2. Page 2 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Hacking 4 Recovery: Syllabus
Class Roadmap
This class only works if your entire team watches the videos, does the readings
and talks to customers
Each dayâs class is organized around:
â Pre-reading for the upcoming day
â Getting out of the building and interviewing 10-15 customers a day
â Building a set of MVPs
â Daily team presentations on their âlessons learnedâ from getting out of the building and
iterating or pivoting their business model.
â Lectures on the Lean Methodology
â Office hours with the teaching team and mentors.
This is an experiential hands-on practical class â not a set of lectures or case studies. Our goal,
within the constraints of a Zoom room and a limited amount of time, is to create an
entrepreneurial experience for you.
You will be getting your hands dirty talking to customers, partners, and competitors â as you
encounter the chaos and uncertainty of how a startup actually works. Youâll work in teams
learning how to turn a great idea into a great company. Youâll learn how to use a business
model to brainstorm each part of a company and customer development to get out of the Zoom
room to see whether anyone other than you would want/use your product. Finally, based on
the customer and market feedback you gather, you will use agile development to rapidly iterate
your product to build something customers would actually use and buy. Each day will be a new
adventure outside the Zoom room as you test each part of your business model and then share
the hard-earned knowledge with the rest of the class.
Team Organization
This class is designed around having a team of 4 working on your project. At times you may lose
a team member during the class, but we will support you if the remaining team members
decide to go forward.
MVPs
Getting out of the building not only involves talking to people but showing them what you have
in mind. Minimum Valuable Products (MVP) can simply be a PowerPoint slide, wireframe, clay
model, sample data set, sales brochure, etc. Each time you build an MVP, you also define what
you are trying to test/measure. Later, as more is learned, the MVPâs go from low fidelity to
higher fidelity â but the goal continues to be maximizing learning from customer feedback..
4. Page 4 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Website
â https://h4r.stanford.edu
Texts
â The Startup Ownerâs Manual, Steve Blank and Bob Dorf
â Business Model Generation, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
Before the Class on Monday, June 29th
We expect you to have:
â Talked to 10-15 customers before the first class meets
â Filled out the 3 worksheets of the Market Opportunity Navigator
â Updated your Business Model Canvas based on your first 10-15 interviews
â Set up meetings for the rest of the week with âhard to get toâ potential customers.
â Watched Udacity EP245 Video 3 of Lesson 1 and all of Lesson 2 and Lean Launchpad
Customer Discovery Videos: CD-40, CD-30, CD-31, CD-32, CD-33, CD-34, CD-49, CD-50,
CD-51
6. Page 6 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Before the Class onTuesday, June 30th
We expect you to:
Get out of the building and talk to 10-15 more customers and build an MVP
Watch: Udacity EP245 Lessons 2 and 3 and Lean Launchpad Customer Discovery Videos â how
to conduct effective interviews: CD-12, CD-01, CD-02, CD-03, CD-04, CD-25-26, CD-05-06, CD-
07-08
Read:
â The Startup Ownerâs Manual, pages 53-84, 195-199
â Business Model Generation, pages. 86-111, 135-145
â Giff Constable: â12 Tips for Early Customer Development Interviewsâ
â Steve Blank: âWhatâs a Startup? First Principlesâ
You will be presenting customer discovery insights tomorrow.
Team Presentation for tomorrow, Tuesday June 30th:
â Slide 1: Cover slide
â Slide 2: Current Business Model Canvas with any changes marked
â Slide 3: Market size
â Slide 4: Type of business: IP, licensing, startup, unknown
â Slide 5: Proposed experiments to test customer segment, value proposition, channel
and revenue model of the hypotheses:
â What constitutes a pass/fail signal for each test (e.g., at what point would you say that
your hypothesis wasnât even close to correct)?
â See examples at steveblank.com
Class starts at 4:00 PM PDT on Tuesday.
7. Page 7 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Tuesday, June 30th
Time: Until 4:00 PM PDT
Activity: Customer Discovery
Location: Get out of the building!
We expect you to have set up meetings to interview potential customers.
Time: 4:00 â 5:00 PM PDT
Activity: Office Hours (Appointments assigned for each team)
Time: 5:00 â 5:30 PM PDT
Activity: Class Lecture
Creativity with Constraints (Tina Seelig)
Tina will lecture and engage the class on creativity. See: What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20
Time: 5:30 â 6:20 PM
PDT
Activity: Team Presentations/Breakout Sessions
â Class will be split into 6 Zoom breakout rooms, 12 minute presentation/Q&A
Time: 6:20 â 6:30 PM PDT
Activity: Coffee Break
Time: 6:30 â 7:05 PM PDT
Activity: Class Lecture and Discussion
Value Proposition / Customer Segments (Steve Blank)
Class Discussion: What is your product or service? How does it differ from an idea? Why will
people want it? Whoâs the competition and how does your customer view these competitive
offerings? Whereâs the market? Whatâs the minimum feature set? Whatâs the market type?
What was your inspiration or impetus? What assumptions drove you to this? What unique
insight do you have into the market dynamics or into a technological shift that makes this a
fresh opportunity?
Whoâs the customer? User? Payer? How are they different? Why do they buy? How can you
reach them? How is a business customer different from a consumer? Whatâs a multi-sided
market? Whatâs segmentation? Whatâs an archetype?
8. Page 8 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Before the Class onWednesday, July 1st
We expect you to:
Watch: Udacity EP245 Lessons 4, 5 and 6 and Lean Launchpad Customer Discovery Videos â
avoiding pitfalls: CD-09-10, CD-11, CD-13, CD-20-21, CD-23-24, CD-28
Read:
â Business Model Generation, pp. 127-133, 146-150, 161-168 and 200-211
â The Startup Ownerâs Manual, pages 85-111 and 189-255, 406-412
Team Presentation for tomorrow, Wednesday January 15:
â Get out of the building and talk to as many people as you can. Come to class prepared to
share your insights about:
o What were your value proposition hypotheses?
o What were your customer segment hypotheses?
o What did potential customers think about your value proposition hypotheses?
See examples at steveblank.com
â Slide 1: Cover slide
â Slide 2: Current Business Model Canvas with any changes marked
â Slide 3: Tell us about your Customer Segments
â Slide 4: Tell us how your Value Proposition appeals to or matches those Customer
Segments
â Slide 5: What are your proposed experiments to test customer segment, value
proposition, channel and revenue model of the hypotheses:
o What constitutes a pass/fail signal for each test (e.g., at what point would you
say that your hypothesis wasnât even close to correct)?
â Slide 6 and others: What did you learn about your value proposition from talking to your
first customers?
o Hypothesis: Hereâs What We Thought
o Experiments: So Hereâs What We Did
o MVP: What MVP We Used During Our interviews
o Results: So Hereâs What We Found
o Iterate: So Hereâs What We Are Going to Do Next
Class starts at 4:00 PM PDT on Wednesday.
9. Page 9 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Wednesday, July 1st
Time: Until 4:00 PM PDT
Activity: Customer Discovery
Location: Get out of the building!
We expect you to have set up meetings to talk to potential customers.
Time: 4:00 â 5:00 PM PDT
Activity: Office Hours (Appointments assigned for each team)
Time: 5:00 â 5:50 PM
PDT
Activity: Team Presentations/Breakout Sessions
â Class will be split into 6 Zoom breakout rooms, 12 minute presentation/Q&A
Time: 5:50 â 6:05 PM PDT
Activity: Coffee Break
Time: 6:05 â 7:00 PM PDT
Activity: Class Lecture and Discussion
Channels / Get, Keep, Grow / Revenue (Steve Blank)
Class Discussion:
Whatâs a channel? Physical vs. virtual channels. Direct channels, indirect channels, OEM. Multi-
sided markets. B-to-B versus B-to-C channels and sales (business to business versus business to
consumer)
How do you Get, Keep and Grow customers? How does it differ on the web versus other
channels? Evangelismvs. existing need or category? General Marketing, Sales Funnel, etc. How
does demand creation differ in a multi-sided market?
Whatâs a revenue model? What types of revenue streams are there? What are pricing tactics?
How does revenue model and pricing differ on the web versus other channels? How does this
differ in a multi-sided market?
10. Page 10 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Before the Class onThursday, July 2nd
We expect you to:
Watch: Udacity EP245 Lessons 7 and 8 and Lean Launchpad Customer Discovery Videos â key
learning: CD-14-15, CD-16-17, CD-18-19, CD-22, CD-27
Read:
â The Startup Ownerâs Manual, pages 227-256, 277-342
Team Presentation for tomorrow, Thursday, July 2nd:
Get out of the building and talk to 10-15 potential channel partners face-to-face (Salesmen,
OEMâs distributors, etc.). Come prepared to class to share your insights about:
â What were your hypotheses about who/what your channel would be? Did you learn
anything different?
â Present and explain your marketing campaign. How will you Get customers?
â Did anything change about your Value Proposition?
â See examples at:
slideshare.net/sblank/presentation-examples-for-class-5-distribution-channels and
slideshare.net/sblank/presentation-examples-for-class-6-customer-relationships and
slideshare.net/sblank/presentation-examples-for-class-7-revenue-models
â Slide 1: Cover slide
â Slide 2: Current Business Model Canvas with any changes marked
â Slide 3: Tell us about your Channels, Get Strategy and Revenue Model
â Slide 5: What are your proposed experiments to test your hypotheses for Channels,
âGetâ Strategy, and Revenue Model:
o What constitutes a pass/fail signal for each test (e.g. at what point would you say
that your hypothesis wasnât even close to correct)?
â Slide 6 and others:
o Hypothesis: Hereâs What We Thought
o Experiments: So Hereâs What We Did
o MVP: What MVP We Used During Our Interviews
o Results: So Hereâs What We Found
o Iterate: So Hereâs What We Are Going to Do Next
Class starts at 4:00 PM PDT on Thursday.
11. Page 11 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Thursday, July 2nd
Time: Until 4:00 PM PDT
Activity: Customer Discovery
Location: Get out of the building!
We expect you to have set up meetings to talk to potential customers.
Time: 4:00 â 5:00 PM PDT
Activity: Office Hours
Time: 5:00 â 5:50 PM
PDT
Activity: Team Presentations/Breakout Sessions
â Class will be split into 6 Zoom breakout rooms, 12 minute presentation/Q&A
Time: 5:50 â 6:05 PM PDT
Activity: Coffee Break
Time: 6:05 â 7:00 PM PDT
Activity: Class Lecture and Discussion
Partners, Key Resources & Activities (Steve Weinstein)
Class Discussion:
Who are partners? Strategic alliances, competition, joint ventures, buyer, supplier, licensees.
What resources do you need to build this business? How many people? What kind? Any
hardware or software you need to buy? Any IP you need to license? How much money do you
need to raise? When? Why?
12. Page 12 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Before the Class onFriday July 3rd
Read:
â Business Model Generation, pages 200-211
â The Startup Ownerâs Manual, pages 406-412
Final Team Presentation for July 3rd:
Get out of the building and talk to 10-15 customers.
Final presentation format:
â 8 minute presentation
o examples here: slideshare.net/sblank/tagged/Columbia
o and here slideshare.net/sblank/tagged/stanford
â Here's what we thought - Day 1
o Day 1 canvas
o Diagrams if you can draw any; text summary if not
â Here's what we learned - Days 2 - 4
o Days 2 - 4 canvases
o Use diagrams
o MVPs used
â Here's where we ended - Day 5
o Use diagrams
o MVPs used
o Text summary
â Hereâs what we are going to do next
Class starts at 4:00 PM PDT sharp tomorrow. Plan to arrive on the zoom at least 10 minutes
before the start of the class.
13. Page 13 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Friday, July 3rd
Time: Until 4:00 PM PDT
Activity: Customer Discovery
Location: Get out of the building!
We expect you to have set up meetings to talk to potential customers.
Time: 4:0 â 4:10 PM PDT
Intro to Class for Guests (Steve Blank)
4:10 â 4:55 PM PDT
Activity: Team Final Presentations
â 4 randomly selected teams present to the entire class, 10 minutes each
Time: 4:55 â 5:10 PM PDT
Activity: Coffee Break
Time: 5:10 â 6:00 PM PDT
Activity: Final Team Presentations/Breakout Sessions
â Class will be split into 5 rooms for final team presentations, 10 minutes each
Time: 6:00 â 6:30 PM PDT
Activity: Class Lecture and Discussion
Costs and Metrics that Matter (Steve Blank)
Class Lecture: Importance of cash flows? When do you get paid vs. when do you pay others?
Pivot or Proceed: what data you need to assemble, and how to determine whether you have
validated your business model to the point where moving forward makes sense.
Time: 6:30 â 7:00 PM PDT
Activity: Final Discussion (Q&A)
Time: 7:00 PM PDT - onward (optional)
Activity: Class Lecture and Discussion
How an Angel Investor looks at your startup (Mar Hershenson)
Mar Hershenson will give an interactive lecture on how her VC firm evaluates a startup.
14. Page 14 of 14 Final H4R Syllabus
Frequently Asked Questions
Intellectual Property
Who owns the intellectual property you use in the class?
1. You own what Intellectual Property (patents, hardware, algorithms, etc.) you brought to
class with you. No one has claimto anything you brought to class (other than the rights
Stanford and other entities may have.)
2. You all own any intellectual property developed during the class (such as code for a web-
based project). If a team is working with a University-related technology (i.e., either research
from one of the team members or a University patent), you must check with Stanford's Office
of Technology Licensing (OTL) to better understand any University licensing and royalties
issues.
3. You and your team members need to disclose to each other what IP/licensing rights any
company youâve worked at has to inventions you make at school.
4. If any of you decide to start a company based on the class, you own only what was written
and completed in the class. You have no claimfor work done before or after the class.
5. If a subset of the team decides to start a company they do NOT âoweâ anything to any
other team members for work done in and during the class. All teammembers are free to
start the same company, without permission of the others. (We would hope that a modicum
of common sense and fairness would apply.)
I feel my idea / Business Model may become a real company and the "next killer app" and I
want to own it myself. What should I do?
This is more than likely the wrong class to take. Your slides, notes and findings will be
publically shared. Your team owns everything done in class. Discuss Intellectual Property
rights with your team from the beginning. If you canât come to agreement with the team,
join another team, pick another project, or drop the class. Remember anything you do and
learn in the class is public.
Will my Intellectual Property rights be protected when I discuss my ideas with the class?
NO. This is an open class. There are no non-disclosures. All of your presentations and
customer discovery and validation notes, Business Model Canvas, blogs and slides can, and
more likely will, be made public.