5 Things you have to know to build a startup
Thanks to Ash Maurya who inspired all this.
You’ve an idea. How to start? Five and more things you absolutely have to know, to transform your idea in a business.
1.Build a business model. To do that Lean Canvas is perfect: it’s your business model in a sheet. Forget the 30 pages business plan: Lean Canvas is your Plan. This is the model:
To practice with your idea, save it, and share it, here you can find free Lean Canvas template. Thanks to the makers of @LEANSTACK! You need only 15–20 minutes to sketch your Business Model. While Business Plan is an instrument to show what you’ll do, Lean Canvas validates what you’re doing. Don’t worry: it isn’t a random approach. Startup isn’t something about follow the flow, rather it’s something about manage the flow, and your instruments to do that, are just in your Lean Canvas boxes. With this instrument you validate the problem, customer segments, value proposition, channels, resources, competitive advantage, that you have here and now. In the next post we’ll see it in every part, with some example.
Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal. — Unknown
2.Your Plan A, isn’t the best plan you can do. Be ready to change it. This approach is the Lean Startup approach. You have to try, to learn who is your customer and what is his problem, at first. You’ve and idea now, but is Your idea: your perception of what’s important to people isn’t science. You’re going to work in a context, where nobody knows what the customer wants, so in such a complex environment, you have to embrace a leaner approach, without waste time and money.
The biggest risk for most startups is building something nobody wants. — Ash Maurya
3. Brainstorm with other people about your Plan and Customer Segments and make some changes if necessary. For a good team, it takes one to three persons. You need to make decisions quickly, and it’s difficult to do it with too many points of view.
If a man will begin with certainties he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties. — Francis Bacon
4. Get out of the building: Customer Development. Talk with them and interview them. You need qualitative data first, so face-to-face meeting. For example, you can take a coffee with a person you think is interested in your problem. In this way, you can test if your idea is a must-have, or a nice-to-have, or a don’t need. You just have to interview a small sample: ten to twelve people. This number is a good proxy for what you need to know: does your problem exist? Don’t fall in love with your idea. Be lean, make changes if it’s necessary. Don’t waste your resources and time.
The biggest risk for most startups is building something nobody wants. — Ash Maurya
5. Build your product with an iterative process. So, this article is a product: what did we miss in our list? What is important to you? Come back on the top of this article: “5 things you absolutely have to know, to transform your idea in a business”. What are this “more things” in your opinion? Please, write a comment about this. We believe in resonance: we dream of an article with your own contribute (and credits). Write with us.
The best ideas are the honest one.Ones born out of personal experience. One that originated to help a few and ended up helping many. — Simon Sinek
Thank you.
