Lots of startups fail, it's true! Of the many reasons for this, some are completely predictable and common to so many it could almost be called criminal. It certainly can't be regarded as sustainable.
Take market validation for example. Too many startup founders (me included) try to build product without rooting it in the true needs of the customer. They perceive those needs through their own filters and in their own minds, but don't examine those needs enough with their target demographic and then the product doesn't get the traction they hope for when the market sees it.
Two tools I have found incredibly useful in this early stage (and also to repeatedly use in future stages of product evolution) of the development cycle are the Exploratory and Validation Interviews.
Put simply, the exploratory interview helps you understand your target demographic and their frame of reference. The interview consists of two or three open questions like "tell me about your last experience going to x" and then listening to the answers.
Validation interviews are where you take the key learnings from the exploratory interviews and present them to a new set of target demographic so they can validate what is most important to them. A neat way to do this is with the use of cards - one card per learning - and putting them in front of the interviewee simply ask something like "when you last went to x, what was most important to you?".
They key to success with these tools is to ensure you don't bring your own frame of reference to bear on the subject. No questions like - "if I built a system that did this would you buy it?". Let their views and observations flow uninterrupted. Record them. Learn from them. Rewatch and relearn regularly.
These tools are simple, cheap and effective. You need some empathy, some confidence and an iphone along with a little bit of time to both plan and execute the interviews. They become powerful when the number of interviews is increased to around 50. 100 accumulative across both sets (Exploratory and Validation) and there should be a really clear message coming through about what your target wants, why they want it and the value they see from having it.
The MVP should be built to address the top 1 (or maybe 2) areas that have been clearly identified as a priority by your target group - not by you!
Founders must never delegate these interviews and where possible these should always be done face to face. The nuance and interpretation of both the answers and the body language are essential to the end result. Founder instincts and insights are unique. As much as I encourage the 'open filter' review, it is the special way that founders see the world that creates a difference in what comes next -> finding a solution.
Why do I keep forgetting this lesson? I don't know!
Why do so many others? I am equally at a loss to comment.
When we use these tools we are much more likely to build products that people want and need. That must surely be our goal :)
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