Pilot Project (P2P Tours)

For the first 4 weeks of the course we will focused on the “Lean Startup” approach to validating a vision for a project, pivoting as necessary to achieve a product-market fit. We will divide students into groups of 5 or so, and each group will work independently to use the process on the vision for a product called “P2PTours”

This vision is purposely vague and allows many different implementations and instantiations.

P2PTours - Peer to Peer Tours

“Our vision is that using just a cellphone, travelers can now get access to a huge and wonderful collection of local tours, recorded by local experts, for free or for a nominal fee.

Imagine: you walk into St. Peter’s Square and choose which local expert you want to listen to: a historian? A priest? An architect? A chef? Each one will have their unique perspective and will enhance your visit in their own unique way!

Process

1. Class is divided into 5-student teams. You are a study group. You will work together to understand the ideas of Lean Startup and apply them to the Pilot Project.

2. During the first 4 weeks we will rapidly cover the Lean Startup approach and concepts. In that time you will read about half the book.

3. I recommend that each pilot team arrange to meet at least 1-2 hours per week outside of class as a study group to learn from each other and work on group homeworks.

4. The pilot project will end with a class when each of the teams present their deliverables for the pilot project.

Team Deliverables

A report/discussion of 2-4 pages covering the elements of the lean startup process including:

1. Elevator pitch for the product (see: Elevator Pitch)
2. Vision (revised): Describe your product or service, in one tweet and then in a paragraph or two.
3. Hypotheses: What type of hypothesis? (customer, problem, etc.) Any leap of faith? Which ones did you validate and which ones failed? By what evidence?
4. Getting out of the building: What tools and techniques did you use, what were the results? Which ones would you still like to validate? What dead ends did you pursue?
5. MVP: What MVP(s) did you create or would you create. How did you or would you use it to validate the hypotheses?
6. Engine of Growth: What are some of the ways in which this can grow? Which of the types of engine of growth do you think would work
7. Pivots: What pivots do you anticipate and why? How would you handle them?
8. Conclusions: Do you think this product would work? Could it make money? Would you invest in it?
9. Reflect on the experience: How did your team operate? How well did the LS work for you?