The Scientific Method for Startups
A new experiment every day
by Ryan Sheffer
I’m a big fan of the scientific method. Around the year 1250, Roger Bacon promoted a system to understand things through experimentation. It was an attempt to weed out bias and emotions from the search for truth.
If you look at the scientific advancements from 1250 to now, I think we can all agree that Mr. Bacon got something right. The great news for us entrepreneurs is that it turns out this method is the perfect structure for creating and running a startup.
Creating a Startup:
1. Ask a Question
All startups begin with a question. Let’s assume Uber hasn’t been invented yet, and you come up with this question — what if every person had their own personal driver? You’ve now begun the scientific method and you’re on your way to creating a startup.
2. Do Background Research
You should assume that if you ask a question, many people probably already have. Because of this, you’ll need to research whether or not there’s currently a solution to your question that meets your standards.
3. Construct a Hypothesis
You’ve researched and found that there aren’t good solutions for a simple method of getting a personal driver. WE’RE ALL GONNA BE RICH! But before that — construct a hypothesis.
Do you believe that people would want their own personal driver if the means of getting it were easier and less expensive than hailing a cab?
3. Test with an Experiment
When starting out, you likely don’t have a lot of money. If you wanted to test whether or not people wanted a personal driver prior to the existence of Uber, maybe you would offer the service to friends of friends. You could offer the service at half the price of a cab and pick some people up after a night at the club. Would anyone pay for that?
4. Analyze & Conclude
Did people want the service? Could you get anyone to bite at your offering? If not — you probably discovered one of the many startup ideas that isn’t any good. However, if you had the idea of a personal driver before Uber, hindsight tells us that’s a $50+ billion opportunity. So, it’s likely your experiment ended successfully.
Running a Startup:
Rinse & Repeat
If your experiment is successful, you’ve found something people want. But the scientific method doesn’t end there. Inevitably there are 10,000,000 different ways you can make your product better and better.
In our hypothetical Uber-before-Uber narrative, you’ve discovered that people would pay for a personal car service if it was easy to purchase and cheaper than a taxi. There are instantly more questions you can formulate, and with each question, more tests and conclusions that lead you further and further down the road to truth!
Some sample questions
Is there a way to make enough money in this operation if we’re cheaper than taxis?
Do people care about the quality of the car they get?
Is the amount of money people will pay variable depending on their current situation (example — standing outside in the rain)?
Do people prefer being driven by civilian cars over taxis?
What is the preferred method of ordering the car? Phone call? App? Website?
Run your startup like a scientist
Every company has questions they can ask and experiments they can run to improve their products and services. It’s pretty amazing that scientists laid out a blueprint to do just this hundreds of years ago.
At Momunt, we aim to run an experiment every single day. Not only does it help divorce emotions from our findings, but it provides a clear structure for objective learning about our strengths and weaknesses in all aspects of the product.
As always — reach out with any questions or thoughts: team@momunt.com
