A regular talk I give across the globe for both corporate innovation and startup ideation. I took a great group of Hubbers through the process of finding product market fit with their ideas, startups and products

1. P R O D U C T
M A R K E T
F I T
F I N D I N G
S C O T T E B A L E S . C O M

2. - E R I C R I E S
The Lean Startup method teaches you
how to drive a startup-how to steer, when
to turn, and when to persevere-and grow
a business with maximum acceleration.

3. H O W M O B I L E S AV V Y A R E Y O U ?
#mobileready @scottebales
+

4. O B J E C T I V E S
accept fail = lesson
understand what is Lean
what are the tools
explore customer discovery
designing experiments
making decisions

5. 9 9 % O F V E N T U R E S FA I L
I S I T T H E R I G H T I D E A ?

6. S U C C E S S R AT E

7. V E T E R A N S U C C E S S

8. P I V O T
O R
P E R S E V E R E
T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N S U C C E S S A N D FA I L U R E I S Y O U R
A B I L I T Y T O B U I L D R A P I D LY M E A S U R E , L E A R N A N D A D A P T

9. W H AT M O S T
P E O P L E T H I N K
W H AT S U C C E S S F U L
P E O P L E K N O W

11. Y O U R S K I L L S
N O N -
E X I ST E
N T
1 2 3 4 AV E R A
G E 6 7 8 9
I ’ M A
RO C K S
TA R
B U S I N E S S M O D E L I N G
P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
C U S TO M E R D I S C OV E RY &
D E V E L O P M E N T
M I N I M U M V I A B L E E X P E R I M E N T S
P RO D U C T / M A R K E T F I T
P I VOT V S P E R S E V E R E
P I T C H I N G

12. W H O A R E Y O U ?
W H AT A R E
. . . Y O U R PA S S I O N S ?
. . . Y O U R E X P E C TAT I O N S ?

13. W H O A R E Y O U ?
A verb that starts with the
same letter as your first name
I am passionate about
solving...
!
!
What do I want to get out of
today?
Spontaneous Scott
Educating, growing and
mentoring tomorrow’s
entrepreneurs
Enable entrepreneurs to
fail fast, and succeed
faster

17. ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result &
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety & time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
& Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
C U S T O M E R & P R O B L E M
A S S U M P T I O N S
M V P
V A L I D A T E D L E A R N I N G
C U S TO M E R D I S COV E RY
P I V O T O R P E R S E V E R E
B R A I N S T O R M I N G
S O L U T I O N

18. B U S I N E S S D E S I G N
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M S O L U T I O N

19. S E A R C H & E X E C U T E
C U S T O M E R
D I S C O V E RY
C U S T O M E R
VA L I D AT I O N
C U S T O M E R
C R E AT I O N
C O M PA N Y
B U I L D I N G

20. Malkovich Bias
T H E T E N D E N C Y T O B E L I E V E T H A T E V E RY O N E U S E S
T E C H N O L O G Y T H E S A M E WA Y Y O U D O .
A N D R E S G L U S M A N

21. mantra
Y O U A R E N O T T H E C U S T O M E R .
!
O N LY T H R O U G H R E S E A R C H C A N W E U N C O V E R P E O P L E ’ S
PA I N S , N E E D S , A N D G O A L S , I N T H E I R C O N T E X T.

22. “If you don’t talk to your customers, how will
you know how to talk to your customers?”
- Will Evans

23. P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
fictional characters to represent
different user types in a targeted,
attitude and/or behaviour set to
drive empathy
C U S T O M E R

24. W H AT C U S T O M E R ?
1 2 3 4
C U S T O M E R

25. Facts
Factual information
about your target customer.
Pain
State the problem you believe
your target customers have,
that your solution solves for.
Goals
What goals are they trying to accomplish
through the behavior, that your solution will do better?
Behavior
Existing behavior they exhibit now,
because they don’t have your solution.
37 years of age, married(7 years).
Two kids (3 & 5)
Employed by Coca-Cola to manage regional
marketing
Tech savvy, loves his Gadgets. Always keen
to learn more
Reads The Economist Online
Enjoys the outdoors with his kids
Regular traveller in the region, both work
and personal
Greg
Has been reading video blog tips in the hope of creating is own travel
video blog
Purchased a pirated copy of Final Cut Pro to explore, but quickly
purchased a license
Always has his video camera out when traveling, both on work travels
and personal travel
Purchased the domain www.gregsworld.com
Has tried Vimeo, Wordpress and TypePad in attempts to create a blog
Greg is a bit of a perfectionist, so he has tried multiple video blog
solutions
But hasn’t found any that allow him to express himself in the way he wants.
He finds each tool hard to earn, and really isn’t sure if he is getting the
best out of each tool
He has tried reading through forums, but finds it difficult reading a tutorial
and applying it to his material
!
Greg loves to travel, he loves to explore new places, culture, people
and food
Greg would love to share his experiences with friends, family and
colleagues
!
!

26. C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M ( S O L U T I O N )
H Y P O T H E S I S
Who specifically
has this
problem?
How do you
intent to solve
this problem?
What problem
are you trying to
solve?
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M S O L U T I O N

27. ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result &
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety & time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
& Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
C U S T O M E R & P R O B L E M
A S S U M P T I O N S
M V P
V A L I D A T E D L E A R N I N G
C U S TO M E R D I S COV E RY
P I V O T O R P E R S E V E R E
B R A I N S T O R M I N G
S O L U T I O N

28. List core
assumptions about
the problem.
Does

29. the

30.
problem

31.
cause

32. pain?
Is

33. the

34.
customer

35.
hypo

36. right?
Is

37. there

38.
demo’d

39.
behaviour

40.
to

41. fix?
does

42. the

43.
problem

44.
exit?
A S S U M P T I O N S

45. M I N I M U M V I A B L E P R O D U C T
Customer Discovery/Development
Pitch
Concierge
experiment
E X P L O R A T I O N
P I T C H
C O N C I E R G E

46. C U S T O M E R VA L I D AT I O N
C U S TO M E R
D I S C OV E RY
P I T C H C O N C I E R G E
investigating their
problems to
understand past
behaviour
attempts to sell to a
customer in exchange
for currency: time,
money or work
deliver the product
as a service to see is
delivery matches
expectations

48. ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M
A S S U M P T I O N S
M V P
V A L I D A T E D L E A R N I N G
C U S T O M E R D I S C O V E R Y
P I V O T O R P E R S E V E R E
B R A I N S T O R M I N G
S O L U T I O N

49. W H AT D O T H E
N U M B E R S S AY ?
O N E A C T I O N A B L E M E T R I C
T H AT T I E S S P E C I F I C
R E P E ATA B L E A C T I O N S T O
O B S E R V E D R E S U LT S

50. ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M
A S S U M P T I O N S
M V P
V A L I D A T E D L E A R N I N G
C U S T O M E R D I S C O V E R Y
P I V O T O R P E R S E V E R E
B R A I N S T O R M I N G
S O L U T I O N

52. P I V O T
Z O O M - I N
A S I N G L E F E AT U R E
B E C O M E S T H E
W H O L E P R O D U C T
C U S T O M E R N E E D
R E P O S I T I O N I N G , O R
A C O M P L E T E LY N E W
P R O D U C T
Z O O M - O U T
T H E W H O L E
P R O D U C T B E C O M E S
A S I N G L E F E AT U R E
C U S T O M E R
S E G M E N T
G O O D P R O D U C T,
B A D C U S T O M E R
S E G M E N T
P L AT F O R M
C H A N G E F R O M A N
A P P L I C AT I O N T O A
P L AT F O R M , O R V I C E
V E R S A

54. W H A T
W O U L D
Y O U
D O N E X T ?

55. W H AT M O S T
P E O P L E T H I N K
W H AT S U C C E S S F U L
P E O P L E K N O W

56. discovery tips
S I L E N C E
R E F L E C T B A C K
H AV E E M PAT H Y
A S K F O R S T O R I E S
A S K O P E N Q U E S T I O N S
N O L E A D I N G Q U E S T I O N S
O B S E R VAT I O N S V S . I N S I G H T S

57. P R O B L E M
M U LT I P L E P E R S O N A S

59. H O M E W O R K
D E V E L O P 2 C U S T O M E R P E R S O N A S
T H E N I N T E R V I E W T W O O F E A C H

60. Y O U R G O A L
C O N T I N U O U S
V A L I D AT E D
L E A R N I N G

61. Knowledge is having
the right answer
Intelligence is asking
the right question

62. W O R K S M A RT E R
N O T H A R D E R

63. Hypothesis
Design
Lean UX
Conversion
Funnels
Concierge
Method
Advanced
Interviews
Market Discovery
Pitch Method
Pivot or
Persevere
Customer
Discovery
Persona
Development
Minimum
Viable
Experiments
Lean Product
Market Fit
You are here
Pitching Your
Idea
Business Model
Canvas
Validation Board
Mobile Ready
Are You Ready 4
Isaac?
Lean For
Entreprise
Multi-Sided
Markets
Growing Scale
K E E P L E A R N I N G

64. S U C C E S S
Y O U T O O C A N O W N T H I S FA C E O F A C C O M P L I S H M E N T

65. Y O U R S K I L L S
N O N -
E X I ST E
N T
1 2 3 4 AV E R A
G E 6 7 8 9
I ’ M A
RO C K S
TA R
B U S I N E S S M O D E L I N G
P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
C U S TO M E R D I S C OV E RY
D E V E L O P M E N T
M I N I M U M V I A B L E E X P E R I M E N T S
P RO D U C T / M A R K E T F I T
P I VOT V S P E R S E V E R E
P I T C H I N G

66. y o u r g u i d e t o m o b i l e s u c c e s s
T H E F U T U R E I S M O B I L E
b i t . l y / m o b i l e re a d y b o o k

67. FINDING
PRODUCT
MARKET
FIT
s c o t t e b a l e s . c o m / f e e d b a c k