BUS-217: week 2

Build something people want

If you don’t do that, then nothing else matters.

We’ve all seen examples of companies that invest a lot of money in developing and launching a new product, only to have it fail. I hate to admit it, but, I’ve done it myself. So how do make sure we’re building something customers love? The short answer is this: The only thing that matters is getting to Product-Market Fit. There are several frameworks today – Customer Development, MVP, Lean Startup, and Design Thinking – that are all designed to get you to Product-Market Fit more effectively and efficiently.

“In a startup, no facts exist inside the building, only opinions”.

-Steve Blank
Lecture:

Download my slides.

The story of a BUS-217 Student:
Main Reading:
Other Reading:
Get your Canvas:
Assignment:
  • Having established your Problem Statement, now post your proposed solution in the #solution_hypothesis channel. And then write a paragraph on how you plan to use the Lean/Customer Development/MVP process in the #path_to_PMF channel.
Founder Interview:
  • Charlene Platon, founder of Fifth Window (and BUS-217 alum!) talks about conducting a Customer Development process for her startup. Listen now.