Step-by-Step Instructions

Click worksheet to print it out.

This is your last exercise for the "Finding Early Adopters" phase of FOCUS!

This exercise is going to let you know when you're done: when you've found your Early Adopters.

Problem it Solves

• Know when you're done interviewing

This exercise will help you know when you've gotten enough information from your customer discovery interviews to move on to the next phase of building your business.

You're Done When

You will know that you have found your Early Adopters and are done interviewing when the following are true:

1. You have interviewed at least 10 people from the same customer segment.
2. At least 60%* of the people you are talking to are taking action to solve the same problem.
3. Solving that problem will lead to your victory.

Remember, until then, you have many options. In the previous exercises, you've set yourself up with several levels of backup plans. If the above are not yet true for you, go back to your initial Customer Storming and Role-izing to find a new segment to target, review your channels to find a better way to find your customers, and use your back up interview plan to complete more interviews until you find your problem pattern.

At any time, you can always roll back to try a different segment, channel or interview strategy. FOCUS is designed to help you take decisive steps forward, but also to recognize right away when that step is in the wrong direction so you can move forward in the most efficient and effective way possible.

* 60% is based on my personal experience. I usually find once I hit a real Early Adopter niche, upwards of 70% of interviewees will report taking action to solve the same problem. I personally wouldn't recommend moving forward with less than 60%.

When Do You Roll Back?

From the previous exercise, the Next Step graphic is actually a map to let you know when you need to take a step back. At any point in this process, if you see you are answering NO to any of the questions in the Next Step steps, roll back now.

Know when to roll back, so you can move forward, faster.

If you are struggling to complete your interviews, roll back to find a different channel.

If your customers are not trying to solve a problem, go find a new channel or a new segment.

If you are not finding a pattern among your customers' problems, narrow your segment.

If the problems your customers have are not the problem you are interested in solving, find a new segment and start again.

Always remember, every time you need to turn back it's a win. You just caught a major potential misstep that could have led to a huge future failure.

To finalize this section of your journey, pull out the My Early Adopters Are... worksheet. Now you're going to simply fill in the blanks.

Step 1

Write in your Early Adopter description in the first blank.

Step 2

Now write in the # of interviews you've completed with this customer segment.

Of the folks you've interviewed, write in the % that are actively trying to solve the same problem.

Finally, write in a description of that problem they are trying to solve.

In my case, I've interviewed 12 Lean Startup workshop attendees and I've found that 75% of them have the same issue they are trying to resolve: they're overwhelmed by everything they need to test and they're not sure where to start.

Step 3

Now, write in your Victory Declaration. This represents that you have done the work to find out what your customers are looking to solve and that it is a problem that will also help you achieve your victory. There is little use solving a problem that you personally are not invested in solving.

Steps 4 & 5

This last part of the worksheet is just a reminder: FOCUS is a cycle, and the arrows go both ways. Just like within the Early Adopter phase, you will always be ready to roll back if you hit a roadblock or find out an assumption you had was not true - wherever you are in the cycle.

You may complete the Early Adopter book with flying colors, but hit a roadblock in the next book, Offer Testing. Many of you will come back to the Early Adopter exercises at some point. That is exactly what the FOCUS Framework is designed for.

Rolling back is never a loss: it is a clear win.

Every time you hit a road block, you have just discovered super early on in the process something that would have stymied your business later on. Only, you discovered it now - not after putting in years of sweat and tears towards something that ultimately does not sell.

With this in mind, you're going to write down your contingency plan now so you don't lose momentum if you hit a dead-end further in the cycle. Go ahead and fill in two additional segments that you are interested in helping. You can either use some of the alternative segments from your SCALE exercise, or you can take a look at your worksheet from Idea Generation to remember which groups you are passionate about helping.

There you go! You now know when you have truly found your Early Adopters. Did you find yours? You are ready to move on to the next book in the FOCUS Framework: Offer Testing!