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Episode Details: How to Test Business Ideas with David Bland:
Product leadership is all about reducing the risk of building the wrong product. That’s why testing business ideas is a critical skill that every product team should have.
In this episode, David and I dive into the importance of validating your product and business ideas and the best practices on how to do this. We also discuss the role of the Product Leader in building a culture for testing business ideas as the norm, not the exception.
“[As a Product Leader], you do have a lot of influence over the business. So don’t be afraid to experiment in ways that include the business model.” — David Bland
About David Bland:
David J. Bland is a founder, author, speaker, and advisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. David helps companies find product-market fit and growth using lean startup, design thinking, and business model innovation. In 2015, David created Precoil to help companies validate new products and services.
He’s worked with companies such as GE, Adobe, Toyota, HP, Behr, and others all around the world. Prior to Precoil, David was a Principal at both Neo and BigVisible. He continues to give back to the startup community by teaching at several startup accelerators in Silicon Valley.
Topics We Discuss in this Episode:
- David Bland’s career journey with career-scaling and advising corporations
- About his 2019 book in collaboration with Alexander Osterwalder, Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation
- The “Desirability, Feasibility, Viability” framework, why it is important, examples, and best practices for experimentation
- How to approach new business ideas, identify the barriers, facilitate conversations, and prioritize next steps
- How to get support from your leadership team
- The importance of having a repeatable process
- How to start the conversation around rapid experimentation and innovation at your company
Product Leader Tip of the Week:
The business model and the product need each other. You can’t have an amazing product and a terrible business model or have an amazing business model with a terrible product. Include the business early on in the conversation and test your way through together.
To Learn More About David Bland:
Related Resources:
- Testing Business Ideas: A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation, by David J. Bland and Alexander Osterwalder
- Podcast episode: How to build better products with continuous discovery with Teresa Torres
- Online course – The IoT Product Manager Certificate Program
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