This document discusses building a compelling value proposition for research startups. It emphasizes the importance of customer development and evidence-based entrepreneurship using the Lean Startup methodology. Customer development involves testing hypotheses about problems, solutions, customer segments and business models through building minimum viable products and getting customer feedback. This helps reduce risks and guides technical and business strategy decisions. The document provides examples and advice for developing a value proposition, identifying customer jobs to be done, and validating both sides of the business model canvas before fully developing products or services.
Venture Secrets—Building a Compelling Value Proposition for Your Research
1. @NYUEntrepreneur
Venture Secrets:
Building a Compelling
Value Proposition for
Your Research
Frank Rimalovski
Executive Director, NYU Entrepreneurial Institute
Managing Director, NYU Innovation Venture Fund
Instructor, NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps)
Mar 25, 2015
3. @NYUEntrepreneur
Agenda
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1. What makes for a successful
startup?
2. What we used to believe
3. What we now know: The right way
to start (up)
4. Benefits to this approach
6. @NYUEntrepreneurThe “valley of death”
Commercialization Reality
Basic &
Applied
Research
Scientific
Discovery/
Invention/
IP Creation
Customer
Discovery &
Prototype
Dev
Business
Model &
Team
Formation
Venture
Formation
& Growth
• Customer/market discovery
• Engineering/prototypes
• Mentors and advisors
• Collaborative spaces
• Business leadership
• Legal counsel
• Capital
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Two parts to
Translational Medicine
1. Advancing the science/technology
2. Finding a repeatable business model
u Current efforts focus on #1
u Successful efforts require both
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Answers are Outside Your Lab
u You may be smartest person in your lab
u Not smarter than collective intelligence of
your potential customers, partners, payers
& regulators
u Can’t learn by reading papers or lectures
u Experts are overrated
You need to get outside your building
9. @NYUEntrepreneur
It’s Bigger Than the Revenue Model
u Testing hypotheses makes substantive changes to
biz model before you do science/design
o Define clinical utility
o Who core & tertiary users/buyers/payers are
o Sales & marketing process required for initial
revenues and downstream commercialization
o Data required for future partnerships/collaborations
o Intellectual property risks
o Regulatory pathways
o Reimbursement strategies
o Roles of partners
u Affects your biological & clinical hypotheses
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31. @NYUEntrepreneur
Testing Hypotheses
u Apply the scientific method to
customer discovery
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Observe
phenomena
Formulate
hypothesis
Test
hypothesis
via rigorous
experiments
Establish
theory based
on repeated
validation of
results
Modify
hypothesis
PIVOT!
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So where does my
technology come in?
Customers don’t care about technology
They are trying to solve a problem
Customer discovery is about identifying that
problem & exploring how you could solve it
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Key Questions for Value Prop
u Problem Statement: What is the problem?
u Technology / Market Insight: Why is the
problem so hard to solve?
u Product: How do you solve it today?
u Competition: Who is delivering that solution?
u Clinical utility: What level of improvement
in efficacy/safety/cost/etc. is needed?
u Market Size: How big is this problem?
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Define Customer Archetype
u Who are they?
o Position / title / age / sex / role
u How/where do they buy?
o Discretionary budget (name of
budget and amount)
u What matters to them?
o What motivates them?
u Who influences them?
o What do they read/who do they
listen to?
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“Make me efficient at
my work”
FUNCTIONAL
“Convey my
professional status”
SOCIAL
“Make me confident
that I can get the job
done”
EMOTIONAL
“Help me perform like
a professional”
JOB
• Prestigeà show that
I use the latest
starting with my
equipment
• Valueà demonstrate
my ability to
recognize value
• Confidenceà ensure
that I can count on
my equipment
• Versatilityà give me
the ability to work in
different conditions
• Accuracy à the
ability to only effect
targeted tissue
• Speedà help me
complete the task
quickly
Innosight
LLC
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What’s the need?
A way to localize arteries and
veins to improve the speed and
accuracy of needle sticks
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
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A way to localize arteries and veins
to improve the speed and accuracy
of needle sticks
Need statement:
• fast
• accurate
• needle size no bigger than current
• maintain sterility
Need criteria:
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
69. @NYUEntrepreneur
A cost-effective way to localize
arteries and veins to improve the
speed and accuracy of needle sticks
Need statement:
• (where is there real value in time saved?)
• Accurate
• Needle size no bigger than current
• Maintain sterility
Need criteria:
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
70. @NYUEntrepreneur
For most patients it’s not worth it to
add the expense of extra technology
to save a little time
The real need is in high-risk patients:
trauma, acute MI, neonatal ICU
amico.com
Dovemed.com
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
71. @NYUEntrepreneur
A cost-effective way to localize arteries and
veins to improve the speed and accuracy of
needle sticks in high-risk patients
Need statement:
• Less than $25 additional per patient
• Accurate
• Needle size no bigger than current
• Maintain sterility
Need criteria:
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
73. @NYUEntrepreneur
A cost-effective way to localize arteries and
veins to improve the speed and accuracy of
needle sticks in high-risk patients
Need statement:
• Less than $25 additional per patient
• Require minimal new skill & training
• Accurate
• Needle size no bigger than current
• Maintain sterility
Need criteria:
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
74. @NYUEntrepreneur
The Bottom Line
Validating your need at the outset
is the single most cost-effective
strategy for minimizing risk!
It provides the basis for all
subsequent technical, clinical
and business strategy decisions
Source: Paul Yock, NIH I-Corps 2014
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I’ve figured out who I’m selling to
and what pain point I’m solving!
I’m ready to start building and
selling… Right?!
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Key Partners
Who are your Partners and Suppliers?
• Patent counsel
• Clinical sites
• CROs/
designers
• Contract Mfg
• Foundations
• Patient Adv
Groups
How will these
relationships
work?
90. @NYUEntrepreneur
Why create an MVP?
u Answer questions & generate new ones
u Validate your assumptions
u Compare alternatives
u Fail early & cheaply
u Visualize your ideas & share with others
o Team
o Customers
o Investors
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98. @NYUEntrepreneur
What’s next?
Leslie eLab
• 6,000 sq ft NYU
Startup Hub
• Daily workshops
& speakers
• Collaborative
workspaces
• Prototyping lab
• Entrepreneur-in-
residence
• 16 Washington Pl
10am-10pm M-F
Innovation
Corps (I-Corps)
• Prior NSF
(& soon NIH)
grantees
• 7-weeks
• $50,000 for
NSF I-Corps
• Immersive,
experiential
startup training
Rolling
Applications
5-Day Lean
Launchpad
Class
• 5-day immersive
class (for credit)
• Grad students
• Co-taught by
Steve Blank
• Applied learning
for your startup
• Team-based
Offered last week
in Aug (24-28)
Summer
Launchpad
Accelerator
• 10-week program
• For graduating
students
• $7,500 & space
• Entrepreneur &
investor mentors
• Lean Startup
bootcamp
Apps due Apr 17
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