1. Lean Startup
Product Teams
Principles of Success
Janice Fraser
CEO, LUXr
1

2. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
2

3. TWEET!
@clevergirl
#LeanStartup
cc @LUXRCO
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
3

4. http://saptstrength.com/
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
4

5. sedonaweddingcakes.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
5

6. freebestpictures.blogspot.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
6

7. thekitchn.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
7

8. brides.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
8

9. brides.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
9

10. sedonaweddingcakes.com
brides.com
brides.com
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
10

11. LEAN
Startup
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
11

12. Build
measure
learn!
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
12

13. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
13

14. Lean Startup is NOT
Cheap Startup
Fast Startup
Shortcut Startup
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
14

15. Lean Startup is...
An approach for building companies that are
creating new products and services in
situations of extreme uncertainty.
The approach advocates creating small
products that test the entrepreneur’s
assumptions, and using customer feedback to
evolve the product, thereby reducing waste.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
15

16. 1. List your assumptions.
2. Understand your customers.
3. Experiment efficiently.
4. Adjust direction based on evidence.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
16

17. Lean Startup advocates experiments & learning
Learn Build
Measure
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
17

18. Go backward to go forward.
Learn Build
Measure
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
18

19. Think of it like this...
TDD
Test-driven product management
A Lean Startup is a test-driven
COMPANY
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
19

20. Victory is
measured in
learning.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
20

21. RISK = UNVALIDATED EFFORT
Plot the difference
MAKE
release
MAKE
release
MAKE release
THINK
TIME
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
21

22. RISK = UNVALIDATED EFFORT
Lots of little wiggles
TIME
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
22

23. Each wiggle is a learning cycle.
RISK = UNVALIDATED EFFORT
MEASURE
MAKE
BUILD release
BUILD
TIME
LEARN
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
23

24. This will change
how you think
about your role,
your work, your
team, your process.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
24

25. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
25

26. Principles for Lean Startup Teams
1. Team first, then product.
2. PM + Dev + UX = 1 Product Team
3. Work out loud.
4. Make processes repeatable, then routine.
5. Don’t get stuck in your happy place.
6. Invest in clarifying the problem.
7. Drive toward goals and measure outcomes.
8. Ideas are cheap. Have a lot of them.
9. Decide quickly. Hold decisions lightly.
10. Don’t carry the past.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
26

27. Team first,
then product
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
27

28. Team first,
then product
• Not just who’s on the team, but how
they work together (no ninjas, gurus,
rockstars!)
• Invest time in developing productive
relationships
• Continuous process improvement
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
28

29. 29

30. Chris Min
10 years as CEO, Wharton MBA,
Silicon Valley trained
30

31. Burning
social capital
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
31

32. Why does this matter to
Lean Startups?
• Most of your decisions as a team, as
a company, will be wrong.
• Flexible teams can solve almost any
problem.
• Respectful, trusting team wastes little
time on pettiness, gossip, arguments
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
32

33. Don’t carry the past.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
33

34. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
34

35. Tom Conrad
Grew Pandora from 10 people to IPO
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
35

36. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
36

37. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
37

38. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
38

39. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
39

40. Pandora-Style Planning
• Whole company (up to 6 ppl), every 60 or 90 days.
• Ahead of the meeting, everyone submits requests to the CEO/
CTO, with the prompt “We would be stupid not to…”
• Submit each idea as a slide, with a headline and a few bullet
points to explain.
• 70-100 items. CEO/CTO de-duplicates and assigns a $-value that
represents the amount of effort
• “Dollars” are created in an amount that represents current
capaticy, divided equally among the 6 participants.
• Day-long working session to “shop” for the most important items.
• Chuck the unfunded. Group the fully funded, nearly funded,
radically under-funded.
• Discuss and bargain until you have a set of fully funded items.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
40

41. Friday, before I left for
this conference.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
41

42. © LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
42

43. Lean Startup teams believe in...
(from Lean Manufacturing and Extreme Programming)
Simplicity
Courage
Trust
Process
Continuous Improvement
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
43

44. The Influence of Agile
“The courage to speak truths,
pleasant or unpleasant, fosters
communication and trust.
“The courage to discard failing
solutions and seek new ones
encourages simplicity.
“The courage to seek real,
concrete answers creates
feedback.”
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
44

45. If you get the
team right, you’ll
find your way to
the right product.
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
45

46. Thank you!
happiness@luxr.co
#LeanStartup
cc @LUXRCO, @clevergirl
© LUXR.CO APRIL 2013
46