What are the steps to validate a product for your startup?

Build the minimum possible product and test the market as soon as possible. Customers will give you very valuable hints if you are on track or not and the right directions to build a product market fit before you start scaling.

Be Problem first not solution When looking at a problem, I follow this rule by answering these 5 Whys and it helps me every time 1-Why is this a problem? 2-Why does this problem exist? 3-Why are these causes present? 4-Why are these processes or conditions in place? 5-Why haven't these issues been addressed before?

Start by identifying a real problem that your target audience faces Eg, Airbnb identified the problem of expensive and impersonal hotel stays and offered a solution by connecting travelers with affordable and authentic accommodations. Clearly define how your product solves the identified problem Eg, Uber addressed the inconvenience of hailing taxis by offering convenient ride-sharing service through a mobile app. Communicate the unique value that your product provides to customers Eg, Slack as a communication tool that reduces email clutter, addressing a common pain point in the workplace. Highlight what sets your product apart from competitors Eg, Dollar Shave Club differentiated itself by offering affordable and high-quality razors.

En mi experiencia, al tener un producto o servicio listo para el mercado, la clave es no esperar. Es vital probarlo en el mundo real, alejándolo de oficinas y laboratorios para llevarlo a la acción. ?Mi fórmula para el éxito? Un equipo ágil, clientes colaboradores y una organización enfocada. Es crucial tener un equipo listo para modificar según la retroalimentación de los clientes. Lanzamos una versión 0 del producto, pero no nos detenemos. La mejora continua es esencial. La filosofía startup reduce plazos, incorpora ideas del cliente, potenciando la propuesta de valor. Agilidad, adaptabilidad e innovación constante son claves para el éxito en startups!

To validate a startup product, begin with a deep understanding of your target audience’s specific pain points. This guides the development of a solution tailored to their needs. Next, clearly articulate your product’s value proposition and unique selling points, focusing on how it distinctively solves the problem. Emphasize benefits like innovation, user experience, or cost-effectiveness. This user-centric approach ensures your product addresses a real need and stands out in the market, laying a foundation for success.

This is a bit backwards to what books say but I found it to be true in reality. Start with your market, whoever you have the most access to, solve a problem for that market because you will be able to get feedback quicker. Speed and smallness makes it possible to pivot-this is usually all you have.

Idea Validation is probably the most important stage to audit whether you truly have market potential. Following your ideation process, define your solution using a snapshot framework such as the lean canvas or the business model canvas and begin to validate different parts of the solution with some of the following tests: 1) Is your solution desirable? - Storyboard your solution to customers - Use Search Trend Analysis - Distribute flyers - Run an email campaign with potential users 2) Is the solution feasible to implement? - Create an offline concierge to emulate a digital service - Acquire a letter of intent from partners - Build a single-feature MVP 3) Is your solution viable as a business? - Run a presale - Organise crowdfunding

When talking to potential users at this stage, it's crucial to separate the validation of a problem from usability testing in the user research. You truly want to understand the pain points of potential users - that's what they know well. Your job is to then come up with different solution ideas. So really focus on understanding the problems in interviews and not on presenting them already with a solution - Usability testing should come later. Feel free to text me and I will share with you how we prepare and conduct research interviews at Boldheart - there are a few do's and don't you should pay attention to

Ter a certeza de que o problema realmente existe e de que existe espa?o para uma solu??o é uma tarefa complexa. As vezes nos apaixonamos por uma solu??o que até esquecemos de ver se alguem precisa daquilo. Lembre-se de tentar validar o tamanho do problema pra conseguir mensurar o tamanho e valor do mercado em que voce está entrando. A grande pergunta que queremos responder aqui é, tem dinheiro nesse mercado?

Tras haber dimensionado nuestro negocio con el BMC, es imprescindible validar nuestras hipótesis, para ello debemos estar en contacto constante con nuestro cliente, hay que aprender de él y entender cuales son sus necesidades. Con esta información vamos a construir nuestro primer MVP (Producto Mínimo Viable), esto quiere decir que tiene que ser una solución básica que permita aportar valor al cliente sin tener que hacer una inversión muy relevante. Valida con el cliente tu solución y utiliza el método lean para iterar la solución con los learnings optenidos.

Remember, it’s a marathon & not a sprint. This is generally the tricky part. Defining MVP need to be understood from 2 perspectives. One for the concept to be vetted & two for the product to be sold to the market. Generally the MVP needs to be defined as the basic features without which the product can’t be sold but for the end customer there can be some must to have’s which as per industry standard might not be. These could be just look & feel factors as well. 1. Develop the product with the basic features similar to your competitors. 2. Add those components which add to the factors of choosing your product over others.

I would start by gathering customer insights, outlining the value you'll provide, prototyping an MVP to enable feedback, testing with real customers, and iterating quickly based on the findings.

Not a big fan of the term MVP as customers and product development teams never align. Steve Jobs once said that "Customers don't know what they want". However, loosely an "MVP" is simply "just enough" functionality to satisfy the needs of early customers, or the day your customers say "ah ha", I see or am realizing the value now, ie "Time to Value". Defining the north star and ensure all stakeholders are crystal clear on the "initial" milestone, and utilizing a "goal" based roadmap, instead of a "feature" based roadmap to keep track, ensures continued alignment.

At this point, a developer's knee-jerk reaction may be to "just start coding". In my experience with app prototyping, I've seen how a well-crafted demo video can demonstrate the app's functionality and serve as an MVP instead. It's not just a workaround to code, it's a pivot that aligns perfectly with today's rapid dev cycles. One thing I’ve found helpful is leveraging tools like Figma to create a dynamic prototype. For startups, especially, this method can be a game-changer. It allows founders to pitch a visual and interactive version of their product without incurring the heavy costs associated with development. It's not just smoke and mirrors--it's showing the envisioned "real deal" in action.

Constructing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stands as a pivotal undertaking for startups aiming to assess their business concepts with minimal resources while swiftly accumulating feedback from users. Delve into this comprehensive, step-by-step guide designed to assist you in the creation of an MVP. 1. Define Your Vision and Goals 2. Identify Core Features 3. User Persona and Journey 4. Choose the Right Technology 5. Design the User Interface (UI) 6. Develop the MVP 7. Test and Iterate 8. Measure Key Metrics 9. Gather User Feedback 10. Iterate or Pivot 11. Scale

To effectively test your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with users, begin by clearly defining your goals and selecting a representative user sample. Develop realistic user scenarios and solicit feedback through surveys, interviews, and observational data. Implement analytics tools to monitor key metrics and iterate on the MVP based on received feedback. Engage with early adopters for valuable insights, and communicate the purpose of the test clearly to users. This user-centered approach ensures a systematic and informed process for refining your product before a broader launch.

Evaluating your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) through interactions with users and customers plays a pivotal role in the product development journey. This iterative feedback process enables you to gauge the alignment of your product with user requirements and pinpoint opportunities for enhancement. Explore this comprehensive guide outlining the systematic approach to testing your MVP with users and customers. 1. Define Objectives 2. Identify User Personas 3. Recruit Participants 4. Prepare Test Scenarios 5. Conduct Usability Testing 6. Collect Feedback 7. Iterate and Improve 8. Test Again 9. Monitor Metrics 10. Document Insights 11. Communicate with Stakeholders 12. Plan for Scaling

In my honest opinion one of the most important aspects, get real life opinions. It is always nice to build something but it is necessary to understand if consumer would use the product/service and what they need while using it.

Defining what features will be included in the MVP is the key to success in that stage. I really recommend reading the books “The Lean Startup” and “the mom test” to learn how to build MVP and collect user feedback right

Testing your MVP is important with the right target market. Market fit is the number two reason why startups fail. When doing MVP's, make the ask for them to buy. If they buy, then move forward- if they don't, rework it.

Define your success early in the planning stage. Once product implementation begins, embrace an ongoing cycle of changes and updates. Identifying key metrics for evaluating your product foundation guides the direction of updates. Utilize quantitative and qualitative insights for analysis, reflection, and iteration to chart a clear path to success. This process also determines the extent of pivoting needed to achieve desired outcomes. Deciding the success or failure of a feature or product involves a deep dive into what works and what doesn't. Establish a robust foundation for data collection and planning. Incorporate inputs and feedback from key stakeholders to gain diverse perspectives.

Using a Product Advisory Group (PAG) of 10-20 users helps you have a persistent soundboard of valuable early adopters giving you unfiltered feedback on your product. Typically this is a subset of the first 3.5% of the total market of users that your product could be addressed to.

"Build', "Measure" and "Learn" is the fast way to iterate to double-down on an MVP. At its most simplistic is to thank about doing everything that can be created fast and measurable sets of experiments. Embrace also failing quickly, also know as "Flearning" (Fail+Learn)- failing fast is a close second to growth.

Once you see positive traction, investing more in infrastructure, development processes (CI/CD), and enhanced security makes sense. Before that moment - for most consumer apps I'd recommend focusing on fast iterations. Another thing is if your product is a bank or health app.

Do not forget to test and evaluate customer acquisition channels. This is a must have as chances that market will pull your innovation are often slim. U must win in sales and marketing to be successful

I had some great advice from a founder who sold his company. He would prepare a data room with documents for potential investors, never actively trying to sell the business, but engaging with potential investors - seeking their feedback and finding out their pain points, gaps in his product, risk factors, etc that prevented them offering what he wanted for the business. He gathered up that information (essentially free advice) and made the product better each year, eventually selling it for far more than he wanted a few years later.

As someone with a decade of startup experience, I recommend conducting a rough market analysis before validating your hypothesis. Identify direct and indirect competitors, assess market size, and understand the competitive landscape. Beware of markets with no competition; it's often a sign of a non-viable market rather than an untapped opportunity. Look into companies that have tried and failed in these spaces to understand potential pitfalls

Going to the market with the right version of your product and investing in the market fit process, instead of marketing, is of highest importance.

Steps to validate products at startup: 1. Thorough Market Research: to identify needs and demand. 2. Problem Definition: Clearly define the problem the product aims to solve. 3. Prototype Development: Create a minimum viable product (MVP) to test core functionalities. 4. User Feedback: feedback from target users to understand their preferences and pain points. 5. Iterative Testing: Continuously iterate on the product based on user feedback and test results. 6. Pilot Launch: Launch a small-scale pilot to observe real-world user interactions and gather more data. 7. : Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and use analytics tools to track success. 8. Scale the product based on positive validation results, adjusting features as needed.

It is crucial to ensure that your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) align with your investors. Neglecting agency costs can prove to be a significant error. Additionally, it is crucial to deeply understand the opportunity cost of building something in-house versus purchasing or outsourcing. This will help allocate capital more efficiently.