PRESENTED BY:
Myths & Truths - Building a Product
APRIL 29, 2015PRESENTED BY:
PRESENTER:JERROD BAILEY
PARTNER & PRACTICE LEAD, TALLWAVE
NEED TITLE GRAPHIC
LAUNCHING A STARTUP LIKE A BOSSHow to Launch a Company When You’re Not a Coder
AGENDA
WWW.TALLWAVE.COM/SPRINGBOARD [email protected]
● Conventional Wisdom: How Most Startups Start
● An Alternative Approach for Non-Technical Founders
● Tips, Tricks and Tools at Each Stage
● Big Free Give-away ($2,500 value) at the End!
INTRODUCTION
JERROD BAILEYPartner, Tallwave LLC
15 yr start-up operator and enterprise. 3 start-ups, 3 exits.
Works with Tallwave portfolio and client companies to build scalable systems for growth (but hacks his way to get there).
In a previous life:● UUNET (first Tier 1 ISP), sold
to MFS for $2B● Virtela ($70M venture
backed, sold to NTT for $520M)
PART 1: Conventional Wisdom
How Most Startups Start
Conventional Wisdom
$$100K Bet #1: Product
Bet #2: Go-to-Market
2.0!3.0!4.0!n.0!
Product-Market Fit!!
Idea Scale
Conventional Wisdom
$
2.0!3.0!4.0!n.0!
Idea Scale
1. Pivot Certainty: 100%2. 1,000:1
[Startups:Capital]3. Not Viable for Non-
Technical Founders
Part 2: An Alternative Approach
for Any Startup but Especially for Non-Technical Founders
Image: CandylandM Hasbro
An Alternative Approach
$
Idea Scale
An Alternative Approach
$
Idea Scale
$
Sales & Marketing
Website & Brand
Software(MVP)
Prototype
Product-Market
Fit
Prototyping
$
Idea Scale
Prototype
Product-Market
Fit
Prototyping
Tips, Tricks + Tools
Image: Google Ventures War Room: https://www.gv.com/lib/tour-the-google-ventures-war-room-in-san-francisco
Why Prototype?
1. Demonstrate your User Experience in a tangible way
for investorsfor users
for developersfor yourself
Why Prototype?
2. Use it to raise Capital
Why Prototype?
3. Use it to test your assumptions with end users
Why Prototype?
4. Use it to decrease your development costs
(hone your MVP)
Why Prototype?
5. Use It to Develop Your Business Model
Your MVP Should Accomplish Each of These to Some degree:
★ Activation (download, install, signup)★ Engagement (daily active and monthly active
usage)★ Retention (reason to never leave, never stop)
Activation > Engagement > Retention
Forget 10,000 users. Give me 100 total strangers…
If all 100 download my app (activation), use it every day (engagement) and never leave (retention), then I have
the foundation for an amazing company.
Instagram’s Product-Market Fit
Activation Engagement Retention
Invitation from Friends (social integration)
I see friends on it (social login integration)
I see a stream of interesting things (discovery)
I see a big button just begging me to create my first post (activation goal).
Creating and sharing (core loop) is drop-dead simple
I get push notifications that bring me back to the app regularly
Word of Mouth is buzzing
app store photos, copy and ratings are compelling
Saw an interesting photo from someone on Social Networks (social integration)
Growing list of followers (investment)
Regular referrals / business from posts (income)
Personal sense of expression (intrinsic)
Where I communicate with my social sphere (involvement)
Search and invite my friends to join me (social integration)
Virality
Core Loop
Passive Engagement
Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Design Interact
Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
#PenBeforePixel
http://inkwell.io/
Design Thinking
Prototyping: Tips, Tricks + Tools
2 Week Sprint Clickable Prototype + User Testing
Building Your Software
$
Idea ScaleSoftware(MVP)
Prototype
Product-Market
Fit
Building Software
Tips, Tricks + Tools
Rules for Building
1. Find a CTO
★ Architects the Solution★ Helps vet the Dev partner
★ Ties the Business to the Technology★ Can be part time. Paid or equity.
Rules for Building
1. Find a CTO
★ Use LinkedIn Advanced Search and Connection Requests
★ Target the larger tech employers in town (Titles: “Architect”, Director or Head of Development, CTO)
★ Target senior employees at app development shops
Rules for Building
2. Investigate Offshoring but be careful
★ Design & Test domestically★ Multiple Pre-vetted Bids from
http://www.accelerance.com/★ eLance and oDesk: Expect Hit & Miss
★ TopTal is a great resource for great freelance dev talent
Rules for Building
3. Test New Designs/Features Constantly
★ Build Prototyping & User Testing into your Agile Schedule
★ Find users on Craigslist, LinkedIn, Mechanical Turk, or pull from your Beta Signups!
Website & Branding
$
Idea Scale
Website & Brand
Software(MVP)
Prototype
Product-Market
Fit
Website + Branding
Tips, Tricks + Tools
Image: Triad Branding http://www.triadadvertising.com/blog/7-tips-for-successful-rebranding/
Rules for Branding
1. If your segment already has a leader, make a new segment
Rules for Branding
2. Source and Validate Your Brand Attributes with Real Users
ClueApp.com
Branding: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Before Branding:
Send Questionnaire to Real Users
After Branding:Test Which Attributes
They Actually See
Rules for Websites
1. Single-Page Website + Blog + Landing Page Solution!
★ Creates an Online Presence★ Establishes Basic Content Strategy (blog)
★ Provides Flexibility to Experiment w/ Campaigns★ No Developers Needed
Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Single-Page Website
Landing-PageSolution
Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Single-Page Website
Landing-PageSolution
Website: Tips, Tricks + Tools
Landing-PageSolution
● Event Pages○ User Launches○ Webinars
● Email Marketing Campaign destination
● Pay-per-Click ExperimentsMessaging Experiments
A/B / Multivariate Tests● Social Media Marketing
Experiments● Investor Landing Page● Interest Gathering● Lead Generation
○ Content offers● Talent / Recruitment Pages
Branding: Tips, Tricks + Tools
3 Week Sprint Visual Brand, Market Positioning
Sales & Marketing
$
Idea ScaleSales & Marketing
Website & Brand
Software(MVP)
Prototype
Product-Market
Fit
Sales & Marketing Systems
Tips, Tricks and Tools
Image: Entrepreneur.com http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226889
Marketing & Sales
1. Build a list of all your buyers
★ For B2B, Use LinkedIn Advanced Search + LinkedInTool.com + SellHack to append
emails/phone numbers★ See our Webinar on hacking LinkedIn
Marketing & Sales
2. Establish Your Core Marketing Tools
★ Email: Mailchimp★ Landing Pages: Unbounce★ Social: Bufferapp + Sniply★ Analytics: Google Analytics
Marketing & Sales
3. Claim Your Social Outposts
★ There are more than you think
Launching Like a Boss
Pulling It All Together with a Go-to-Market
Preparing for Launch
1. Talk to 100 Users
Preparing for Launch
2. Sequence Your Next 90 Days with Parallel Efforts
Preparing for Launch
3. Set Up a Launch Page and Get Early Adopters
★ Try ProductHunt and Betalist and Reddit Startups, but there are many more!
★ Try for 10 beta signups. Then 100. Then 1,000.★ Calculate your CAC (Cost to Acquire)
Preparing for Launch
4. Build Contacts
★ Use LinkedIn and Twitter for Outreach:
MediaAdvisors (to turn into investors)
Talent(to show investors)
Map of Early Stage Capital in the US [link]
Preparing for Launch
5. Plan for Closed Beta, Open Beta and Full Launch
★ Expect that Nothing Will Go as Planned★ Don’t Set Investor Expectations for a Big, Successful
Launch
Preparing for Launch
Team
3rd Parties
New Hires
Dev Complete!
Closed Beta!
Big Event!
Open Beta!
Today
Preparing for Launch
Preparing for Launch
6. Launch Like a Boss!
★ “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me. Guaranteed.” -Eddie Vedder. Guaranteed. (2007)
Special Offer
★ Free Design Studio from Tallwave
Half-day session with our World-class Design Team. $2,500 value.
Ideate Your Concept and Design Your Core Loop!
Submit Here to Win!
PRESENTED BY:
Myths & Truths - Building a Product
THANK YOUPRESENTED BY:
PRESENTERS:JERROD BAILEY
PARTNER, [email protected]
Myths & Truths - Building a Product
NEED TITLE GRAPHIC
LAUNCHING A STARTUP LIKE A BOSSHow to Launch a Company When You’re Not a Coder
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