lean startup for developers conference

@sarbogast #Devoxx #ls4dev

Lean Startup for DevelopersSébastien Arbogast

Take Eat Easy


Who are you people?

• How many of you are not developers?

• How many of you thought of creating their own startup one day?

• How many of you went through and did create a startup?

• How many of you are still working in your startup?

• How many of you are working in a startup right now?

• How many of you are familiar with Lean Startup?

• How many of you are fed up with me saying the word "startup" at this point already?


Who am I?

• Java developer for 10+ years

• iOS developer for 5 years

• Agile methodology advocate for 8 years

• Freelancer for 5 years

• Lean Startup practitioner for 4 years

• Startup coach for NEST'up

• VP of Engineering for Take Eat Easy


Why create your own startup?


It's cool to be an entrepreneur!


The (real) entrepreneur lifestyle


Your unique million-dollar idea


There is no such thing


You want to be your own boss


Power comes with responsibility


Your product will be so much better


Think business model


Somebody told you...


Scratch your own itch


Tired of being a consultant?


Beware of the pimps


Obsessed about building a product


Startup is not the best environment


You've got the skills


The perfect triangle


Use your favorite technologies


Over design will kill you


Something out of your pet projects


You will have to keep focus


You want to improve everyone's life


Niche strategy is key


Market research shows you the way


Quality over quantity


Good reasons to do it


Invest in yourself


Find your own solutions


Unique opportunities and expertise


Grow as a human being


Be a part of the solution


Choose the people you work with


Why you would NOT do it


You know what you have...


Not enough money set aside


You miss some business skills


You need to pay the bills


You don't have enough time


Startups are for youngsters


Your ideas are not good enough


You are not in the right place


What if I fail?


Why you are uniquely positioned to do it?


The power to execute


You already know about lean


You are surrounded by problems


You can easily go freelance


Usual versus Lean


Market study vs…

• Questionnaires and surveys

• Market reports

• Quantitative only

• Takes time and money

• Only valid if you want to verify a strong hypothesis

• Very long iteration cycles

• Tends to confirm what you want to hear


…Customer interviews

• Brainstorm all possible customer segments

• Choose 3 based on your gut feeling

• Draft a business canvas for each

• Sort them by pain level, ease of reach, price and market size

• Take the first one

• List your hypotheses

• Meet 10 people in that customer segment and ask questions

• Repeat


Business plan vs…

• Takes time to write

• Long iteration cycle

• Very cumbersome to update

• Who will read it?

• 3-year projections are for existing business models


…Business Model Canvas

NameBehaviors

Needs & goalsFacts

3 mostpressingproblems

Existingalternatives

for eachproblem

Tagline for your

marketingwebsite

X for Y

One key featurefor eachproblem

AwarenessAcquisitionDistribution

SubscriptionsOne-time

Variable vs fixedHow many customer to

offset costs

How will you

measure success?

Can't be easily

copied or bought


The infamous prototype vs…

• You guess what people are going to need

• You guess what they are familiar with

• You include as many features as you possibly can

• Very few of those features will actually be used

• A lot of wasted time and effort

• DO NOT consider that as "free effort": opportunity cost

• When do you stop?


…Most Testable/Viable Product

• Solution interviews

• Wireframes

• Landing pages

• Concierge mode

• Wizard of Oz

• Forums, blogs, mailing lists, phone numbers


Non-disclosure agreement vs…• You are afraid that somebody with more money will steal

your great idea before you have the time to realize it but…

• Good and original ideas don't exist

• AWFUL IDEA = -1

• WEAK IDEA = 1

• SO-SO IDEA = 5

• GOOD IDEA = 10

• GREAT IDEA = 15

• BRILLIANT IDEA = 20

• NO EXECUTION= $1

• WEAK EXECUTION = $1000

• SO-SO EXECUTION = $10,000

• GOOD EXECUTION = $100,000

• GREAT EXECUTION= $1,000,000

• BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10,000,000

X

Source: Derek Sivers


…Feedback, feedback, feedback

• Feedback from real potential users (who might become your first customers)

• Feedback from potential investors

• Finding cofounders and partners

• If your idea is all you have, you have nothing


Business plan pitching vs…

• Angel investors are interested in

• Quality, passion, commitment, integrity

• Market opportunity and potential

• Business plan AND initial traction

• Technology and intellectual property

• An appropriate valuation

• Exit strategies

• You need: an elevator pitch, a pitch deck, a prototype…

• But more importantly, you need introductions!


…vs Validated learning


Elevator PitchMy company [company name]is developing [defined offering]to help [target customers]solve [problem]with [secret sauce]


Questions?