Ye! It\u2019s an awesome feeling when we get our first customer to sign up. It\u2019s really a motivator to slog out to get more.<\/p>\n
But, when you are a new startup project, you are still trying to discover what kind of target audience and pain point does your product resonate and creates a significant value.\u00a0 So, does one customer signing-up holds significance to this process?<\/p>\n
Well, the answer is \u2013 yes and no!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just dive into this from the basics.<\/p>\n
Startup project is a type stage of business\u2026<\/p>\n
Stage what? Yes, is a stage in the process* of turning a business idea into an established (and highly profitable) real company.<\/p>\n
A Startup is a temporary organization searching for a scalable and repeatable business model<\/p>\n
What does that mean? It simply means that Startups have no business model that works. Yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cA \u2018startup\u2019 is a company that is confused about \u2013What its product is. Who its customers are. How to make money. As soon as it figures out all 3 things, it ceases being a startup and becomes a real business. Except most times, that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dave McClure<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We start with assumptions or hunches about most if everything, to begin with. More early you start to get a sense for theories against reality, the safer you are.<\/p>\n
What does one customer signing up mean in this context?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You get some early signs that something about your product seems to be valuable to at least one person, if that someone paid for it.<\/p>\n
Do you know what value really did your product create for this customer?\u00a0 Is he or she using it actively?\u00a0 How happy is he or she with your product?\u00a0 Is he or she talking to others about how great is your product?<\/p>\n
If you do not know this, initiate conversation with the customer through email skype phone. You have to understand this value in his or her perspective.<\/p>\n
Value hypothesis<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A value hypothesis is an attempt to articulate the key assumption that underlies why a customer is likely to use your product.<\/p>\n
Identifying a compelling value hypothesis is what I call finding product\/market fit. A value hypothesis addresses both the features and business model required to entice a customer to buy your product.<\/p>\n
A new idea is validated when you discover a value hypothesis while working towards Product-Market fit.<\/p>\n
Product-market fit<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Marc Andreessen, who originally coined \u2018Product\/Market Fit\u2019 describes that Product-market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.<\/p>\n
This is a rather vague definition, and Andreesen gives us a more vivid illustration of what Product\/market fit really feels like:<\/p>\n
You can always feel when product\/market fit isn\u2019t happening. The customers aren\u2019t quite getting value out of the product, word of mouth isn\u2019t spreading, usage isn\u2019t growing that fast, press reviews are kind of \u201cblah\u201d<\/i>, the sales cycle takes too long, and lots of deals never close.<\/p>\n