My Opioniated Approach to Venture Building

New Venture Approach

Approach to new Venture

1. Problem - Pain Point /Customer Vs End User Vs Influencer?
2. Solution/How big is Opportunity? Value Chain
3. Problem/Solution Match? PMF Fit (Solution<>Problem<>Team Fit) ?
4. Why Now? Competitors ? Differentiation ?

Problem-Pain Point

1. What is the idea ? New Industry Prior graveyards or recent acquisitions(whitespace) - Timing/Execution/Market Conditions
2. Define customer archetypes and respective pain points
   • Same market segment may not have same customer also(Marriott vs budget hotel)
   • Different Market segments does not mean same pain
3. Interviews/Surveys/Reviews to do FABing
   • Feature A. B - Define limited 2 most imp features from Benefit
   • F. Advantage.B - Crafting Advantage - Reverse the Problem = Advantage
   • F.A.Benefit - Directly from the Customer - Ask the Question directly on ‘Benefit’

Customer ?

1. Paint the TG Customer ? Prioritising GoTo Market - Crossing the Chasm
2. Value Chain Question? Upstream/Downstream? Defines Size of Opportunity (TAM, SOM SAM) and Alignment with Expertise
3. What are they willing to pay ? Market Sizing(How big is the Opportunity)

Solution ?

1. Existing Substitutes (Solutions)
2. Current customer behaviours (Alignment)
   1. Price sensitive 2. Hungry for Service 3. Customised solution ? 4. Image Conscious 5.
3. Route for Acquisition? Customer Acquisition Cost (Distribution first)

PMF Fit ?

1. P/M Fit - Are there any similar companies/Competitors
2. F/M Fit - Skills, Network, B2B/B2C Orientation and Knowledge space
3. P/F Fit- Have you built something like this before ? Startup Repeat Founder?

Why Now ?

1. Ideas are Cheap, dozens of founders trying this? What unique insight do you have ? Too Early/Too Late

   Hack or Trick for early adopters

   1. New behaviour/habit inculcation
   2. Regulation change
   3. Riding on a 2nd order effect of a bigger behaviour
   4. Hidden whitespace (recent acquisitions)
   5. New Market/New Industry

Support/Struggle

• [Positioning] - COMPETITORS
  • a. Support - NEW BEHAVIOUR (Blended CAC)
  • b. Struggle- DIFFERENTIATION