Alternatives to an MVP

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Building a full-blown product is unwise at the early stage, as the startup will inevitably build the wrong thing.

It's best to test the market first.

Minimum viable products or MVPs are a better solution than a product, as it's cheaper and easier to do.

The goal of the MVP is to generate a dialogue with customers and estimate demand.

There are alternatives to building an MVP.

Here are some examples:

Create a datasheet showing the product you intend to build and sell.

Show the features and benefits of it.

Use this to spark a dialog with customers.

In-person interviews work best so as to gauge interest and capture feedback.

This can be especially useful in setting the initial price for the product.

Another alternative is to create a website landing page with key information.

Then drive traffic to it.

This will demonstrate how interested or disinterested the target market is in the proposed product.

Set up the landing page to take orders for the product to see how many actually sign up.

Tweak the content till you have interest in the product.

Pretend you have the proposed product available today and try to sell it.

This will inform your decision about what to build and is far cheaper than an MVP.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

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Customer Intimacy in Fundraising

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Customer intimacy is a strategy in which one builds a relationship with the customer about their care abouts and expectations.

The more one knows about the customer, the better one is able to support and meet their needs.

In fundraising, customer intimacy can be a compelling value proposition for the investor.

Investors look initially at startups for traction with customers.

Once that is in place, the investor looks for customer intimacy.

How well does the founder know the customer?

How can this be used to build an ongoing relationship with them?

The more the founder knows about the customers, the more they can build products and services to meet their needs.

For investors seeking to fund startups, look beyond the initial traction to how well the founder knows the customer.

Test their knowledge of the customer with the question, now that you have sold the first product to the customer, what will you sell them next?

See if the founder knows the customer well enough to chart a product roadmap.

Consider customer intimacy as a key value proposition for fundraising.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Founders Who Got Lucky

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Some founders get lucky and achieve a successful exit of their business.

They were in the right place at the right time with the right solution.

Investors should be wary of founders who got lucky.

Their luck may have come early in the life of the startup.

It's often the case that they haven't built the skills necessary to launch and grow a startup.

Successful founders typically have several years of experience, but an early exit may have cut this short.

When those who got lucky start their second business, they assume the conditions will be the same.

They assume they will have a great product, and traction will come easily.

But the conditions that played out on the first startup will rarely be there for the second one.

The challenges of a startup are what make the founder.

The hard times become the lessons that they take with them throughout life.

If they skipped the hard times, then chances are they don't have the skills needed to take a startup through to an exit.

As an investor, be wary of founders who got lucky.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.