Re-create the timeline of events It helps to start the interview by anchoring the conversation around the selection/purchase event of the existing alternative you are studying. You then work backward from there to uncover the series of triggering events that led up to the selection of this existing alternative. Finally, work the timeline forward to

“Not quite. A traction roadmap helps break your three-year goal into more intermediate milestones with specific traction goals at each stage, and a timeline. It addresses one of your questions on how you model the ramp. Once you see these milestones, you’ll be able to more clearly formulate a rollout plan.”

Here’s how to think this through: An early adopter is someone open to switching The first significant event in the timeline is the switching trigger. This is when the customer is pushed past the inertia of the status quo into the consideration stage (passive looking for a new solution). Remember that the status quo could be doing nothing if it’s a

Part 2: Validation (Ignition) Before attempting liftoff, you need to validate your design assumptions to ensure that: If you build it, people will come (desirability). It is worth building (viability). It can make the trip (feasibility). To do this, you first reduce the scope to achieve liftoff (MVP), then start learning about, designing, and testi

When [customers] encounter a [triggering event], they need to do [job-to-be-done] in order to achieve [desired outcome]. They would normally use [existing alternatives], but because of [switching trigger] these [existing alternatives] no longer work because of [these problems]. If these problems are left unaddressed, then [what’s at stake]. So we b

How do you estimate your average customer lifetime? Here are some ideas: Study other businesses in your industry to determine average attrition or churn rates. Estimate the utility of your product. Every job has a finite lifetime. For example, it typically takes two weeks to paint a house. If you find yourself going above five years on your average

A nice side effect of starting small is that Larry can afford to provide a high-touch customer experience. This lets him sidestep a few shortcomings of his MVP and still overdeliver on value, while maximizing learning from his customers. His first batch of customers is blown away by Larry’s attention to detail and responsiveness to their needs. He

Love the problem, not your solution.

“Demo-Sell-Build. I like the simplicity of that. If you can’t sell the demo, why build the product?” Lisa adds with a laugh.