Session 8: Evaluating Products
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The document outlines the career and entrepreneurial journey of Shamik Sharma from 1997 to 2020, emphasizing his roles in various tech companies and startups in the USA and India. It discusses evaluation frameworks for product-market fit, including market analysis, founder criteria, and the significance of spikes in decision-making. Additionally, it highlights various strategies for achieving product-channel fit and the importance of understanding customer engagement and satisfaction.
Session 8: Evaluating Products
- 2. Intro USA (1997-2012) Academic - Maryland CS, HP-Labs (dist. systems) - 20+ papers, 7 patents Entrepreneur - Confluent (security co, sold to Oracle) B2C Internet - Yahoo (marketplaces), RockYou (social games) Consumer H/W - Lytro camera. (light-field deep-tech). India (2012-2020) Myntra - CTO/CPO Angel - 12 investments ($10-25k) - 4 dead, 1 acq, 4 are ok, 2 are good, 1 over 10x Venture Studio - 8 projects ($50-200k) for 5-15% => 5 dead, 3 alive CureFit - Strategic initiatives
- 3. M.O. 1. Do Interrupt - pause after every 2-3 slides. 2. Chase the dependencies. Truth is complex. 3. Side-stories are good. “Know the truth, but tell the story”. 4. Shed all dogma ! How to be in Doubt + act with conviction
- 4. Evaluation Framework team, market, product, capital, timing,.. Evaluation Framework $$ The problem ● Long feedback cycles (Long vs short truths) ● Spiky inputs & spiky outcomes ● Hard yes vs Soft no decisions.
- 5. Internal conflict Believer Skeptic Judgement - Look for Spikes - Intuition (gut call)
- 6. What investors can control Deal-Flow Process Post-Investment Pre-Diligence - Market analysis - Product thesis - Founder criteria Diligence speed & quality - Founder-market - Product-Market - Distribution - Monetization Capital Co-investors Founder networks Employees Experts Is it a spike ? Can I help ?Input quality ?
- 7. Product evaluation Just one aspect. Looking for spikes Evaluate - Market - Product - GTM (Channel) - Biz model As a series of “Fits”
- 8. Balfour Framework https://brianbalfour.com/essays/product-market-fit-isnt-enough Product-1MarketFounder Distribution Channel Biz Model Do customers Love the product ? Is there a way to reach many such customers ? Arpu - Cac - Opex = CM > 0 ?Rpu x #Cust x Pen% > $100M ? Is it self- sustainable ? Can it reach meaningful scale ? Is there a real problem ? Why this team ?
- 9. Thesis : Everyone enjoys living in a beautiful space Reimagine your room Enjoy your space - Spacejoy
- 10. Founder Market Product Channel Model Interior Design Tech Skills US B2C Sales Content SEO SEM WoM PR / Mags E-comm Furniture Lead-gen Design Fees B2B Tech fees US Home Renovation US Renters US New Home Buyers India New Apt Buyers B2B2C Design Tech Design Service Full-service Interiors
- 11. Product-1 Product-1 Stages x Cycles x Teams https://brianbalfour.com/essays/product-market-fit-isnt-enough Product-1MarketFounder Distribution Channel Biz Model SeedIncubator, Labs Series A Series B Series C Late Stage
- 12. Founder - Market Fit Market understanding - Value-chain (channels) - P&L (key line items) - Customer satisfaction / probs - Competition - gaps - ------- - Trends - Thought leaders Founders to look for - Market understanding - Customer understanding - Can “find” the product - Can build it - ------ - Can tell the story - Can scale Is there a real problem ? Why this team ?
- 13. Product - Market Fit How to judge - Engagement - Retention - Satisfaction (ratings, nps) - ------- - Anecdotes - Willingness to pay What you might evaluate wrong - Averages hide pockets. - Need a complete product - Some products need time - ------ - Intensity of engage. like << love. - Herd effect - fad or a shift ? Do (will) a set of customers love this product ? Build a sub-product for market then find a sub-market for product https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/
- 14. Market : Soft-goods B2B B2C Brands Corp gifts A messy process Product : Buy & sell fashion online Shoes Founder behavior Vs Investor Interpretation ● Agile vs Focus ● Analytical vs Conviction ● Product vs Market Personalized
- 15. Product - Channel Fit Is there a cost-effective way for this product to reach many target customers ? Product Design - Key proposition for this channel - How will I convey the proposition on this channel - Drive trials - Onboarding - Virality - Cost structure - RPU + pricing Products are designed for channels. Channels are not designed for products.
- 16. Product-Channel Fit Awareness Convey Proposition Drive Trials Product - Good sportswear, very affordable Myntra banners Look fit like Hrithik Discounts Channel
- 17. Product-Channel Fit Awareness Convey Proposition Drive Trials Product - Premium workout-wear, for Indian fits Cure.fit app/centers Workout Imagery Bundled w/ membership Channel
- 18. Channel - Model Fit
- 19. Model-Market Fit $1 $10 $100 $1000 $10,000 $100,000 $1,000,000 1k 10k 100k 1M 10M 100M #-customers Self-serve Full-Service Price Can there be so many customers ? Will they pay so much ?
- 20. Evaluation Path Market Understanding - Theses - Value unlock Founder that matches market’s needs Reasonable product idea Product idea is suited for its distribution Channels Possible to make CM+ Can reach $100M+ scale