Experiments = Startup MomentumSam Rye - Lifehack & Enspiral

@samrye_enspiral

Why Run Experiments?

Experiments

… are where the action’s at.

They are entrepreneurial currency. Experiments give you (in)validated learnings; de-risk your business model, drive internal culture, and provide evidence to yourself and investors that you have the rigour to succeed.

Experiments

… in short experiments save you time, energy and money.

They teach you things quickly so you don’t waste your life building something no one wants or something no one will buy.

Today1. Context (5 mins)

2. Team & Group Reflection (30 mins)

3. Define Learning Goals (10 mins)

4. Tips For Great Experiments (15 mins)

5. Write Your Own Experiment (45 mins)

6. Retrospecting & Momentum (20 mins)

Context

Lean Experiment Loop

BUILDLEARN

MEASURE

PROTOTYPE / MVP

DATA / STORIES

PROBLEMS / IDEAS

Context

TODAY’S FOCUS

Looking Within

team reflection

Team Reflection

What is one recent achievement your team is most proud of?

What is one current challenge that you are experiencing as a team? What do you need to let go of, and what do you need to learn?

Talk in pairs, then we’ll share back to the group. Listen carefully - we’ll team up with others soon.

Reframing Your Challenge

group reflection

Group ReflectionTeam up with another group.

Team 1: Repeat your challenge.

Team 2: Without trying to solve their problem, take some time to share what images, metaphors and feelings come up for you that capture the essence of what you heard.

Team 1: Seeing yourselves from the outside, what resonated with you? What questions and reflections come up for you now?

Group ReflectionSwap.

Team 2: Repeat your challenge.

Team 1: Without trying to solve their problem, take some time to share what images, metaphors and feelings come up for you that capture the essence of what you heard from the.

Team 2: Seeing yourselves from the outside, what resonated with you? What questions and reflections come up for you now?

Ensuring Focus & Intention

defining a learning goal

Focus & IntentionPause to reflect. Think about what you just heard.

Now, what is the real challenge that you need to solve in the next 10 days to move your venture forward?

Is it internal or external?Is it business model or product?Is it to do with your user or customer?

If you could learn one thing in the next 10 days, what would it be?

This is your learning goal

share it in one sentence with the group

write it down, we’ll be using it in a moment

Pitfalls & Possibilities

tips for great experiments

Pitfalls and possibilitiesExperiments are additive not standalone

● Experiments aren’t standalone.● Don’t expect to de-risk your business model in one go. ● Incrementally mitigate risks through a series of small

experiments.● Evolve complexity on top of simplicity.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesExperiments are additive not standalone

Example:● First experiment might be to do a customer survey +

gain an insight into your value proposition.● Second experiment might be to write one page of

marketing copy + get customer reactions.● Third experiment might be to create a landing page for

your service with a sign up form.● Fourth experiment might be to print flyers, deliver them

to customers + have a pre-order page online.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesEvery experiment needs to be falsifiable and time-boxed

● Experiments need to be falsifiable (written as statements that can be clearly proven wrong) in order to clearly declare them validated or invalidated.

● Outside of the accelerator, time is the scarcest resource in a startup.

● You’re more likely to fail because you run out of money, than because your idea sucks.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesEvery experiment needs to be falsifiable and time-boxed

Example:● If I write a blog, I will get > 20 new signups to my email

newsletter in 5 days.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesBreakthrough insights are usually hidden within failed experiments

● “There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes.” - Buckminster Fuller

● Learning reflection is absolutely vital to entrepreneurial process.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesBreakthrough insights are usually hidden within failed experiments

Example:● At Lifehack, we experimented with advertising our

event in a local paper on the West Coast. We had one response to the ad who wasn’t our target audience.

● We learnt that using existing networks, word of mouth & posters were more powerful for our audience than advertising in local press for the Coast.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesUse a standard format to capture learnings

● Crystalise and visualizing your thinking, share with teams & advisors.

● Cuts out the noise. Archive the learning.● Playback experiments through these reports -

communicate learning to new team members & advisors, helps demonstrate rigour to investors.

● Keep up the momentum.

Pitfalls and possibilitiesUse a standard format to capture learnings

● Example:● Lean Stack have a good one - https://leanstack.

com/products ● Value Proposition Design - http://blog.strategyzer.

com/posts/2014/9/29/value-proposition-design

Build | Measure | Learn

write your own experiment

Experiment Report

Background:

What are you trying to achieve or learn?

[insert learning goal here]

Experiment Report

Falsifiable Hypotheses:

Moving from “leap of faith” to “falsifiable”

e.g. “Being known as an expert will drive early adopters”

to

“Blog post will drive > 100 sign ups”

Read more from Ash Maurya at: http://practicetrumpstheory.com/how-to-identify-a-lean-startup/

Experiment Report

Falsifiable Hypotheses:

I believe [target market] will [do this action / use this solution] for [this reason].

Write it down.

Get more granular. Which segment of the target market?

Can you measure each part of this statement? Can you validate or invalidate it?

Experiment Report

Experiment Details:

How will you set up your experiment to achieve your learning goal?

Keep it simple, but don’t be afraid to be creative.Can you learn about a “digital product” through an analog experience; think 3D prototypes.What will you record? How will you record it?

Experiment Report

Build | Measure | Learn

building momentum & complexity with experiment retrospectives

Results:The hard data & the stories.

Learnings:What did you learn from the outcomes, as well as the process?

Next Experiment:What is the next step? Run again with tweaks? Run something completely different? What do this mean?

Experiment Reflection

After Reflecting:

Make sure you update your value proposition canvas, your experiment board, and if you’ve de-risked something major - your lean canvas.

Schedule time with your team/advisors to do this process EVERY WEEK

Save the experiment sheet:Set up a google drive for photos or documents.Share with your team in Slack.

Experiment Reflection

Build | Measure | Learn

this is where you build momentum, learning is the currency of entrepreneurship

Reflections on todayWhat did you learn today? What will you be taking away?

What will you change about what you have been doing?

How could we do this workshop differently or better?

Thanks!

@samrye_enspiral@lifehackhq