Yesterday, I attended a talk by Ash Maurya on lean startup techniques held at HotSpot in Cambridge, and sponsored by the VC company Matrix Partners. It went from 2-6 with a cocktail hour afterwards.
I've read here and there about lean startups, 37signals, Steve Blank's "get out of the building" advice etc. Since I wanted to get the most of of the workshop, I checked out Ash's site the night before and immediately read the first chapter of a pdf he is promoting called "Running Lean". There he presents a one-page business plan template called a "Lean Canvas, which I immediately started filling out relating to my super-duper hot Japanese Quiz android application. Also, I realized at a more fundamental level that I hadn't done things in the right order - I'd gone ahead and built the software, which has taken about 2.5 months, before going out and talking to the customer. Bzzzt!
What you need to do according to the lean methodology is go through several iterations of customer interviews before actually building the product. Because, if you do that, you will have successfully identified what resonates with them - which is unlikely to be the same as what resonates with you. And they will be your early adopters and give you traction.
The nice thing about "Running Lean" is it gives a very precise map for actually implementing the lean startup technique. I would say the two most important things about the book are the "Lean Canvas", a one-page business plan, and the carefully laid out map each step of the lean startup process, in particular when and how to involve the customer. Also, very specific examples are provided on *how* to interview our prospective customers. In summary, this book is a nice quick read which defines a map for implementing the techniques needed to be a lean startup.
These concepts were essentially what Ash presented during the afternoon, which helped me to review them, as I had sat up reading the book late that night and probably missed some key points.
Another cool thing is that Ash offers a 30-minute interview with purchase of the book, or even if you attend his workshops, apparently. I spoke briefly with him afterwards, and he suggested that I take the filled-out-in-paper Lean Plan using his online tool, and contact him, which I will certainly do. He was even patient enough to check out my application. He's clearly a pleasant, intelligent and focused guy.
Afterwards, I wandered through the cool brick and glass Hotspot headquarters and outside to a beautiful patio surrounded by greenery and flowers, which was just about the right size for the 100 or so people who attended the lecture. I spoke with several entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs. One chap already has a side business making tens of thousands of dollars per year; another was a student with a very good idea. Also by pure luck I chanced into a brief conversation with Tim Barrows, who is actually the head of the Matrix Partners VC firm. A distinguished-looking gentleman with a pleasant English accent, we chatted briefly about my Japanese app, and also about a company he knows about which is doing memory-related software. Although he was soon swept away by another group, it was kind of fun to have been talking to an actual VC angel. It's a first for me.
The hors d'ouvres served throughout were first class, and the glass of red wine I had was really pretty good, although I'm not a connoisseur. Finally, as much to prevent myself from chowing down the hors d'ouvres as anything else, I headed home. It was definitely an afternoon well spent.
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