Nicolò Volpato discusses his experience founding Tangible, an experience design company, and using design processes like MVPs to validate ideas and launch products. He started Tangible in 2004 while in college and has since grown it significantly. He emphasizes testing ideas with users through prototypes and MVPs to gather feedback before fully developing products. His example describes how he applied this approach in helping Moneyfarm, a financial startup, launch their product through iterative testing and validation of assumptions with users over a period of less than a year.

1. Università di Bologna
December 6th, 2019

2. Nicolò Volpato
Founder & CEO at Tangible
@nicolovolpato

3. A little about me…
• Published my first website 20 years ago
• Human sciences + UI/visual design + code
• Founded Tangible in 2004 while in college

4. A little about me…
• Deep diving into Design Leadership since 2014
• Steer company vision
• Build teams, hire people, manage growth
• Influence business decisions

5. I love organizing events

6. I made these happen…
• Kerning Conference in 2013 and 2014
• Jeff Gothelf (Lean UX) in 2015 and 2016
• Jake Knapp (Design Sprint) in 2017 and 2018
• Make Meaningful Work in 2018
• Josh Clark (AI, ML, IoT, VUI) in 2019

7. A little about Tangible…

8. v
We are an experience
and service design company.

9. We design products and
services that engage
people in memorable
and meaningful
experiences, while
delivering business value
to our clients.

10. We are a team of thinkers and makers, designers,
researchers and front-end developers

11. We believe in the power of design to
make ideas tangible and turn them
into successful products and services.

12. We manage complex projects for large organizations

13. We also lead some of Italy’s most promising startups to launch
their products and raise important investment rounds.

14. Validating business ideas
through design

15. A minimum viable product (MVP) is the version
of a new product which allows a team to
collect the maximum amount of validated
learning about customers with the least effort.
Eric Ries
LEAN STARTUP

16. MVPs are good for…
• Testing and learning
• Low time and budget = Low risk
• Iterate quickly, pivot if necessary

17. Be warned!
• Don’t fall in love with ideas and solution. Fall
in love with the problem you’re solving
• Be willing to learn, open to harsh feedback
and ready to throw everything away

18. • Don’t focus only on what’s feasible, but on
what’s key to success
• Prefer few well-though features to test, rather
than a rough version of the full product
• Make something that people want to use, not
just something that “works”
Be warned!

19. The lovability of an MVP for non-technical people
can only be made possible by bringing business
people and designers early into the inception and
construction of digital products of any scale.
John Maeda
HTTPS://WWW.FASTCOMPANY.COM/90425331/ITS-TIME-TO-STOP-DESIGNING-MINIMUM-VIABLE-PRODUCTS

20. But first…
• Are you solving a real need?
• Is the problem you’re tackling worth solving?
• Does the problem exist in the real world?

21. “In God we trust,
everyone else
must bring data”
William Edwards Deming
ENGINEER, STATISTICIAN, AUTHOR AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

22. Facts ≠ Assumptions
• Be explicit about what you don’t know
• Split facts and data from assumptions
Declare hypotheses you want to validate
• Prioritize them, from both a business value
and a user value perspective

23. Hypothesis Prioritization Canvas Project Name: Date:
Iteration:
2
Download this canvas at: https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/the-hypothesis-prioritization-canvas
3 4
Test
These hypotheses have the promise of a big return but also pose
significant risks. These are the hypotheses you should focus your
experimentation, learning and discovery activities on.
Ship & Measure
The level of confidence is high about these hypotheses. Combined
with a strong belief they will deliver customer and business value, we
build, launch and measure them. Don’t spend your discovery cycles
here.
Discard
These hypotheses provide little value and pose a high level of risk to
your business or product. Don’t spend any more time on them.
Don’t test. Usually Don’t Build
These hypotheses don’t add significant value but are also low risk so
don’t require discovery efforts. However, sometimes ideas land here
that are table stakes for the operation of the business. They won’t
differentiate you in the market but you need them to be in business
(e.g., a payment system).
HighperceivedvalueLowperceivedvalue
Low risk
1
High risk

24. MVP or Prototype?
• Both enable a learning process
• Prototype: used only to test quickly and get
feedback
• MVP: released to measure and get data

25. What answers are you
looking for?
• What is your riskiest assumption?
• What is the minimum product that allows us
to test it and learn?
• How will you measure it?

26. No is a good answer
• Remember, failure is an acceptable outcome
• Either a lot of time and money spared or an
opportunity to pivot and work on a better
idea
• Fail fast

28. Moneyfarm in 2011
• Idea and business plan
• Seed phase, first investors on board
• 2 founders, 1 project manager, 1 developer,
1 data scientist

29. The role of design
• Turning the idea into a product
• Validate the idea along the way
• Support the creation of a user base while
testing and releasing
• Create a digital brand identity while iterating

30. GNV&PAR
Sign up Vision Product Blog
Sign me up
Your name
MoneyFarm will launch in 2011. Sign up for a free beta acc
Your email
Vision
A new model
A new business model that is
able to deliver unbiased
advice, generate customer
awareness and provide
suitable saving products
creating value for all
Intelligent
Over 90% of performance
arises from tactical asset
allocation therefore savers
shouldn’t look for complex
product that “delivers” alpha
and concentrate on achieving
Enjoyable
Saving should be an
enjoyable process without the
burden of responsibility given
by performance measure,
mistrust and eventual bad
investment choices.
Focused
People should be int
in saving rather than
investing: they shoul
on the scope of the p
and the amount of ris
are willing to accept.
MoneyFarm will give you the power
to save better, smarter and more
knowingly in order to live their future
with more freedom and confidence.
Learn more
Landing page
The very first MVP (May 2011)

31. Landing page
• Is our value proposition
understandable?
• Will user be interested
enough to sign up?

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• Is our conversion funnel
effective to turn leads
into registered users?
• Once registered, is our
product understandable?

33. Prototype 2 versions, tested with users

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The third MVP (Jan. 2012)
• Iteration based on
feedback
• Improvement of user
flows

36. Beta
• Will users be able to use
a basic version of our
product?
• Will they stick to it as a
free trading advice tool?

37. Beta
• Can we get data out of it
and build profiles of
investor types?
• Can we test a paywall
and different pricing
models?

39. < 1 Year
from inception to
beta product
16 Mil €
investment raised in
2015 (over 70M as of
today)
Outcome
• Product launched in 2012
• Handoff to internal
design team during 2012
• 2 years of Beta product
• Investment round in 2015

40. v
One more thing…

41. Ask yourselves
Can we launch this product or service?
Should we launch this product or service?

42. Ethical checklist
• Is this sustainable in the long run?
• Is this exploiting people to provide low-cost
services?
• Is this using addictive technology, making
people lonely and miserable?

43. Thank you!
Nicolò Volpato
Founder & CEO
@nicolovolpato
nick@tangible.is

44. Recommended reading