-- Net Promoter Score
-- LTV vs. CAC