{"id":499,"date":"2024-05-30T10:12:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T10:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/?p=499"},"modified":"2024-06-05T10:52:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T10:52:03","slug":"product-development-in-startups-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/product-development-in-startups-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Development In Startups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>Author: Ashish Kothari<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-linkedin  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ashishkothari10\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2024-05-30T10:12:27+00:00\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/product-development-in-startups-2\/\">May 30, 2024<\/a><\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Conventional approaches to product development maximise chances of success by building all possible features that could fulfil the maximum number of customer needs. Startups don\u2019t have the luxury of investing the same time and money. That\u2019s why the MVP approach is better suited for startups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the most difficult job in the world?<\/strong> The answers to could range from Astronaut, Bomb Disposal Technician, Construction Worker, Diver \u2013 and the list could go on. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if <strong>\u201cStartup Founder\u201d<\/strong> ranked somewhere at the top of that list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The primary focus of early stage startups is on translating a brilliant idea into a usable product or service. If you\u2019re one of those founders who have spent a good part of your career working for a large company, and now decided to take the plunge, then you will know that the investment involved in bringing a new product or service to market comes as much from educating, marketing and selling to people to change embedded habits and behaviour, as it does from product development and manufacturing. That\u2019s why startups should narrowly focus on launching a <strong>Minimum Viable Product<\/strong> (MVP). There\u2019ll be time enough for scaling up and expanding into more product-market segments in due course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/ashish-kothari\/\">earlier article<\/a>, I wrote about the STP process, which is fundamental and integral to product development. But when it comes to startups, they are likely to lack the resources and time for this exhaustive approach, and may be better advised to take an \u201cMVP\u201d approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So, what exactly is an MVP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An MVP is the most basic version of a product that can be launched in the market. Unlike a prototype, it is a fully working product that consumers will typically pay for and use. A key difference with products launched by large corporations is the narrow focus on one (or the least possible) segment and minimal product features. Within the narrow focus and limited functionality, it is still a rigorously designed and high-quality product. In fact, a low-quality MVP for test marketing the product is more likely to hurt the chances of the idea or concept catching on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember the iPod? A \u201csimple\u201d device that quickly killed MP3 players, yet didn\u2019t have all the bells and whistles that ultimately made the concept transition into the iPhone. What if the iPod hadn\u2019t succeeded, would Apple have invested in the iPhone? And imagine if Apple had started off directly with introducing a technological (and certification heavy) product, the iPhone, without securing loyalists through the iPod. They would have had to invest heavily in changing business users (BlackBerry, Palm) by taking them head-on, besides the investment in the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An MVP need not refer to physical products alone; it may equally be an app or a service. Digital services are best suited for the MVP approach. MVP\u2019s help to acquire early adopters, and startups should capture their feedback to guide future product enhancements and evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MVP approach differs from the conventional marketing strategy of investing significant time and money upfront to target the whole market. It ensures that the market <em>wants<\/em> the product before putting in such investments; and that the initial product continues to evolve based on what the market wants. Steve Blank, one of the early proponents of MVP, said, &#8220;You\u2019re selling the vision and delivering the minimum feature set to visionaries, not everyone\u201d. The aim is to reduce the hours spent on engineering, and to get the product into the hands of the visionary customer, the early evangelist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let\u2019s take a look at some successful startups.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>In 2000, MakeMyTrip was first launched in USA to provide NRIs with America-India trips. Notice the narrow product-market focus. In 2005, it launched its office in India, for booking flight tickets. MMT then went on to offer domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, rail and bus tickets, and more. From a single idea of empowering the traveller, MMT gradually scaled up the MVP to become a comprehensive online travel company.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>FreeCharge started out in 2010 with its core offer of mobile recharges, with free vouchers from retailers for an equivalent value. It has since integrated with other services including DTH, data cards, electricity, gas, water, landline, and broadband \u2013 thereby evolving into a digital payment platform. FreeCharge is also accepted at many online and offline retailers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ola Cabs was started by IIT-B graduates Ankit Bhati and Bhavish Aggarwal in 2010, after a bad experience with a rented cab. Together, they launched a service in Mumbai, offering convenience and transparent pricing. Ola now offers services in 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The service extends to a wide range of vehicles including bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs. Ola has further expanded into electric vehicles, fleet management, scooter sharing. All these offers are driven by one mission: to build mobility for a billion people.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s get back to our startup. As with most startups, funding will be the key to setting up the business. Whether the entrepreneur secures funding through venture capital firms or angel investors, whether they go through an accelerator or incubator, there\u2019s one thing they can be sure of. They will be making a pitch to investors at demo day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Demo day is when startups pitch their business to a room full of investors, in the hope of securing investment. This may represent the startups seed round or Series A round of funding. The MVP is core to demo day. Investors will want evidence that the product will succeed. This is very different from an established corporation launching a new product, where the investment is supported by approved budgets and business plans. Therefore, to get the investment, founders are well advised to adopt the MVP approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And that\u2019s why the MVP approach beats conventional product development practices when it comes to startups!<\/h5>\n<div class='watch-action'><div class='watch-position align-left'><div class='action-like'><a class='lbg-style1 like-499 jlk' href='javascript:void(0)' data-task='like' data-post_id='499' data-nonce='006bb6bfb1' rel='nofollow'><img class='wti-pixel' src='https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Like' \/><span class='lc-499 lc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class='action-unlike'><a class='unlbg-style1 unlike-499 jlk' href='javascript:void(0)' data-task='unlike' data-post_id='499' data-nonce='006bb6bfb1' rel='nofollow'><img class='wti-pixel' src='https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Unlike' \/><span class='unlc-499 unlc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <div class='status-499 status align-left'><\/div><\/div><div class='wti-clear'><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conventional approaches to product development maximise chances of success by building all possible features that could fulfil the maximum number of customer needs. Startups don\u2019t have the luxury of investing the same time and money. That\u2019s why the MVP approach is better suited for startups.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the most difficult job in the world? The answers to could range from Astronaut, Bomb Disposal Technician, Construction Worker, Diver \u2013 and the list could go on. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if \u201cStartup Founder\u201d ranked somewhere at the top of that list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,1],"tags":[30,29,42,58,48,60,47,10,64,11,12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":985,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions\/985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vidwaan.simapt.com\/cxo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}