Services
Proof of Concepts
Fail Fast, Fail Cheap
and Learn A Lot
Be the Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Overview of Innovation Process
Focus of
today’s
discussion
Are you ready for success?
By Demetri Martin
http://www.intellectualstimulations.com/what-success-really-looks-like/
Services
A POC
is
A POC
is not
• A way to frame a large complex
problem in manageable chunks
• The minimum amount of resources
that can be expended to test a
specific aspect of feasibility
• A minimum viable product
• A full scale implementation
• A full concept test
• Appropriate for transformational
investments
Before you begin POC planning
Know your
purpose
Set your
boundaries
Identify
your
barriers
Prioritize
Services
An example
Know your purpose:
To reduce damaged melons from
falling off shelf
Set your boundaries:
Genetic modification will not be
tolerated by consumers
Identify your barriers:
Retailers won’t want to change
display fixtures or supply chain
practices
Services
What are the biggest challenges to
making this idea a reality
Cost of
Capital
Customer
Demand
Partnerships
POC
Planning
Barrier to
Entry/Exit
Technology
Maturity
Strategic
Alignment
"People think focus means
saying yes to the thing you've
got to focus on. But that's not
what it means at all. It means
saying no to the hundred other
good ideas that there are. You
have to pick carefully. I'm
actually as proud of the things
we haven't done as the things I
have done. Innovation is
saying no to 1,000 things."
Steve Jobs
(Apple Worldwide Developers'
Conference, 1997)
Services
Identifying the barriers
Customer
Demand
• Does this solve a meaningful problem
• How large is the potential market
Cost of
Capital
• What is the magnitude of investment required
• What are the opportunity cost of pursuing this opportunity
versus others?
Internal
Structures
• Is a group assigned to oversee this type of activity already
• Who is paying for this effort and what do they expect to see
out of it
Services
Identifying the barriers
Barriers to
Entry/Exit
• How expensive is it to get this effort started
• What are the regulatory hurdles involved
Partnerships
• Are we addressing an open space in the value
chain
• Are existing players likely to work with us
Technology
Maturity
• Is anyone using this technology successfully
already
• Have consumers expressed interest
Services
Building the Plan
Step 1
Step 2
• Identify the barrier that is most likely to cause the idea to fail
• Why does that barrier pose the biggest challenge
• To overcome the barrier what would be required
• How will we know that we’ve overcome it
Step 3
• What is the simplest way to test the barrier
• What information would help us overcome the barrier in the future even if we can’t
do it this time
Step 4
• Identify the questions that you need to answer
• Run your test and collect the data
• Answer your questions and celebrate success
Services
Embracing “failure”
• POC success comes from answering the
questions that you set out to answer
• The focus is on answering the questions
quickly
• Rapid iteration can lead to competitive
advantage
I have not failed. I've just found
10,000 ways that won't work.
Thomas A. Edison
Services
Summary
What you end up with
is almost never what
you expected
Trial and error work– if
you learn from your
mistakes
Success is making
incremental progress
towards your goal
Know your purpose
and then take
advantage of
opportunities as they
come
Services
Private Proposal Content All Rights Reserved
Questions?
Services
2. limitations
3. Opportunities
w/o limitation
Brainstorming Template
What problem are we trying to solve?
3. Opportunities
w/o limitation
2. limitations
1. Focus/Goal/Objective/Problem:
Question Generation-Recipe: How might we use Opportunity #3 to overcome Limitation #2 and achieve/remove #1?
OR How might we achieve/remove #1 by using #3 without #2?