Season 1 Finale - Episode 11 : Minimum Viable Podcast
For the season finale of season 1 we opted to run right at explaining the Lean Startup's MVP process and how we used it to iterate and improve the Startup Different Pod. Rather than talking about an abstract business concept, learn how we built, measured, and learned key concepts for podcasting.
Background Story
As a species we tend to imagine that the effort required to do something - a podcast, for example - is low. We're all "armchair quarterbacks" thinking "pssh. I can do that." But the reality is that things are rarely so simple; instead, the people behind the idea found a way to take something complex, iteratively improve how they delivered it to you, and ultimately present it in an easy-to-digest format. Exhibit A: The Startup Different Podcast.
In this episode we cover the MVP and how we applied it to the first season of the show.
Outline
Why a Podcast?
The MVP - before and after a podcast.
Essential Iteration
Busted Myth
Myth: Starting a business, even a podcast, is easy for you to do. Wrong. It’s a million little steps.
Myth: You know what the market wants. Nope. You might have a sense for it, but you need rapid and actionable feedback to move your offering closer to market needs.
Myth: The MVP is a perfect process. No. There are limitations.
Learnings
Why a Podcast?
After the business, we were left feeling a bit weird. We were used to doing a lot of work - weekends, nights - and what felt like suddenly, that ended.
We went looking for a new mission and a way to deliver on it. We wanted people to learn from our mistakes and our triumphs - basically all the lessons we would have loved to have known 10 years ago.
We saw podcasts and thought it was a slam dunk. I love to talk! Chris talks. We like to talk about business. Easy peasy, right?
This leads to an important data point: A meta-analysis in 2014 of studies on the psychology of entrepreneurship, conducted by authors Michael Frese and Karlheinz Gielnik, two noted European researchers, provided evidence that entrepreneurs often exhibit overconfidence and optimism. It's not just that we're susceptible to it; we're likelier than the average to be overly optimistic.
The myth here? You can do it and you can do it easily, mostly because you're you.
We needed a chance to learn. We would "put something out there" (build), measure the results with listeners (measure), and discern possible improvements (learn). We MVP'ed this thing.
MVP - Before and After a Podcast
The MVP - Minimum Viable Product - is from Eric Ries of the Lean Startup. We Love that book.
Build - Measure - Learn. Repeat. Iterative Cycle.
We look at this podcast in different chunks - content and how we delivered, quality of production, and listener engagement / interest /approval.
I took on content. What did we want to focus on? Initially, whatever could we talk to. Chris took on things technically. Audio, headphones, lighting, hardware.
Both of us: Best practices. How can we find inspiration in others?
Listeners: rapid feedback, take small bets on improvement in the next episode.
Essential Iteration
Kids rock at iteration. Iteration makes even less capable businesses better. Check out how Kids beat CEOs at building popsycle stick towers (https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/kindergarteners-beat-ceos-at-this-engineering-challenge-reason-why-is-an-essential-lesson-in-leadership.html)
Kids that came out on top, building towers averaging 26 inches tall, compared to 22 inches for the bosses. Business school students fared worst, reaching only a puny 10 inches. The key reason the children won is that they spent their limited time trying and failing, versus planning,
That is, the kids iterated faster, built more towers that failed - small bets - in order to learn what was needed to make the tower better.
Not just limited to product. You can use this approach for basically any department. Your startup needs to be like this too. Rapid iteration leads to rapid improvement which leads to the most efficient and effective outcome.
We're not done with the podcast, but man, we've learned a lot by iterating and improving. More to come!
Summary
Things appear easier than they are.
To get good at something and present something complex requires a framework - the MVP. We put it in action with this podcast.
Rapid iteration, measuring, and learning works and can be applied to basically any dept of your startup.
Data And References
The Psychology of Entrepreneurship
by Michael Frese and Karlheinz Gielnik, First Published - March 2014
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275070998_The_Psychology_of_Entrepreneurship