mvp's + incubators - startupdigest @ cal poly

“SD @ Cal Poly”

1. What is StartupDigest

2. MVP

3. MVP Examples

4. Taking advantage of incubators

StartupDigest is the insider’s guide to the startup technology world.

Regarded as the worldwide source for high tech startup events by:

"Plain and simple, [Startup Digest] seems like a pretty smart idea to me..."

CuratorsChris McCannCo-Founder of StartupDigest, organizer for Geeks on a Plane Tokyo, founding team TEDx Silicon Valley

Brendan McManusCo-Founder of StartupDigest, first employee for Wildfire Interactive, Inc. and the UpDown

Local Curators:

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Goal of Incubator = MVP with Traction

Minimal Viable Product = MVP

MVP = “Minimal Viable Product”

The minimum viable product is that product which has just those features and no more that allows you to ship a product for early adopters

Contra-MVP Example

Web-OS- Raised $1M- 2 years to build- Epic launch- Epic failure

“Deploy first, code later”

MVP’s can start off as an email, google ad words, offer, landing page

Secret: Non-development

What’s the point of an MVP?

- Get feedback- See if anyone wants this- Test revenue- Test and prove traction

What is Traction?

- Traction is your story of momentum- “5,000 users in 4 months”- “Revenue doubling every quarter”- “Converting 5% of new users to paid

users”

Startups = An Experiment

- Hypothesis = problem- Test = MVP- Success = Traction- Scaling = Business

MVP Examples

Cars Direct

4 Hour work week

Events

How we use MVP’s

Taking Advantage of IncubatorsAka the “Rape and Pillage” Strategy

• *ONLY* after traction• Ask for advice• 3 points to a line• Take all of the glory at the end• **special situations

• Launch MVP’s and get traction NOW

*Advice for non-technical founders

• http://startupdigest.com/2011/04/17/non-technical-founder-code/

• http://learnpythonthehardway.org/

• http://tryruby.org/

• http://try-clojure.org/

Lasting Advice

• An MVP is not the end• You don’t need to be technical to

create an MVP• A startup is an experiment• Startup MVP’s based on your own

problems

Sign up @ StartupDigest.com

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Questions?

Chris McCannchris@startupdigest.com

@McCannatron