Tag Archives: Running Lean

C-P-S Hypothesis Part 2: Customer

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So in the second part of the series of posts on my C-P-S hypothesis I am focusing on the target CUSTOMER. If you have missed the previous post you can read about the process I am following here.

So I have been spending the last month talking about this business idea with friends, family and business associates and through these discussions the idea has morphed and changed and I hope that it continues to do so.

One of the most common pivots in Lean Startups is the Customer Segment Pivot- where after some investigation you find out that you have a solution that is solving a problem but not for the customer segment you initially thought.

As I mentioned briefly yesterday my initial focus was on individuals. Particularly those who are passionate about  personal development and are willing and keen to improve elements of their lives; but who are frustrated at both the resources available and who are frustrated at spending money on resources that are not delivering results.

At the first Lean Startup Meetup in Edinburgh on Monday two main points came up when we were discussing the idea:

The first was whether there was actually enough people who are interested in improving their lives? Granted this was coming from a self-confessed cynic of self-help but this is definitely something I would like to quantify. My gut says that while there is a lot of apathy out there, there is also a lot of very driven and passionate people (many of whom I am glad to call friends). Not to mention that Heidi Grant Halvorson recent blog post Nine Things Successful People Do Differently on Harvard Business Review is the most viewed blog in HBR’s history. This blog post speaks very much to my target audience.

The second point that was discussed was the needs of businesses and the particular problems they face with training and development of their staff- this is something that I have to review and get out there and speak to businesses.

As I was reading Running Lean and contemplating the often overlooked distinction between a customer and a user it got me into thinking.

Rather than thinking of the business as a provider of content to individuals what about providing those with content-trainers, coaches and even businesses- with a platform to more effectively deliver and track the implementation of the training. The customer will be the content provider who will bundle it into their offering and the user will be the individuals who are going through the training.

I am looking forward to lining up some formal Customer Discovery interviews across all three customer segments: individuals, coaches/trainers and businesses. As I work through the Customer Discovery process and establish the customer this will have big impacts on the business model and the solution that we provide.

There is no doubt that I have had the best conversations with those who don’t know me. While speaking to friends and family is great for support and motivation very rarely do they challenge you and ask the hard questions that need to be asked.

If you fall into one of these groups and you are interested in getting involved in this process I would love to hear from you.

Tomorrow we will be looking at the SOLUTION to the problem.

A Problem Focused Startup

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I was reading Running Lean by Ash Maurya while sitting in a coffee shop in SoHo in NYC when I realised that I that I was falling into a trap that catches out a lot of startups and I was starting down a path that was increasing my chances of failure.

Mauraya recommends identifying the greatest risks in the business and reducing the riskiest first. The book forced me to look at the business idea from a difference angle. The biggest risk in the majority of startups lies in developing an offering that nobody wants and this is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of startups.

I instantaneously recognised that I have been focusing too much attention on the solution and not enough time on the problem I am looking to solve. This is a sure-fire way to develop an offering that nobody wants.

I can attest from personal experience that this is a very easy trap to fall into. It is far too easy to get carried away once you realise that you can build a solution to a problem that you have identified, especially when a few people have validated the idea. This is not enough. With enough time, money and effort most things can be built. The question is no longer can it be built but rather should we build it, and can we build a sustainable business around the offering.

I can also see why many founders resist getting out and speaking to potential customers as that will inevitably result in many of the assumptions being challenged that will impact the solution and this isn’t always an easy thing to accept

While I was annoyed at myself for falling into a very obvious trap I am very glad that I recognised it early on as it allows me to take action.

Over the next week or two I will outline the business idea in more detail and the Customer Development process I plan on following and I welcome all your input, feedback and comments.