product design & scrambled eggs

Product Development &

Scrambled Eggs

A N E E S H V A R M A

Aneesh Varma

@AneeshVarma

New tech.

International travel.

China.

FinTech.

Amazing foods.

London life.

Creating a new product

The only rule

Must solve a problem

Your own life encounters

Why scrambled eggs?

Whose problem are you solving?

Are you solving a real problem?

How large is this pain - how many

people do you help?

Unexpected twists

Luck

✓ Someone releases a platform (eg: Shazam benefited from AppStore distribution)

✓ Cloud-hosting has become dirt cheap

✓ Aviation Board will allow private airport security

✓ International shipping costs drop significantly

✓ People are more conscious of organic food

✓ Government introduces rules for home inspection before selling houses

Opportunity

People aren’t using my product to cook scrambled eggs.. but rather clean their forks

The “missed calls” economy in India

Backpackers become medicine carriers

Shredded paper from offices in London

By-product of your invention

Can you somehow leverage the unexpected usage into a product opportunity?

Product Roadmap

From idea to reality

v1.0 v1.5 v2.0v1.1 ...v0.5

MVPPPT

v0.8 ...

POC FMR

Competitive Advantages

✓ Barriers to entry

✓ How will your have an “unfair advantage over someone else”

✓ Is design your USP?

✓ Price?

✓ Speed of execution?

✓ Some secret algorithm?

It’s ok to fail at first...

Design matters How do you protect your advantage?

Measure everything Learn from your data.

Test and learn

Source: KISSmetrics

Customer service.Refunds.

Complaints.Problems.Support.

Sales & Marketing

• How will you rollout?

• How long can you wait for traction?

• Partnerships & JVs

• “The API as your BD guy”

• Cost of marketing in your budget

• Door-to-door sales or scalable idea?

• Myth about being viral

“Just build it and they will come”

... it doesn't work that way.

Product for investors

Product for yourself

Going International

Intentional Unplanned

Re-imagine the environment. Live outside the bubble.

Do all customers really have the same data speeds?

What about restrictions and blocked services?

The White iPhone effect

Observed in China.

It ’s my money, not our money.

Observed in Brazil.

• Find friends & student interns

• Go down there (if possible)

• Read & learn

• Local with launch partners

• Alternate revenue models

• Offer a general solution too

• Measure everything (data)

Tips & advice

Opportunity for a pivot?