Revolutionizing Product Development: A Conversation with Ash Maurya

It’s been a while since I met Ash Maurya, the founder of the LEANSTACK methodology and the author of Running Lean and Scaling Lean. Ash is a visionary in the startup world, known for his collaborations with thought leaders like Steve Blank. I still remember our last workshop together—there's a photo from that day which I’ve included in this article to illustrate our discussion.

In our conversation, Ash shared his latest insights, challenging the conventional wisdom around product development. Long gone are the days when launching a half-baked alpha or beta product could be considered enough. In today’s fast-paced and competitive market, starting with a demo might be the smarter approach for your startup to be AHEAD THE CURVE.

Challenging the MVP: Ash Maurya’s New Approach

Ash recently proposed a new methodology that flips the traditional concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) on its head. He argues that in a market saturated with options, launching a half-baked MVP often leads to customers simply ghosting your product rather than providing the valuable feedback you need.

Instead, he advocates for a 'demo-sell-build' approach, which involves:

1. Start with Customer Discovery Engage in conversations to deeply understand the problems your potential customers face.
2. Design a Solution Use these insights to craft a solution that directly addresses the identified issues.
3. Create a Demo Build a demo to test your value proposition, solution fit, and pricing with real customers.
4. Build the MVP Only after validating your offer through this process should you proceed to build the MVP.

This approach allows founders to test critical business assumptions before making significant investments in product development. It's a more efficient path to creating what Ash calls a 'mafia offer'—a solution so precise in addressing customer problems that it becomes irresistible.

Beyond MVP: A New Approach to Product Development

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has been a fundamental concept in startup methodology, encouraging entrepreneurs to quickly build and launch the first version of their product and then iterate based on customer feedback. However, in today's rapidly evolving market, this approach is becoming less effective.

This guide introduces a new paradigm that challenges the traditional MVP approach, offering a more effective strategy for product development and market validation.

The Problem with MVPs

The MVP approach originated in an era when barriers to entry were higher, and customers had fewer choices. Today, however, the landscape has drastically shifted:

• Lowered Barriers to Entry Advancements in technology and readily available tools have significantly reduced the cost of building new products.
• Increased Customer Choices Customers now have a multitude of options for any given problem or need.

In this crowded market, launching an incomplete or flawed product often results in customers moving on to the next option, rather than providing valuable feedback for iteration. The premise of "launch quickly and iterate" no longer holds true when customers have the luxury of choice and little patience for products that don't immediately deliver value.

A New Paradigm: Demo-Sell-Build

To address these challenges, we propose a new approach: Demo-Sell-Build. This method flips the traditional MVP process on its head:

• Demo: Create a demonstration of your product concept.
• Sell: Attempt to sell this concept to potential customers.
• Build: Only after validating customer interest and willingness to pay, build the actual product.

This approach offers several benefits over the traditional MVP:

• Risk Mitigation By selling before building, you validate market demand with minimal resource investment.
• Customer Insights The selling process provides deep customer insights that inform product development.
• Resource Efficiency You only invest in building what you know customers want and will pay for.

Step 1: Customer Discovery

The foundation of the Demo-Sell-Build approach is thorough customer discovery, which involves:

• Conducting problem-focused interviews.
• Uncovering root causes of customer issues.
• Gaining unique insights into customer problems.

With the right process, 20-30 in-depth conversations can yield significant insights. Key to effective customer discovery is asking the right questions and truly listening to the answers, focusing on current processes, pain points, attempted solutions, and the impact of the problem.

Step 2: Solution Design

Once you’ve gained deep insights into your customers' problems, you’re in a better position to design an effective solution. However, resist the urge to start building immediately. Instead, focus on:

• Leveraging customer insights to inform your solution design.
• Ensuring your solution directly addresses the root causes identified.
• Keeping it conceptual at this stage rather than detailed implementation.
• Exploring various approaches before settling on one.

Step 3: Creating a Demo

With a solution concept in hand, the next step is to create a demo—a representation of how your solution would work. An effective demo should be:

• Visually appealing, using mockups or prototypes.
• Focused on key features that highlight your solution's core value proposition.
• Interactive if possible, allowing potential customers to "experience" the solution.
• Flexible, to adjust based on customer feedback.

The demo is a powerful tool for testing key business model assumptions, such as value proposition, problem-solution fit, and willingness to pay.

Step 4: Crafting a "Mafia Offer"

A "mafia offer" is one that your customers can’t refuse—not because they’re forced, but because it solves their problems so precisely. Components of a "mafia offer" include:

• A clear value proposition that articulates how you solve the customer’s problem.
• A unique approach that highlights what makes your solution different and better than alternatives.
• Risk reversal, addressing potential objections and reducing the perceived risk of trying your solution.
• Compelling pricing that reflects the value you provide while being attractive to customers.

Building the MVP

Only after validating your offer should you proceed to build your MVP. This approach offers several advantages:

• Confidence in product-market fit.
• Clearer development priorities guided by customer insights.
• Potential for pre-launch revenue through pre-orders or commitments.
• Engaged early adopters who can become your first users and advocates.

When building, stay focused on delivering the core value proposition you’ve validated. Resist the temptation to add features that haven’t been validated by customer interest.

Conclusion

The Demo-Sell-Build approach offers a more efficient and effective path to product development in today’s competitive market. By deeply understanding customer problems, creating targeted solutions, and validating market demand before building, you significantly increase your chances of success. The key to success with this approach is staying curious, challenging your assumptions, and remaining focused on creating value for your customers.

What are your thoughts on this approach? Have you had success with traditional MVPs, or do you see merit in starting with demos? Share your experiences in the comments below!