Novy

Every path to starting a business comes with its own set of tradeoffs. Bootstrapping: You retain full control, but growth is slower and your personal financial risk is higher. Venture Capital: You get fast capital and scaling support, but you give up equity and face pressure for rapid growth with little day-to-day involvement from investors. Venture Studio: You receive capital, expert guidance, and operations support, but you share ownership and decision-making with the studio. There is a lot of success to be had on each path. If you haven't heard of the venture studio model yet, here are a few reasons it may be a good match for you.

🎉✨ Hot Off the Press: A New Read from Mamazen! ✨🎉 Our latest White Paper is finally here! "Designing Ventures: The Art and Science of Ideation and Validation in Venture Studio" is ready to explore. This project turned out to be bigger than planned, thanks to the incredible enthusiasm of studios worldwide who wanted to participate. 💥 The result? A powerhouse of insights you won’t want to miss! 💥 👇 Find the link in the first comment below! 👇 Platform Venture Studio PLS Science Builders Mstudio Fisher Venture Builder Novy NLC Health Ventures 24 and Up Struck Studio Stackpoint Ventures Hexa Sarah Adams Anderson Matthew Burris Max Pog

I was recently listening to Lenny’s podcast with Michael Margolis, and his Bullseye Customer Sprint methodology resonated with me. There are clear parallels between Michael’s approach and how we validate early-stage ideas in our six-stage process at Novy. Here’s how we align: 1. Narrowing to the Right Customer 🎯 Michael’s Insight: Michael talks about narrowing down to a "bullseye customer"—a highly specific subset of your target market who is most likely to adopt your product early on. This is essential for fast-tracking product-market fit (PMF). 🚀 Novy’s Approach: We focus on broad validation in the ideation phase to cast a wide net and identify six key dimensions of the business. We then use targeted validation to hone in on which of those dimensions are most risky—particularly the customer segment. It’s all about finding that specific customer who will be the early adopter and ensuring our product is something they truly need. Michael’s timeline is something to strive for. How can we continue to shorten and sharpen our own process? 2. Customer Interviews as a Foundational Tool 🎯 Michael’s Insight: Michael emphasizes the power of interviews with customers to validate assumptions, especially through his Bullseye Customer Sprint. The interviews focus on understanding customer pain points and testing prototypes. 🚀 Novy’s Approach: Similar to Michael, we value PMF interviews immensely. It’s a collaborative process—just like Michael’s watch parties—where the whole team learns from the customer’s perspective. 3. Rapid Testing and Iteration 🎯 Michael’s Insight: Michael’s sprint is designed to be fast—in just one day, you can conduct five interviews and learn a ton. This rapid testing minimizes wasted time and helps you pivot quickly. 🚀 Novy’s Approach: At Novy, speed is equally important (but wow, maybe we can get even more aggressive on timeline). We are actively building networks of potential customers, users, and subject matter experts to decrease our time to identifying the target buyer. 4. Continuous Feedback Loops 🎯 Michael’s Insight: One of the most powerful aspects of Michael’s process is the team alignment that comes from watching interviews together and discussing key takeaways as a team. 🚀 Novy’s Approach: We make sure to involve our team in every stage of validation. This feedback loop is crucial for not just validating product fit, but also making strategic decisions about the business model. 5. Refining and Pivoting Early 🎯 Michael’s Insight: In his approach, Michael aims to avoid building something no one wants. He teaches that it’s okay to fail fast, as long as you learn something valuable. 🚀 Novy’s Approach: This is a core philosophy at Novy, too. In ideation and validation stages of our process, we embrace the fail-fast mentality.