I’ll be chatting about:My ExperienceProduct FitCustomer DiscoverySilicon Valley

Hi, my name is Drew Sing

Interrupt me whenever! Don’t let this be another death by pp presentation…

The Four Steps to the EpiphanySteve Blank

Wise words from Steve Blank

The greatest cause of failure—in startups is not in the development of a new product but in the development of customers and markets.

1 out of 10 startups succeed, so play the game hard and smart.

Just because it makes logical sense doesn’t mean it will work.

Product Development Diagram

SKETCHY for early stage

startups

Sales Perspective

Marketing Perspective

Example:

Don’t waste your precious youth building something people don’t give a shit about.

Example:

Where product development is focused on first customer ship, the customer development model moves learning about customers and their problems as early in the development process as possible.

Who are you selling to and why

Do not skip Customer Discovery – often the fatal error.

Does the problem you’re solving make your product a must have?

Customer Development Model

BETTER YAY!

It’s natural to go backwards. It’s a valuable part of learning and discovery.

Keep cycling until you achieve “escape velocity” – where you generate enough success to carry you out into customer creation.

Speed at which a company moves through Customer Development depends on market type.

Startup in an existing market should be able to accomplish customer validation sooner.

Company creating a new market has an open-ended set of questions that may take a year or even longer.

Important: It is the founders that then define the first product. The job of customer development is to see where there are customers and a market for that vision.

If you know the answers

If you really do know the answers to the customer development process, it will go quickly and reaffirm your understanding.

Startups don’t fail because they lack a product; they fail because they lack customers and a proven financial model.

Conclusion

BREAK?

YC Experience

You can do everything they do in Silicon Valley here in Sydney.

• As long as you have a startup support group and driven community. • Surround yourself with smart and

experienced people.

My tips

• Never work on more than 1 startup• The Weekend rule• The Friday night rule• Learn to code if you’re non-technical

Team Chemistry is HUGE!

• Paul Graham stated 25% of companies that go through YC lose a co-founder.

Work your ass off

And don’t get tunnel vision!!!

Constantly pivot your product

THANK YOU. Questions?

@drew_singSing.drew@gmail.com

Learning front-end and looking for a mentor!