Real opportunity stems from market need, and market need is driven by the individual buyer. But how much focus does the customer receive, as opposed to the product, in the mindset of budding entrepreneurs? And what kind of time and resources does a new start-up spend getting to know this person that they hope to sell to repeatedly? Silicon Valley's greatest minds on market intimacy and tried-and-true customer assessment strategies share the importance of meeting your client on their own terms, and tools to widen and deepen your reciprocal relationship.
Video: The Customer Development Process
Steve Blank, Serial Entrepreneur
3 min.
33 sec.
Any assumption that an entrepreneur makes about their customers and markets is nothing but a guess, says serial entrepreneur Steve Blank. But how can one prove a working hypothesis? It goes beyond soliciting friends for feedback in the dorm room. Successful ventures locate real customers in the field, solicit their feedback, and deeply analyze the customers whose problems they hope to solve.
Video: Passion and the Customer
Vic Verma, Savi Technology
3 min.
52 sec.
When listing his first two lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs, Verma says you must love what you're doing, and you must listen to the customer. The customer is always right, he adds.
Video: The Best Money: Customer Money
Heidi Roizen, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
1 min.
8 sec.
Roizen talks about the importance of customers. She shares a story where an entrepreneur identified a problem, took time to develop a solution, and got real customers to pay him to make the product.
