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Welcome to the 2021 Biomimicry Launchpad! Email us if you have any questions.
It is time to start talking about your solution. Specifically, it is time start talking about the value your solution brings to your customer. This relates back to the Job To Be Done we discussed last week. Your solution should help your customer complete their job, which will provide them value! In the startup world, we call this your Value Proposition. This week we will help you identify and strengthen your value proposition, as well as introduce the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
In case you need a reminder about why it is important to create something of value, that will help your customer achieve a job, watch this cringe-worthy video...
Understanding your unique value
Understanding your unique value
By now you have tested assumptions and started to figure out your customers job to be done. The next step is to take what you have learned and identify the unique value that you provide to customers. In startup world we call this your Value Proposition. You can think of a value proposition as a sentence or two that accurately portrays what your customer is trying to accomplish, and how your solution helps them achieve their goals.
To help you better understand your value proposition, watch this short video from Strategyzer (creators of the Business Model Canvas). They use slightly different terminology, but the concepts are the same. You need to first identify and understand your customers jobs, problems they have, and what they want to accomplish before you can develop a useful solution.
Value Proposition
Value Proposition
Your value proposition will evolve over time, but it is important for you to be able to quickly and accurately describe what you do. By having a value proposition you will be able to test your assumptions and hypotheses, allowing you to get your product to market faster.
A value proposition includes 4 things:
1) Customer - Who will be using and/or buying your product?
2) Problem - What specific pains or gains do these customers face?
3) Solution - How does your product address this problem?
4) Differentiators - What makes your product different?
There are a variety of templates that can help you craft a value proposition statement. Think of this as the basis for your startup pitch. People should immediately understand who you serve and what you do when they hear your value prop. Copied below are some of our favorite value proposition templates.
TEMPLATE 1
We help X do Y by doing Z.
Nucleário Example:
We help forest service professionals (X) plant and cultivate new trees (Y) by providing a protective environment for seedlings (Z).
TEMPLATE 2
[Proven industry example] for/of [new domain].
Watchtower Robotics Example:
GPS for water pipes.
TEMPLATE 3
For ____________ (target customer), who ____________ (statement of the need or opportunity), our (product/service name) is ____________ (product category) that (statement of benefit) ____________ .
ECOSTP Example:
For architects designing new apartment buildings in India, who need an affordable way to comply with sewage treatment regulations, ECOSTP is small-scale waste water treatment system that uses no energy or chemicals.
For a real-life example of a value proposition, watch this video created by our friends at VentureWell.
Biomimicry in Practice
Biomimicry in Practice
Ecologists speak about niches and niche partitioning to refer to the way in which competing species use different resources within the same habitat or ecosystem. This differentiation of resource use reduces competition and promotes co-existence between species.
Watch this short video to learn more about ecological niches. How does your value proposition help you identify your business niche?
Reconnect
Reconnect
This week's activity follows on last week's prompt to find and investigate a natural object, and to notice as many details about it as possible.
Check out this interactive online exhibit on Macro Color from California Academy of Sciences. Learn about bird eggs & feathers, snails and various insects and plants, while investigating their color and structure up close. After looking at these items online, consider using a magnifying glass or loupe to investigate your found object from last week even more closely.
Assignments
Assignments
Watch the Week 4 videos and complete the assignments before your 1-on-1 coaching call.
Write your value proposition in one of the forms shown above. There are no right or wrong answers here - just use the language you would use to describe the value you provide to your customers!
Talk to at least 5 customers, with a specific focus on gaining clarity around the value you can bring to them. Continue to test assumptions!
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