Many companies invent new products and develop features that they think and hope their customers will use and pay for…and very often, they’re wrong.

After spending months building and perfecting their ideas, only a few of their customers end up using them…that’s a lot of wasted of time, money, and resources.

Before you spend a fortune executing your ideas, you should validate and refine them AS you get feedback from your potential customers

It’s not enough to have a good idea. Your idea must solve a painkiller problem.

In this training series, you’ll learn the step-by-step blueprint for how to talk to customers so you can identify Painkiller ideas and the entire framework for conducting customer development or problem interviews….including sample interview and pre-interview questions, sample emails, how to set up the interview schedule, and lots of other tips and tricks.

In module 1, you will have learned how to validate your idea in an iterative process of HYPOTHESES, TEST, LEARN, REVISE.

Now you’re ready to come up with a possible solution, by building a click-through prototype without writing any code! And then refine that solution with customers.

Prototyping is an essential step in the product development process.

Why?

Because prototypes are easier, faster, and cheaper to create than writing code and because they are easy to create, you can use them to uncover potential usability issues and to quickly test multiple solutions with your customers before you implement any specific solution.

In this training series, you’ll learn the entire step-by-step process for creating interactive prototypes, an ideation framework to help you and your team generate ideas, resources for where to find inspiration for your prototypes.

You will also learn the framework for conducting solution interviews, so you can refine your prototypes.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

The first step to help us define and build a product efficiently is to create Technical Specifications.

Lot’s of entrepreneurs ask me: can’t I just hand over a prototype to developers? Isn’t that enough?

My answer is absolutely not…that’s a recipe for disaster!

A LOT of implementation details are missing from prototypes, and if details are missing it will increase miscommunications and result in costly mistakes and time and budget overruns.

In this training series, you’ll learn the different types of technical specifications to provide your developers so they understand exactly what needs to be built and how to build it.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

Now it’s time to pick the right technology solutions to build your MVP.

As a non-technical founder you rely on your tech people to make technology decisions and software recommendations.

But how do you know if what’s being recommended is the best choice?

The only way to know that your tech gurus are guiding you in the right direction is by becoming tech literate!

When you know the “tech jargon”, you’ll be able to

Better communicate and understand developers

Ask the right questions and understand why certain technical decisions are being made

Fully participate in the discussions and not just blindly trust your tech people

In this training series, you’ll learn a lot of tech jargon and a high level overview of lots of technology tools that will help cut the development time of your application.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

Now, you’re going to learn how to determine a budget for the project and then how to determine what your MVP or MVF should be, based on your cost and time constraints.

When it comes to pricing and budgeting, very often entrepreneurs are at the mercy of developers.

There is a huge cost associated with not understanding the estimation process, not knowing and understanding developer’s best practices, and not having cost control mechanisms in place.

In this training series, you’ll learn all the things that affect the cost of development and how to use that information to pick and choose what to build based on your cost and time constraints.

You will also learn the process for how to break up a large project into an MVP, and an agile estimation process that you can use to estimate the cost of the MVP.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

In module 5, you will have learned how to determine a budget for the project and what your MVP should be.

Now you’re going to learn how to hire A-player developers that fit into your company culture and if you decided to outsource or off-shore the development, how to ensure that you don’t lose your money.

Having a great idea is not enough.

Whether you’re looking to build an in-house team, an outsourced or off-shore development team, or any combination of that…you must be able to build a great team to execute your idea otherwise you most likely will not be successful.

In this training series, you’ll learn my 7 step hiring process that you can use to hire technical people, even as a non-technical person.

You will also learn the framework for creating a culture for your startup and tips and techniques for working with outsourced and offshore development teams.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

In module 5, you will have learned how to determine a budget for the project and what your MVP should be.

In module 6, you will have learned how to hire A-player developers that fit into your company culture.

Now you’re ready to learn how to design your MVP.

The design & User Experience can make or break your application.

With design, your goal is to capture people’s attention and leave a positive lasting impression…and if you fail to do that, most likely people will simply pass over your products without a second thought.

In this training series, you’ll learn the entire design process, how to hire and work with designers effectively, and the best way to hand off designs to developers.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

In module 5, you will have learned how to determine a budget for the project and what your MVP should be.

In module 6, you will have learned how to hire A-player developers that fit into your company culture.

In module 7, you will have learned how to get a great design for your MVP.

Now you’re going to put it all together and learn how manage the coding of your MVP using Agile Project management.

Good project management is absolutely essential because it provides transparency throughout the project so you can detect earlier when things are headed in the wrong direction.

In this training series, you’ll learn the different agile project management processes that exist and what agile project management process I think is most appropriate for lean startups. You’ll learn all the implementation details and you can just copy the exact process or easily adjust it to your preferences and team structure.

You’ll also learn a lot of other techniques and processes to help you deploy code more efficiently.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

In module 5, you will have learned how to determine a budget for the project and what your MVP should be.

In module 6, you will have learned how to hire A-player developers that fit into your company culture.

In module 7, you will have learned how to get a great design for your MVP.

In module 8, you will have learned how to minimize development mistakes by implementing an Agile Project Management process.

Now you’re going to learn hosting options, security, and scaling techniques so you’re prepared for growth.

The cost of downtime is huge for most businesses. Whether downtime is due to unstable server infrastructure or security breaches, in addition to the actual monetary cost, there is a cost of losing any new users who are met with an error and who probably will never come back.

At the same time, as a lean startup, you don’t want to scale too quickly to ensure that you’re not spending more than you need to.

In this training series, you’ll learn a lot of infrastructure tech jargon, again, in a language that you’ll understand.

You will also learn strategies and tactics for monitoring and anticipating growth, so you don’t waste money scaling too early, but are prepared when growth happens.

In module 1 and 2, you will have learned how to validate your idea, build a landing page and a prototype that resonates with customers.

Once you have validated the interactive prototype, you are ready to define, build, and deploy a minimal viable version of the prototype.

In module 3, you will have learned how to create Technical Specifications to reduce miscommunications with developers.

In module 4, you will have learned the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the MVP.

In module 5, you will have learned how to determine a budget for the project and what your MVP should be.

In module 6, you will have learned how to hire A-player developers that fit into your company culture.

In module 7, you will have learned how to get a great design for your MVP.

In module 8, you will have learned how to minimize development mistakes by implementing an Agile Project Management process.

In module 8, you will have learned hosting options, security, and scaling techniques so you’re prepared for growth.

Now that you’re product is launched and is in your hands of your customers, you will learn how to test the MVP with actual users using your product.

This is where you will implement all kinds of analytics and start collecting user behavior data and you’re continuing to learn what products and features are actually being used, what features and functionalities are resonating with users and what’s not.

All of these data points will allow you to use data to confidently make improvements to your product.

Data-driven decision-making to improving your product is transformational. Instead of guessing what exact features to focus on to to get more users to use your product, you will have data that will inform you on what next functionality that you should be testing and implementing…preventing you from spending a lot of resources building the wrong things.

In this training series, you’ll learn what type of performance metrics exist and are measurable….what they mean, and the tools you can use to collect and track the metrics.

Do you know every single technology that you currently use in your business and why it was picked?

Have had your developers create accounts for you on different technology platforms?

Do you know the login information for those accounts and have it document somewhere?

Is there someone who is a little too indispensable at your company?

Where would you be if they walked off and where would you be if they got run over by the proverbial bus?

In this training series, you’ll learn the exact steps for documenting knowledge and creating systems in your company to ensure that everyone’s knowledge and perspectives are accessible to everyone else which will make your business less dependent on your employees and reduce the chances of being held “hostage”.