Week 2 - Ascend Your Start-up

 In chapter 2 of Ascend Your Start-up we learned about the authors expedition up Mount Everest to bury her grandmothers ashes.  She likens the climb to bury the ashes to the climb of launching a company and getting a product ready for market.  This begins with creating the minimal viable product (MVP).  The book defines minimal viable product as "a product with only a basic set of features just enough to capture the attention of early adopters and make your solution unique."  Yu goes on to speak about how not all features need to be available as part of the MVP since this is just a starting point to build loyalty and show that the product has a place in the market.  This leads us to decision #6, which is what is your minimal viable product?  Decisions #6-7 in this chapter build on the first 5 decisions presented in chapter 1.  To be a MVP the book says the product must be marketable and you should be able to explain what problem is being solved through the product.  Decision #7 is how will you pilot your product?  This is all about gathering feedback and data.  The initial user experience shouldn't be complicated and should address questions such as business outcome, measurements, and whether or not the solution can be built and if you have the team in place to build.  Through decision #7, the author discusses how businesses must be willing to pivot from their initial design and thoughts because many different factors will impact the product.  If growth is to happen there must be some flexibility.

Reference:

Yu, Helen. (2021). Ascend your start-up. Made for Success Publishing.