gameover: how to validate demand and launch to rabid fans on day one
DESCRIPTION
These are slides from a talk Sean Tierney did for GameColab on 8/1/13 teaching concepts of Lean Startup, Customer Development, Lifecycle Marketing and Marketing Automation in the realm of game development.TRANSCRIPT
By Sean Tierney
How to pre-validate game demand and launchto a group of rabid fans on day one.
Distribution & Product-Market Fit
Pre Post
Product-Market Fit
Searching for b-model Focused on growth
Stages of Development of any Venture
My creds
Your greatest threat = apathy
CustDev Lean Canvas
What is Customer Development?
Brainchild of Steve Blank
“Four Steps to the Epiphany” = seminal work. The revised sequel 10yrs later is “Startup Owner’s Manual”
Answers don’t exist within the building... therefore, get out of the building and talk to your potential customers!
Need to intimately understand the problem & customer before pushing your solution
CustDev = framework for doing entrepreneurship. Focus on P-M fit first then worry about growth. Stages are like “orbits” - must achieve escape velocity to move to next.
Google: “Steve Blank Udacity”
What is the Lean Startup?Mindset of experimentation
Eric Ries’ book (apprentice has gotten more attention)
Originates from Toyota lean manufacturing principles applied to startups
De-risk the most threatening aspects early
Build / Measure / Learn
Validated learning as the unit of progress
Innovation accounting via the Canvas
When you distill it all down Lean is about systematically...
Reducing risk, uncertainty & waste
Example
Example
What is the Business Model Canvas?
An iterative “report card” to track validated learning
Replacement for the business plan
Snapshot of current understanding of the startup
Vessel for sharing and getting input from advisors
Need a volunteer
Where does your greatest uncertainty lie?
Learn, Build, MeasureWhere does the greatest uncertainty lie and what is the risk to the success of the product?
What testable hypotheses can we form to de-risk this?
What data would we need to collect to confirm or refute these hypotheses?
What experiments would we need to conduct in order to collect that data?
Now go run these experiments.
Rinse and repeat...
Qualitative over quantitative early on
Google: “Steve Blank Udacity”
Pre Post
Product-Market Fit
Searching for b-model Focused on growth
Stages of Development of any Venture
+Lifecycle Marketing
+Process Automation
Pre-launch list-building ideas
Blog about game creation / inspiration process
FB campaign for VIP super-secret sneak peek
Do podcast interviews with other game creators
“Proceeds during X days donated to charitable cause”
Contest drawing for access to XYZ awesome thing (donated by sponsor you find)
Give away one year subscription to PC Gamer Mag - MCI “Friends ‘n Family” style campaign
Now that you have a list...
Never abuse it
Exceed original expectation
Show the human, personal side (no marketing-speak)
Exclusive privileges
Always grandfather early-adopters on price increases
Shameless Self-Promo for Grid7
Lifecycle Marketing & Automation
How do you recycle?
