Steve Blank - The Startup Owner's Manual

Copyright © 2020 by Steve Blank. All rights reserved.

The cover, design, and content are the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

The Startup Owner’s Manualwas originally published by K&S Ranch Publishing Inc., K&S Ranch Publishing Division in 2012.

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ISBN 9781119690689 (Hardcover)

ISBN 9781119690672 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781119690726 (ePub)

1 Cover

2 How to Read This Book How to Read This Book CLEARLY, THE STARTUP OWNER’S MANUAL IS not a novel. This book is a step-by-step how-to guide that details a process for building a successful, profitable, scalable startup. It has more in common with a car repair manual than it does with your favorite page-turner. Don’t attempt to read this book in a single sitting or long weekend. It will be your companion—and, we hope, your very best friend—for the six to 30 months or more that it often takes to begin building a successful, scalable startup business.

3 Preface

4 Who Is This Book For?

5 Introduction A Repeatable Path Why a Second Decade? The Four Steps: A New Path

6 I Getting Started Chapter 1: The Path to Disaster: A Startup Is Not a Small Version of a Big Company The Traditional New-Product Introduction Model The 9 Deadly Sins of the New Product Introduction Model Chapter 2: The Path to the Epiphany: The Customer Development Model An Introduction to Customer Development “The Search for a Business Model:” Steps, Iteration and Pivots A Customer Development Bonus: Minimum Waste of Cash and Time The Customer Development Manifesto Summary: The Customer Development Process Chapter 3: An Introduction to Customer Discovery The Customer Discovery Philosophy Chapter 4: Customer Discovery, Phase One: State Your Business Model Hypotheses Market Size Hypothesis (Physical and Web/Mobile) Value Proposition 1: “Low Fidelity” MVP Hypothesis (Web/Mobile) Customer Segments: Who/Problem Hypothesis (Physical) Customer Segments: Source/Wiring Hypothesis (Web/Mobile) Channels Hypothesis (Physical) Channels Hypothesis (Web/Mobile) Value Proposition 2: Market-Type and Competitive Hypothesis Customer Relationships Hypothesis (Web/Mobile) Key Resources Hypothesis (Physical and Web/Mobile) Partners Hypothesis (Physical) Traffic Partners Hypothesis (Web/Mobile) Revenue and Pricing Hypothesis Chapter 5: Customer Discovery, Phase Two: “Get Out of the Building” to Test the Problem: “Do People Care?” Design Tests and Pass/Fail Experiments Prepare for Customer Contacts (Physical) Build Your Low Fidelity MVP (Web/Mobile) Test Understanding of the Problem and Assess Its Importance (Physical) Avoid the Big-Company Meeting Trap Low Fidelity MVP Problem Test (Web/Mobile) Missteps to Avoid when Testing the Low Fidelity MVP: Gain Customer Understanding Capture Market Knowledge (Physical) Traffic/Competitive Analysis (Web/Mobile) Chapter 6: Customer Discovery, Phase Three: “Get Out of the Building” and Test the Product Solution Update the Business Model and Team (a Pivot-or-Proceed Point) Create the Product “Solution” Presentation (Physical) High Fidelity MVP Test (Web/Mobile) Test the Product Solution with the Customer (Physical) Measure Customer Behavior (Web/Mobile) Update the Business Model Again Identify First Advisory Board Members Chapter 7: Customer Discovery, Phase Four: Verify the Business Model and Pivot or Proceed Have We Found a Product/Market Fit? Do We Know Who Our Customers Are and How to Reach Them? Can We Make Money and Grow the Company? Pivot or Proceed? Chapter 8: Introduction to Customer Validation An Epiphany at E.piphany The Customer Validation Philosophy Overview of the Customer Validation Process Chapter 9: Customer Validation, Phase One: "Get Ready to Sell" Get Ready to Sell: Craft Positioning Statement Get Ready to Sell: Sales and Marketing Materials (Physical) Physical Sales Collateral and Materials Collateral Needs to Be Tuned to the Audience Online Tools for Physical Channel Marketers Get Ready to Sell: Acquire/Activate Customers Plan (Web/Mobile) The “Acquire” Plan and Tools Acquire Plan Tools The Activation Plan and Tools Non-home page acquisition tools Managing the Activate Plan Get Ready to Sell: Hire a Sales Closer (Physical) Get Ready to Sell: Build a High Fidelity MVP (Web/Mobile) Get Ready to Sell: Sales Channel Roadmap (Physical) Get Ready to Sell: Build a Metrics Toolset (Web/Mobile) Get Ready to Sell: Develop the Sales Roadmap (Physical) Get Ready to Sell: Hire a Data Analytics Chief (Web/Mobile) Get Ready to Sell: Formalize the Advisory Board (All Channels) Chapter 10: Customer Validation, Phase Two: Get Out of the Building and Sell! Get Out of the Building: Find Earlyvangelists (Physical) Get Out of the Building: Prepare Optimization Plans/Tools (Web/Mobile) Get Out of the Building and Test Sell (Physical) Get Out of the Building: Optimize Getting More Customers (Web/Mobile) Get Out of the Building: Refine the Sales Roadmap (Physical) Get Out of the Building: Optimize “Keep” and “Grow” (Web/Mobile) Get Out of the Building: Test Sell Channel Partners (Physical) Get Out of the Building: Test Sell Traffic Partners (Web/Mobile) Chapter 11: Customer Validation, Phase Three: Product Developing and Company Positioning No PR Agency The Positioning Audit Develop Positioning: Product Positioning The Product Positioning Brief Develop Positioning: Match Positioning to Market Type For an Existing Market For a New Market For a Clone Market For Re-Segmenting a Market Develop Positioning: Company Positioning Develop Positioning: Validate Positioning Chapter 12: Customer Validation, Phase Four: The Toughest Question of All: Pivot or Proceed? Pivot or Proceed: Assemble Data Findings Pivot or Proceed: Validate Your Business Model Pivot or Proceed: Validate the Financial Model Metrics that Matter Metrics that Matter: Example 2 If These Were Your Numbers, What’s a Founder to Do? Metrics that Matter: Example 3 Pivot or Proceed: Re -Validate the Business Model The Toughest Startup Question: Pivot or Proceed?