Stage 2: Experiment
Start your idea. Test it out. If it is a product, create a prototype. If it is a service, try testing out delivery. Experiment with one or all aspects of creating, marketing, sales and delivery of your product or service.
Stanford professor and entrepreneur Steve Blank has defined a startup as “a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.” Constantly experiment to discover your sustainable model.
This stage does not have pre-written rules that you can follow to the tee. There many be some general guidelines you can follow from entrepreneurs and companies who successfully created, launched, marketed and sold similar products or services. It’s up to you to figure out what works best for you and your venture.
Some things will work, some things will not. Keep going. Everything you do teaches you something and gives you more information to help you make better decisions for your next steps and direction.
In this stage, you can put up a website for your product or service offering. If you have an established business and are adding a new product or service, you can still treat your concept as a ‘viable business entity’ in its own right. This clear thinking can help you ensure that what you build out is actually sustainable, viable and profitable for you.
Begin marketing in a bigger way, sharing with online communities, via social media, email newsletters, in apps and other channels. Start sharing your concept, prototype, test product or test service. Pay attention to how people respond. Take notes.
After you have a viable product or service and have done enough testing and put in relevant feedback, it's time to start selling your product or service. Test out different pricing strategies and offerings. You will also learn a lot more about your customers and what unique value you are offering. This in turn, helps you fine tune your offering.
Determine what you consider your KPI (key performance indicators) and how you will measure a baseline for comparison and measurement. How do your experiments match up against these metrics?
Also get in touch with people who you think can provide you with specific insight you will need for your business, acting as advisors.
Along with developing a sustainable executable business model, building up intensive growth is key on your priority list and at the forefront of your mind. This can involve:
1) Market Penetration:
Sell more of your product or service to your existing customer.
2) Market Development:
Sell more of your product or service to adjacent market (nearby location).
3) Alternative Channels:
Reach more customers via a new platform or method.
For many businesses, this stage of ‘experimentation’ till finding a successful business model can take several years. In fact, some startups it can take as long as 10-15 years or more to get to the next stage of consistent process.