21 Essential tools for a Lean startup
If you’re working on a product idea you probably use a ton of tools already. But, here is a list of cool tools that we think might be useful to you.
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Lean Canvas
If you’re an early stage startup the last thing you want to have to do is write a 30 page business plan. Wouldn’t it be great if you document your business model on one page. It will allow you to focus on actually building your business? This great tool lets you adopt the principles of the business model canvas using a simple web interface. Create multiple canvases if you like, collaborate and share with others, and re-visit later.It is adapted from the Business Model Toolbox, this is the brainchild of Ash Maurya, author of Running Lean and a successful blog. We use this on every project we work on and you should too. It’s a lifesaver as it makes you focus on the things that count right from the outset.
Personapp
OK, this is a shameless plug, but as there wasn’t a solution out there we decided to build something ourselves. We like to create quick, informal user personas to help us (& our clients) start thinking about the people we’re designing for. After many a project hacking together hand-written personas, word documents, Fireworks & Balsamiq mockups, the frustration came too much and Personapp was born. Create multiple personas per project and export for sharing or printing. It’s still in beta but you can sign up for an invite.
Unassumer
A new addition to the lean startup tools out there but a valuable one all the same. Created by customer development expert and author Brant Cooper, Unassumer helps you learn quickly what your customers really want, so you can focus on delivering the best product. Get feedback from customers and prospects automatically with a simple scoring system, and get actionable data that helps you find and target your market.
Kiss Insights
KISSinsights gives your customers a way to tell you what they need. Ask a question (or two) and your customers will see it slide up from the bottom right-hand corner of your site. A neat little addition to the feedback space.
Survey.io
A great tool for for testing product/market fit through a customer development survey. Use their standard template to create a survey in seconds (or use KISSinsights to create your own).
Google Apps
So many (free or very cheap) tools for the lean startup. Docs (spreadsheet, presentation, pages, forms, etc). Use them as you would Office or iWork but you can also hack them for different needs. We use Google forms for user surveys, for instance.
Unbounce
Unbounce lets you ….. continue reading
References
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