What is Validation?

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Mark Lieberman

What constitutes validation is one of the first, essential questions we ask in our work with entrepreneurs using the Business Canvas Model (BMC). We also discuss value proposition, targeting customers, and product/market fit. However, validation for all of the components in the Canvas is never really defined.

Validation is the ultimate goal of the process using the BMC. Through validation we are looking to determine the sufficient number of paying customers that creates a market adequate enough to create a business opportunity.

Entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of knowing how many paying customers they have when beginning to pursue an opportunity. Many teachers of entrepreneurship, including Steve Blank and those at the Innovation Corp program at the National Science Foundation, claim that an entrepreneur needs to talk to at least 100 customers in order to reduce the uncertainty surrounding a startup. In fact, the more confirmation achieved, the less the uncertainty. The specific number of 100 is likely derived from qualitative studies performed by social scientists who claim that a population of 100 in a survey makes for a valid survey. In reality, most entrepreneurs find that after talking to about ten customers, the results tend to be the same. So, what constitutes a sufficient number of interviews?

In the past, I have stated that entrepreneurs should interview as many people as necessary to confirm the valid, the uncertainty of the market to a comfortable level. Of course, that omits the concept of confirmation bias. Entrepreneurs need to be mindful to avoid thinking: “My invention is great, so I’ll do anything to make the numbers believable.” Do not fall prey to your own lies, damn lies and statistics.

In research methodology, validity is the soundness of the design of each test and methodology used. Validity shows that the findings/results truly represent the phenomenon claiming to be measured. We cannot talk about validity without discussing reliability. Can the test be repeated or replicated with another population and obtain similar results? Is the test inherently repeatable?

Entrepreneurial validity means using good methods to test hypothesis obtaining data with observable facts that can be measured and are relevant. In addition, the test results must end up with a binary result. The test either passes or fails. There is no “close enough” response. As Yoda says, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

During hypothesis testing, an entrepreneur must “draw the line in the sand.” Ask whether your metric provides you with a level of success that gives rise to doubling down and taking the next action step? Can you tell the difference between complete failure and overwhelming success? Where does your opportunity fall?

What happens if you land close to the line in the sand but do not pass over? There are two possible scenarios: One would come from the norms of your industry. In other words, understanding how your competitors view this metric would provide the necessary knowledge to take action. The second should come from the business model. How many positive responses are required in order to be successful?

Now that you understand what validity is and why it’s important, make sure that you understand exactly how to test for validity. Testing for validity must correspond to the extent to which a concept, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and corresponds accurately to the real world.

Restart – Both the Blog and our Program

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Mark Lieberman

I’m back from a break in blogging with renewed optimism and an excellent new staff at the Advantage Accelerator. In reviewing our program over the past two years, I note we’ve had a number of successful ventures, but still find issues relying solely on Lean Launch Pad methodology.

The greatest issue is the time it takes entrepreneurs to acquire a product market fit. Product market fit is vital because it shows customer validation and the discovery of a repeatable sales process. In order to develop a successful fit, the entrepreneur must focus on finding a reasonably sized market for growth.

Our current Accelerator program runs five months and operates as an expanded version of the Lean Launch Pad. Many entrepreneurs successfully complete the Accelerator program in record pace; others struggle with product market fit that may cause a client to struggle. Finding the best response to the iteration or pivot while learning new skills can cause the most seasoned veterans of startup cultures to stumble.

The Lean Launch Pad model requires that product market fit must be validated. If product market fit is false, then the operational side of the startup is invalid. Moving forward into the execution side of the canvas would be wasteful based upon an invalid product market fit.

After considerable thought, we will now be dividing our current five-month accelerator program into two parts: “Accelerate” and “Launch!” These programs will be offered in addition to our existing pre-Accelerator program, “Iterate!”

Iterate is a pre-accelerator program that is focused on problem/solution fit. The program has four, 2-hour workshop sessions with outcomes based upon entrepreneurial thinking, value proposition, an introduction to the Business Model Canvas as a tool, a basic understanding of the customer discovery process, and an introduction to hypothesis testing and validation. These are all necessary tools designed to help understand the hard work in the process of becoming an entrepreneur.

The program homework is optional (hint: but it is a great screening tool for us) and all team members are strongly encouraged to attend all workshops. In order to move into the next phase, Accelerate, and gain acceptance into the Accelerator, there is an expectation of progress, hustle, and “grit.” These qualities are not the only qualifications for acceptance into the Accelerator, but they are helpful considerations in our decision-making.

Accelerate is focused on product/market fit. The objectives of the program are to confirm the entrepreneurial opportunity, define and build a minimal viable product, validate product market fit, complete a first sales call and develop a repeatable sales model, complete building the team, and to be ready to execute and build operations. The program is eight weeks and is backed with significant resources including our intern program, mentors, and first looks by our Executives in Residence and early investors.

Entrepreneurs may repeat the Accelerate program twice if an iteration or pivot is required. A major focus of this program is to reduce the uncertainty of the startup through validation of product/market fit. Successful clients may move forward to the Launch! Program.

Launch is a five-month program focused on taking the company to the build and sell level. There are two major goals: Fulfillment of build and execution on an operation growth plan, and realization of a repeatable sale process. Each month’s program is focused on a specific topic toward a deep dive into a milestone based growth plan. There is work for each week of the program that starts with the introduction of a topic, private coaching sessions, a cohort workshop and roundtable with the last session of each month being a formal Advisory Board session that consists of our senior programming staff, Executives in Residence and any mentor or advisor to the company.

Overall, we feel that separating the completion of product market fit until the concept is validated makes more sense than attempting to move on to build a company with less certainty of success.

Getting Past First Impressions

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

My last blog on first impressions matter focused on the Gust platform application process that most angel groups use. After loading information on Gust, you will receive a pre-screening call. With some Angel groups there is a presentation involved in the process. I have previously discussed the components of making a good pitch and here. However, in preparing your pre-screening or screening presentation there are a number of important elements upon which to focus.

Entrepreneurs first need to understand each Angel group’s process. For example, how they make decisions and how much money is provided per round is essential. However, of key importance is discovering your chief advocate in the Angel group. Remember that in most Angel groups, this is a competition with only one or two winners.

When making your presentation, always focus on the whole story of your company, from value proposition to target market and product market fit. Investors will also want to know whether there is a large market and a great, pressing need for your business or innovation and if you have evidence of good progress in establishing your business. There are other things Angels will be looking for:

Does your plan provide an exit and a reasonable return on investment?

Do you understand the industry and how your competitors fit in the marketplace? Do you know their strengths and weaknesses? Who are their customers and why do they buy from your competition? Why will customers buy from you instead? Have you delighted your current customers?

How will you use the funds? Do the funds you seek match your plans to scale the business? What will you do if our group is unable to complete the funding round with sufficient cash? Do you have a sound plan for the future? How do you currently make money?

Is there anything that might raise a red flag? Is there any criminal record or bankruptcies on the senior team? Any pending litigation against the company or key players? Are any of the co-founders in a personal relationship? Disclose early and don’t be afraid that these issues are deal killers. They are not necessarily. Disclosing the warts early only strengthen your position as an honest person and leader. Failure to disclose can and would likely be a deal killer.

While you present investors are watching to see whether you have the moxie to be an effective leader and have the ability to execute on your plan. This usually comes up during the question and answer time. Angels want to see how you respond to questions, how articulate you are in your response to posed questions, and how well you understand the ability to scale your business. Another principal concern Angels may have is whether the rest of your team is flexible and adaptable to changing market conditions. It’s your job to demonstrate that by showing their experience, savvy, and ability to engaged under changing conditions.

Tell your story engaging all of your pitch points. Using a customer’s point of view, talk about your company with a script format. Prepare it like the screenplay for a movie. One colleague of mine used the story arc ABDCE:

Set the Action
Build the Background – this is the setup
Develop
Climax – Why you are a winner (in the movies, the end of the second act)
Execution

Remember, this is showtime! Show energy and enthusiasm.

First Impressions Matter

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

We are in the process of evaluating the applications for Angel funding for our current round. Like most investor groups we use Gust as the platform for entrepreneurs to load their company information. Overall, I must admit I am disappointed in many of these applications. Many of the applications look strong in terms of idea or concept. Some apparently have traction. Some claim to have traction, but don’t support that claim. However, the real problem is that for more than 90% of these applications, it is the first time I am exposed to you. The application is my first impression. And first impressions matter! Here are a number of items that are problems.

Incomplete applications. Gust is a standard format platform. The executive summary, financials section, team composition are all fairly straightforward. Missing items or incomplete items leave a bad first impression on me. If an entrepreneur does not provide all the information by the deadline, then it requires substantial explanation. Leave a note somewhere on the document telling me when the document will be completed, and why you require the additional time. I understand, we are looking at a moving target, but at some point I need to review a snapshot.

Financials Section. On Gust, the financials section is where the entrepreneur asks for funding and offers a summary of projections. It includes a place to upload documents. Upload your documents. I expect to see a spreadsheet with details of the projections.

I don’t want to see a pdf file. With pdf I really can’t see the basis of your numbers. Load an Excel spreadsheet with assumptions and a polished look and flow.
One tab of sales projections is not enough. In addition to the assumptions tab, there should be at least tabs for a cover summary, a cash flow projection, hiring guide, balance sheet and revenue models. You need a minimum of five and don’t overwhelm me with 20. I don’t need that level of detail…yet.
Hidden tabs that include details I need to review are a minor inconvenience. Why should I work harder on your application? Make your data clear and easily accessible.
On the positive side, I have seen a few spreadsheets, that have a nice summary up front, a tab with an assumption table linked into the spreadsheet, a hire/HR table and clear, bottom up projections that go over time until past cash flow positive. The revenue projections are important and should not be overlooked.
Spreadsheets are a complete topic for another blog. For now, I will admit that spreadsheets are something of a work of fiction, because they are guesses. But the closer the entrepreneur comes to being correct about these numbers, the higher my confidence level in the venture.

Articulating the Value Proposition. Don’t make me guess what your real value is to customers. If you are not perfectly clear in articulating the product to the target market, then how will I know you will be able to effectively sell the product/service?

Proof Points – Gust does not ask for this, but it is important that you be very specific as to the stage of your venture’s development. This will come out in due diligence. But if you have a finished product or channel partners already lined up, that leads to a much better impression for investors.

Know the Rules of the Game. An understanding of how our Angel group operates will benefit the entrepreneur immensely. For example, if our average investment is $400,000 and you are seeking $900,000 then be certain how you can fill out the rest of the round. I don’t particularly like building piers. I want to build a bridge to the next round. If you have funding that supplements ours, then great. However, know that we prefer to lead rounds unless the terms of the other funding is sufficient. So, be careful uploading the other term sheet – know what we like.

Stage of Development. Don’t hide the point that customers aren’t paying or you don’t have any customers yet. Be honest and forthright and just tell us exactly how you will conquer the world. Make me take a bet on you through truth telling.

Traction. Traction is right. Traction works. Traction clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Traction, in all of its forms …has marked the upward surge of saving the world (thanks to Gordon Gekko for the quote).

Traction is the basis of all that is good in a startup. Traction is the market validation of a value proposition with its target market. Traction shows proof points on its business model. Traction is based in real sales (not a give away product) and has evidence of other proof points – channel partners, a supplier base or existing value chain.

No Faith Based Entrepreneurship. I am really not interested in what you believe. Save that for church. Show me the proof. All that matters are evidence based startups.

Get these right and investors will be your friend.

Disclaimer: These are my own views and not those of any investor group that would have me as a member.

Pitching Dominates

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

Pitching Dominates In Baseball & Entrepreneurship

Successfully Pitching to Angels

Last year in baseball was called the year of the pitcher—and good pitching dominated the game. The same is true in entrepreneurship. A startup is always pitching—to investors, strategic partners, channel partners, in an elevator, to potential employees, etc. I previously wrote about pitching form and what makes your pitch stick.

Today we discuss content in the pitch and what will impress an investor. First of all, remember that the goal of any pitch is to get to a second meeting. Just say enough to get investors interested in your business. Enough to want more information.

If you are pitching before angel investors then remember three major points. The first is that you must have proof of concept. This is usually a technical point: The technology works, beyond paper theory, and you have developed a minimal viable product, in the form of a prototype. An even better situation is to have customers lined up willing to test and purchase the product, called traction by investors. The second point is to show proof of market: Does your solution show evidence of a large market? The third major point is you must show evidence that positive cash flow is easily possible within a reasonably certain time span.

Be articulate, short and to the point. Use the KIS (Keep it Simple) method, as you never know for certain who in the audience, and who understands the technical points of your solution. Keep the technology talk to minimum. With regard to technology, a good pitcher only needs to show that their technology works and has protectable intellectual property.

There are a number of other points that will score points in the eyes of investors. Does your current team, not those that will join after you are funded, have the horsepower to execute and scale the company? Investors usually bet on the jockey (team) and not the horse (technology).

Here are a couple of recommended slide decks and don’t forget to put in a title and ending slide along with your contact information.

Problem/solution
Market potential
Team
Channels and got to market strategy
Competition
Financial projections
The ask and use of funds
Always have backup slides (these are slides that answers the first few most likely asked questions)

And here is alternative, similar version:

You address an important problem
Your proof that this solution is complete and a magnitude better than others
There is a large market for the solution
The solution is better than others and why
You have demonstrated good progress
The team can execute on the company
The investment provides a reasonable return to investors

What else might impress a potential investor?

You know the rules of the game. For example, you understand how the investor operates, the investor’s average investment, you have completed your due diligence on the investor or group, your average valuations to prior investments, and what excites them about an entrepreneur. In other words, you understand their process.
A flexible management team, good potential returns and an idea when an exit might occur
Good use of the proceeds from the investment
Good and frequent communications
Delighting early customers
You listen and learn well
Good qualitative and quantitative milestones
You measure progress religiously

What are some of the pitch or deal killers?

Lack of clarity and not being articulate
Demonstrating lack of leadership qualities
Lack of appreciation for the competition
A pitch long on history and technology but lacking an execution plan
Generic assumptions
Underestimating the barriers to entry, or overestimating those for your competitors
Weak marketing and/or sales plan
Unrealistic financials
Unrealistic view of capital requirements

Pitchers rarely hit it out of the park. But that is your challenge, and your goal.

The Short Rules of Entrepreneurship

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

Today I offer you my personal rules for entrepreneurship. This set is by no means complete, but they are hopefully food for thought.

Rule 1: Entrepreneurship is about action – The Captain’s chair is yours.

Rule 2: Some people dream about doing great things. Keep your eyes wide open and your feet on the ground, and then do great things.

Rule 3: A sports metaphor for Rule 2. There is no crying in baseball. There is no sleeping in entrepreneurship.

Rule 4: Focus on customers and building a business that is client centered rather than focused on technology. Make sure your company solves customer pain or creates great results for your customer.

Rule 5: Entrepreneurship is not fair. Neither is angel or venture capital funding.

Rule 6: Treat your 3F (Friends, Family and others (known as Fools) round as if they are professional investors. All 3F angel investors have an investment committee – their spouse. Respect the relationship.

Rule 7: Angel and venture capital is like a series of locked doors. Someone must unlock the door for you. Find the people with keys.

Rule 8: Build your company by building a customer base. Build for one client at a time. Later, build for multiple clients.

Rule 9: You have exactly one minute to make your pitch. Practice making them.

Rule 10: Learn the language of entrepreneurship and tell the truth. (Do not tell the typical lies: “Our market cap will scale up to $27.1 billion in five years” or “our competition is too big and slow to move as fast as us,” unless you are Elon Musk and build spaceships in your spare time.)

Rule 11: Get a champion who will work with you.

Rule 12: Bootstrap. Frugality is a virtue. Put some skin in the game.

Rule 13: You are only as good as your cash.

Rule 14: So what? Why you? What have you accomplished so far?

Rule 15: Build a team. One person cannot do everything.

Rule 16: Be a good listener and a better filter.

Rule 17: Network!

Rule 18: If you build it they will not come. You must sell to them.

Rule 19: Never BS yourself or your team. Always pause to understand the bias in all decision making.

Rule 20: This rulebook is incomplete.

Do you have additional tips for entrepreneurs? Feel free to add to the list.

Customer Development Interviews

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

A new book by Cindy Alvarez about customer interviews reminded me that it is often important to review the basics of our tradecraft.

There are a number of important points to consider when reaching out to potential customers. In the Lean Methodology, it is essential to complete customer interviews before building your first minimally viable product. Ongoing interviews with clients also helps you to stay in touch and cement relationships with clients as well.

It is best to interview someone face-to-face. Clearly, that is more time consuming approach, yet more effective than Skype, telephone, or online interviews. A key component of these interviews is the observation of body language. That observation is lost with anything less than face-to-face meeting. Video conversations only capture part of the picture, and the nuances of observation cannot be completely captured.

The second important issue is to help the interviewee get past the politeness factor. No one wants to deliver bad news. Your goal is to make them feel comfortable. There are two ways past the politeness factor. The first is to change the way questions are asked. Asking, “What do you dislike about the product?” makes it difficult to yield honest results. Instead, asking “How would you improve this product?” frames the question as a respectful call for assistance. Everyone wants to help. No one wants to be impolite.

Cindy Alvarez starts just about every interview with four basic questions:

Tell me about how you do __________ today?

Do you use any other tools or have any specific tips or tricks you use to help?

Is there anything specific that you always do before or after you do _______?

If you could have a magic wand and be able to do anything else that you can’t do today, what would it be? (Forget about whether or not it’s possible, just anything.)

These questions are open-ended and allow for understanding customer behavior and activity. It is also crucial that there is not a single mention of your product.

Here are a number of other tips to use during customer interviews:

Try to have two people attend
Work from an outline of 3 – 5 questions
Focus on real behavior not hypothetical
Shut up
Probe
Don’t overstay your welcome
Debrief the same day
FOLLOW UP!
Work to their Schedule
Disarm the politeness training
Ask open ended questions
Don’t influence
Ask the Right Questions
Frame the Questions Correctly
Parrott back
Get Psyched to hear things you don’t want to hear
Ask for Introductions

The goal of your interviews is to position the interviewee as the expert. A good interview avoids yes/no answers, and gives potential clients an opportunity to tell a story – one that may cause them to think of related problems they’re having, or may trigger more questions for you to ask later.

Remember, your goal is to determine how your customer is currently dealing with specific tasks. What do they like about their current solution or process? Is there some other approach that they have taken in the past that was better or worse?

Attempt to discover what they wish they could do that currently isn’t possible or practical. How would that make their lives better? Who their organization is directly involved with addressing such approaches? How long does it take to make a decision?

Your interviewees’ feelings and state of mind are also important. How do they feel when they are performing this task? How busy/hurried/stressed/bored/frustrated? You can learn this by watching their facial expressions and listening to their voice as they answer your questions. What are they doing immediately before and after their current task? How much time or money would they be willing to invest in a solution that made their lives easier?

There is a lot more to being good at customer interviews. Like most anything else, practice is crucial to getting better.

Managing Risk and Managing Decisions

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Mark Lieberman

Early in my career I worked in investment banking and international banking. So, later on when I taught finance I reflected on the issue of risk, and the basic elements of financial risk that all business ventures should consider:

Understanding the types of risk;
The fundamentals of risk; and
Managing the risk.

The fundamentals of risk management involve:

Identifying the risks
Measuring the potential impact
Deciding how each risk should be handled.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article on business model innovation, I noticed a commentary on marketing. This particular article contained a major section about when to make key decisions and identifying who should make those decisions. It occurred to me that the elements of risk are almost identical to the innovation model. Both focus on reducing risk in a venture.

In a past blog I discussed the garbage can model of decision-making, and focused on being novel in decisions. Today, I am looking at reducing the risk and uncertainty inherent in any startup.

Risk identification is a process that systematically and continuously identifies current and potential risks that might have an adverse affect on a startup. The impact of the risk is affected by both frequency (lots of events) and severity (potential big losses). Most companies don’t worry much about frequent small losses. Office supplies disappearing or the local candy store missing a few small low cost items are two examples of a small loss. However, with severe losses, many organizations take precautions to protect events from occurring. Examples here might include large ticket items missing in the isles of retailers or a few items being chained down so that only department managers can help you try on the expensive goods.

In decision-making, the risk inherent about when key decisions should be made is often due to the lack of sufficient information to reduce the uncertainty. Strategies to deal with this issue may include:

Postponing the decision. Sometimes decisions appear urgent but are not.
Splitting up the decision into a series of real options. Break the decision into small bite size pieces this reducing any significant investment.
Changing the order of decisions. Sometimes a client may ask for customization that may not benefit the strategic direction or value of the organization. In response, the startup can change the sequence to only payment upfront or with proof of performance before investing in the customization.

The CEO may not always initiate all important decision-making. Empowering employees is a very effective way to deal with every day minor decisions. If the decision is too important to delegate, then another way to manage the risk is to consult with a board member or trusted advisor. Even then, always try to find the HIPPO (the industry’s Highest Paid Person’s Opinion). Delegating up or outsourcing may be the best option when dealing with risk issues.

Managing risk and decisions can also be accomplished through insurance, or outsourcing. Startups often hire distributors and/or transportation companies to take on the logistics of moving product not only because it is less expensive but also because these outsource companies have the know-how to manage these specific operational risk.

In startups there are other types of identifiable risk that may include market risk, supplier risk, default risk by clients and others that are usually addressed in the planning process. Managing risk and managing decisions travel in lock step with similar processes. However you manage risk, make sure the process is around a strategic framework and one that allows for continuous monitoring.

Monetize and Create an Annuity

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Mark Lieberman

Our clients at the OSU Advantage Accelerator are product oriented. In addition to products created on the internet, some of our clients work in the physical and life sciences. Among other things, they create spectrometers, legged moving robotics, and advanced arc detection systems. Some of our startups include econometrics companies, agricultural companies and software organizations as well. As far as innovation is concerned, we are technology without borders.

The question for all these companies is not just to make a simple sale from the products they create, but to develop annuity streams of future payments arising from these sales. How do we define annuity revenue? It is a predictable stream of income and profits derived from a wide variety of sources.

For example, one of my former clients sold a sophisticated piece of equipment used in forensics labs. While you might think forensics is a limited market, remember that not only local police departments have labs, so do the sheriffs and regional police, State police, Federal labs like the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and many other law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as within the international community.

Here is how they created annuity from the sales:

Warranty of the product after an initial period, and then renewed annually;
Providing training to staff using the product. The warranty is only effective if staff using the equipment receive proper training.
The training occurs once every three years, as the product is updated, and needs to be renewed.
Updates require an annual purchase.
The equipment needs to be certified and recalibrated every three years.
New versions and updates to the equipment are available at discounts to existing owners.
Updates on the software running the product must be updated.
Other annuity streams include remote monitoring, consulting and customization fees, forums and user groups, enhanced support, a collective knowledge base access, as well as maintenance.

To customers, these were all value-added services. How these reoccurring annuity revenue streams are managed is up to the company and the customer and should be validated and employed based on the customer’s ability and willingness to pay.

Revenue streams create another benefit. They offer an opportunity for more customer contact and product loyalty. Creating a high contact product strengthens the client-customer relationship and leads to a larger referral stream and enhanced sales. What are you doing to add value to product sales and increase customer loyalty?

Lessons Learned

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Mark Lieberman

I recently returned from a three day educators workshop on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) and Lean entrepreneurial process. There were a number of important points from the workshop that served as reminders for me, and I thought this should pass them on.

People, money and knowledge are the three ingredients that bridge opportunity and value. I think of these as the triangle of success. Miss one of these items and your startup is destined for failure. A caveat about money: In this success triangle, consider your customers. Customers lead to money, not the other way around.

Story telling is one way entrepreneurs can convey their value proposition. All entrepreneurs should become good storytellers. Everyone remembers a good story, but when was the last time you remembered a great statistic? Entrepreneurs need to understand the nature of a good story arc and bring that arc into all their pitches and conversations. People remember stories – make yours a good one.

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is founded upon evidence-based entrepreneurship. The Business Model Canvas is uses the scientific method to reduce the uncertainty in a startup. Get out of the building and get the facts. Facts are the evidence that will lead to better results.

It is okay to receive affirmation for being wrong. Stay true to the lean process. Fail fast and reduce uncertainty. Either the hypothesis is valid or not. An entrepreneur will do an injustice if they try to justify their results to meet expectations.

In an educational setting or classroom, the focus of BMC tends to be on the product market fit because many individuals going through the program are not ready for the strategic partners, activities and resources sections. This may be true in the classroom, but in our accelerator companies must be ready to launch. All nine components of BMC are important. There two basic section of BMC: The front end deals with product market fit and the back end deals with startup operations and activities. The product market fit must be established and validated before contemplating the operations and activities of BMC. Based on my participation in this workshop, I can see how a two section approach to teaching the BMC could be valuable.

There were other lessons learned as well and will be incorporated into our next cohort. A few improvements will be adding videos for client portfolios, an increased focus on understanding customer archetypes and graduating our clients with an eleven item portfolio.

The Start Up Advantage

by Mark Lieberman

Category Archives: startups