Week #2 – MBA 6101 – Ascend Your Start-Up, Chapter 2: Turn Idea Into Product Camp

 “Turn Idea Into Product Camp,” the second chapter of Helen Yu’s Ascend Your Start-Up, outlines the initial steps of taking an idea to a tangible product.   In the early stages, bringing an idea to fruition is a gradual process that demands focus on troubleshooting basic features.  

These initial steps involve decisions 6 and 7 of Yu’s 26 micro-decisions.  Decision #6 requires determining the product’s “minimal viable product (MVP).” 

The minimal viable product is a product that offers enough basic features “to capture the attention of early adopters” and demonstrates to consumers that the product provides a unique solution.  For the entrepreneur, the MVP is an opportunity to bring a prototype to market in minimal time at minimal cost while gaining invaluable feedback from a potential customer base.   

At this intersection, Yu suggests exploring questions like:

Who cares about the problem you are trying to solve?

Is there anyone else solving the same problem?

What type of team do you need to have in place to achieve your vision?

Decision #7 involves determining how the MVP will be piloted.  Yu suggests creating an “ideal customer profile (ICP)” to test product ideas.  With each round of product testing, the MVP can be refined based on insights provided by customer. 

Each subsequent release and redesign cycle is expected to elicit new questions and feedback. According to Yu, like scaling Mt Everest, the preparations at "base camp" are as much about testing the product as it is about testing yourself and your team.