Launch + Grow Your Business w/ Startup Customer Development

Welcome! Watch this intro video to learn why this course is perfect for you. I'll explain why customer development is so important and how entrepreneurs use this practice to launch new ideas.

In this lecture, I will break down the specific benefits and learning objectives for the course. I will share the practical takeaways and actionable benefits you will get upon completion.

Why this course and not others? Watch this video to hear how this course is different, how I package up all the content in easy to understand bite-sized chunks and how you will walk away ready to execute what you learn.

I've been practicing entrepreneurship for 20+ years and teaching customer development for over a decade. Watch this lecture to learn about my teaching methodologies and see how you will benefit from taking the course.

Not sure if you're right for this course? Watch this video to learn who the perfect student is and what you will need to do to be successful with this work.

This course is valuable to just about anyone in business, whether you have a big idea or just want to launch a startup, watch this lecture to see exactly what you need to participate.

Watch this lecture to learn why customer development is so important and what happens if you don't do it.

Ready to hear about a company that failed to do this work? Watch this video to hear about the rise and fall of Ouya, the once booming console gaming company that came crashing down because they didn't do enough customer development.

Not sure what customer development actually means? Watch this lecture to learn exactly what it is, how it's used and why it's the most important thing you can do to increase your chances of startup success.

In this lecture I will explain the problem hypothesis and show you how it's used to identify and test real world problems.

Here's a lecture about a real company I started and sold in 2019. In this video I'll share the story about a new business idea and how we used customer development to evaluate the opportunity before we built or launched anything.

The most important aspect of customer development is, well, the customer. In this lecture I'll break down the practice of identifying your customer and how to be sure you're targeting the right people.

If you don't get the problem right, nothing else matters. Watch this video to learn about problem identification and problem validation so you don't build a business that nobody cares about.

So what about your big idea? This lecture will show you how to ensure your solution addresses a real customer problem.

In this lecture I'll share the most effective way to find problems worth solving.

Ready for another case study that showcases an example of problem identification? In this video I'll share how Toyota's famous production system can be applied to startups and business.

In this video I'll explain why connecting with real customers is an essential part of customer development and why so many entrepreneurs fail to do this critical step.

In this lecture I'll break down the steps to getting connected with real people. The approach I share here is the most practical and easiest way to find and talk to potential customers about your business idea.

An online survey is not just a way to collect data, it's the Trojan Horse you can use to get real people on the phone or to have in-person interviews. This video explains exactly what you want to ask to get the highest conversion rate from click to call.

In this video I'll show you the four types of survey questions that work along with examples from real customer development projects.

Here's another case study for a real business that I started and is growing exponentially even now. In this lecture I'll explain how we used the survey strategy to talk to dozens of people and get the customer development answers we needed.

Ready to get people to take your survey? Watch this video to learn the single best method to find people and get them to complete your survey.

Watch this video to see how easy it is to find people for just about any idea or business. In this fictitious example I was able to find more than enough people to take my survey in minutes.

There is a Facebook Group for every possible customer in any market. Watch this video to learn how to find the prefect group to meet your target customer.

In this lecture I'll explain the best practice for joining your target Facebook Groups and how to maximize the response rates.

Watch this video to see how exactly to post your survey in a Facebook Group to ensure that it's seen and that enough people complete your survey.

Here's a real example where I used a Facebook Group to reach high school teachers. Watch this lecture to see exactly how I did it and what the results were.

This lecture will explain how to analyze your survey results and how to go about contacting the people that completed your survey.

In this video I'll share about the importance of contacting customers quickly and how to leverage your data to ensure they agree to phone or in-person interviews.

Watch this lecture to hear my best practice around setting up your interviews. I'll explain how to maximize conversion rates from survey completion to real world conversation.

This is the lecture where I explain how to get ready for those customer interviews. I'll break down they key strategies for getting the most out of your conversations and how to get one step closer to product-market fit.

Watch this video to learn about preparing for interviews and building a framework that will ensure you don't waste time and you can extract the right data points to prove you're working on the right problem and have the best solution.

Watch this lecture to learn how to stop talking during interviews and listen for the critical insights that your customers share.

This video explains how to get your interviewees to share openly and honestly so that you get the most useful insights for your business idea.

This lecture is all about getting prepared for bad news and how not to be afraid of it. Watch this video to learn how bad news is often the best news you can hope for.

Watch this video to learn how the insights you're looking for come out of the behaviors people engage in not the feedback they give you.

Get those stories! Watch this lecture to see why stories are you best friend when doing customer interviews and how to get your interviewees to share stories with you.

This lecture is designed to show you the most important part of customer interviews -- asking open ended questions, and how to ask these questions.

Watch this video to learn how to "lean in" and extract the key insights your customers want to give you, but just aren't giving them up so easily.

This video will teach you the "parrotting" technique which is a helpful method to get customers to clarify and expand on what they share and for you to be sure you fully understand what you hear.

Learn about the problem context in this lecture and hear why it's an incredibly useful tactic to get your customers to open up and share valuable insights about your idea.

Now it's time to start interviewing customers for real. This lecture explains the key strategies you need to know before you start talking to users.

Watch this video to learn useful tactics for "breaking the ice" when starting a new customer development interview.

This lecture shows you how to develop your own story and the benefits of sharing that story with a customer to get them into the best mindset to give you the answers you're looking for.

This lecture covers an extensive list of actual questions you can use for any stage of the customer development process.

Watch this video to learn about the most common misconceptions entrepreneurs have about customer development and why so many startups fail to do this critical work.

Taking interview notes is essential and also difficult for many entrepreneurs. Watch this lecture to get practical tips on how to interview and write down important insights at the same time.

Don't use these excuses to avoid doing customer development. Watch this video to hear the common reasons that entrepreneurs use to skip most important part of building a startup or launching a new business.

Once you've completed your interviews, it's time to leverage the insights and figure out what to do next. This video explains how to organize your customer development and make the big decisions about what to build and why.

Watch this video to learn how to organize your interview results so that no important insights are missed.

This lecture will show you how to turn insights into actionable ideas so that you have the right information to validate and iterate on your business plan.

Once you've compiled all the customer development interview data it's time to rethink your assumptions. This video will walk you through revising your problem hypothesis and user stories.

This lecture will help you validate your idea based on the information from your customer interviews. Learn whether or not you have hit the mark with your solution or if it needs more work.

Finally, this lecture will help you understand how to iterate on your initial problem and solution as well as your target customer and decide whether you're close enough to keep going or better off pivoting altogether.