Ash Maurya
Author of Running Lean and Creator of Lean Canvas
Discussion
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
Hi Product Hunt, I'm Ash Maurya. I created the one-page business modeling tool “Lean Canvas” and have also written two books on the topic, Running Lean and my new book Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth. Excited to be here, please ask away.
upvotesharetweet・
Levi Heiple
@leviheiple
What tool(s) do you use to create a dashboard for your "customer factory"? The concepts make a lot of sense but the difficulty for me right now is in actually pulling all the needed data together.
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@leviheiple We use lots of tools for this ranging from Google Analytics to Amplitude for our online products. And even low-tech counting for earlier stage products. The more important thing is to figure out what the 5 AARRR metrics map to in terms of user/customer behaviors and scope your measurement to just those to start.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
Hi Ash thanks for being here today. What's the number one piece of advice you often find yourself giving to new founders?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@ems_hodge
Love the Problem, Not Your Solution.
Starting with a solution is like building a key without knowing what door it will open.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
@ashmaurya @ems_hodge 2 quick follow-up questions:
1) Are there specific problems out there that you think more founders should tackle?
2) Are there too many entrepreneurs trying to build the same solutions?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@tomstocklein @ems_hodge
1) I think every segment has problems worth solving. But what you consider "worth solving" is determined by your personal why and ambition.
2) Yes, I believe there's a lot of the bandwagon effect going on where startups copy whatever is trendy versus digging into root causes -- what Peter Thiel describes as "secrets" in his book. Uncovering those is where long lasting value is created.
Stas Pavlov
@stas_pavlov · http://bewater.ninja/
What do you think is the optimal composition in terms of skill and personality for a founding/ startup team in order to succeed?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@stas_pavlov I generally look for competencies in design, development (build), and marketing. These can be spread across one or more people.
Beyond this,
- a willingness to search vs execute ideas.
- the ability to hold conflicting ideas in their head at the same time
- drive to challenge their own assumptions
Strong opinions, held weakly.
Shian Han
@shianhan
Any tips on how to incorporate customer lifetime value into a cash flow spreadsheet projecting 2-3 years? Also shouldn't we also be concerned about "user lifetime value"?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@shianhan
In a direct business model, where your users become your customers, the two are the same. In multi-sided models (like Facebook), you need to estimate your user lifetime value in terms of the monetizable value they create (like data/attention) that you turn into customer lifetime value (revenue).
In both cases, you want to build a user/customer behavior model bottoms up i.e. figure out your input pricing, usage, and retention assumptions for your value proposition. Then ballpark your business model.
To ballpark a business model 2-3 years out,
1. Start with your minimum success criteria (typically revenue based)
2. Convert that into a customer throughput rate by using your input pricing and life time assumptions.
3. Test whether this model even works on paper. If not, refine your input assumptions.
Then get outside the building and start validating the input assumptions immediately -- from small scale to progressively larger scale.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
1. What's something you believe (regarding business or life) that most people would disagree with?
2. On the other hand, what are some popular beliefs or practices that you disagree with?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@tomstocklein
1. A lot of what I have learned over the years sounds like common sense in retrospect but for some reason is rare in practice.
One in particular is that stifles the search of good ideas is the "curse of specialization" -- where we limit what ideas we act on based on who is giving them. Good ideas can come from anywhere.
2. I generally strive to live by this quote:
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
@ashmaurya Love that answer!
Robert Warren
@robert_warren1
@ashmaurya @tomstocklein Ash your first response is best represented by another quote - "There's nothing more uncommon than common sense." Frank Lloyd Wright
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
How are you getting around Austin now that Uber and Lyft are gone?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@tomstocklein Rather painfully. Austin is still largely a car and bike culture which I rely on for most daily use. I have a home office so don't have to go too far. I miss Uber the most when I have to get to and from the airport which is once a month.
Hey Ash, thanks for joining us! When looking at metrics, what time frame would you suggest making decisions based on?
For example, if you'r trying to grow X metric 10% every week, and one week is up, then the next week is flat, does that indicate change what you're doing, or maybe take action when looking at 4 weeks of up/down/flat?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@nivo0o0 This is largely dependent on the stage and type of product.
I generally default to weekly metrics unless user behavior is more appropriate for a monthly batch.
I also try to build in systems that lend themselves to predictable metrics. In other words flat growth is still better than no growth.
Stefan Kooistra
@sakooistra
Hi Ash! Thanks for doing this. If someone is starting with a very small team and needs a jack of all trades designer and jack of all trades developer, what advice would you give on finding those unicorns?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@sakooistra I generally look for passion for the customer problem in my all my founding teams and early hires.
In my current business, because my audience/customers are entrepreneurs so are my designers, developers, and marketers. I found all these people by sharing my work in places where they first consumed them, then decided to join me on my journey.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
What's the number 1 metric new founders should be focusing on for success?
M
Ash Maurya
@ashmaurya · Founder, LEANSTACK
@ems_hodge Understanding the key traction metric in their business.
TRACTION: Rate at which their business model captures monetizable value from its users.
Note: Monetizable value is NOT the same as revenue but a leading indicator that turns to revenue.