HOW WE LEARNT TO LAUNCH WITH THE LEARNING LAUNCH TOOL  – A REFLECTION

Introduction and Background

It was the spring of 2016. The flowers were in bloom and the fourth digital epoch was at its peak.  Startups were the flavour of the season and every Big Idea seemed to carry with it, the promise of  raking in billions. Catchphrases were flying around with every college dropout to big ticket investor  scampering to get a hold of one of them.

Being a digital strategy house, we weren’t far behind on the spring madness nor were we starved of  the key ingredient that defined the season – a Big Idea that could be transformative or even  disruptive. The Rio Olympics 2016 was just a year away and sports was taking the shape of an  organized business more than ever. Social networking was into its second decade, having evolved  into a model that monetized even a regular Jane with something interesting to share. It was in this  context that we developed a unique model that would marry sports with social – a comprehensive  sports social network called GetSportiv.

Challenge and Selection

We were traditionally servicing businesses across the globe in B2B strategy, and so in all fairness the  B2C game was relatively new to us. It called for us to unbutton our suits and get into slacks; to go  beyond conceptualizing and strategizing, and instead start with listening and understanding. It called  for adapting a new way of thinking, something that we recognize today as Design Thinking.

The idea had to be tested. We had reams of research material that we collected from secondary  sources, ranging from psychological behaviours that guided social media usage to the current trends  in social media usage for sports. But these pieces of research weren’t going to give us the answer to  a very fundamental question. Would this model turn out to be profitable business venture or would  it be just another one of those Big Ideas that would revolve around its own axis before falling under  its own weight? What was the hypothesis that we needed to test? What did we need to reject  before our confirmation biases got the better of us, lest we turn out to be the aspiring poets and  rock stars who would just feed on their creative juices and passion for the rest of their lives (truth be  told, a part of all of us were secretly envious of that).

The hypothesis was that lovers of sports would be more comfortable in conglomerating around a  network that’s niche targeted at sports. Which meant that every partaker of this ecosystem, ranging  from an enthusiast to a player to a professional would display some level of homogeneity in their  choice of an online hangout. Which would also mean that they would either be less motivated to  share on their current social networks like facebook or they spend more time on social by devoting  an additional amount of time to GetSportiv.

The next set of days were spent busily validating our self-fulfilling prophesies. This model was after  all a stroke of genius, the single greatest innovation that the sporting world was to encounter was  Air Jordans and Lycra. A closed door brainstorming session with multi-functional teams, comprising  the founders and their circle of friends would just lend the final seal of approval. What started off as  a meeting to discuss the features and functionalities for GetSportiv, turned out to be a cacophony of  dissent, which ultimately brought a lot of practical problems that would potentially turn this project  into a non starter. The confirmation biases were thrown out of the window as sceptics and devil’s  advocates outnumbered the believers. This was new, something we hadn’t really trained ourselves

to accept, with the huge amounts of competitive intelligence and market research we had done.  How could it all go wrong in a space of a few days?

Application

We had to get back to the drawing board. And incorporate every aspect of the Learning Launch to  practice. By this time, we already had a few of the practices of the Learning Launch without quite  knowing the fancy term. Testing the hypothesis called for a true focus group and a lot of social  listening, beyond looking at the obvious results that tools threw up. It called for employing human  insight in consonance with analytical methods to predict a possible outcome and then decide on the  risk. The idea was precious and our passion was not to be cast away with a few analytical findings. So  we decided that the findings, would be used like a street lamp for a drunk, more for support than for  illumination. That was a breather because structures would no longer be shackles anymore (in the  wise words of Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises).

The focus group comprised 20 people who would use a bit of the mind map approach (without  incorporating the elements of the yard sale and the board). These individuals were handpicked from  a selection of sports fans, university level players, coaches and even ground staff. They were  provided certain data which emerged from a mix of our studies and assumptions, which they needed  to corroborate or flatly reject. Further on, they needed add their thoughts about certain specific  possibilities that we listed out, which would range from the usability of features, the relevance to  the target group and the propensity for payment. It was a long yet fruitful session which yielded a lot  of feedback that validated our model with plenty of suggestions for improvement from its existing  form and shape.

Insights and Approach

It took us 6 more months to get out of the drawing board and swing into developmental action, and  another 6 months to get the first MVP out, by which time we have learnt, unlearnt, grown and  developed. We are currently in the early stages of customer acquisition and in negotiations for a first  round of seed investment, but the Learning Launch approach has streamlined our growth  philosophy, tempered our expectations in line with the market and offered an overall improved  strategic direction.

There are several learnings we have taken from this as well. While it can be debated at what stage,  the hypothesis of an idea needs to be tested, it goes without saying that the Learning Launch tool  gives a clear roadmap for startups and early stagers to define their path forward. In retrospect, we  believe that we could have saved a good 6 months, if we had adopted the Learning Launch model in  the early stages of our entity. We have changed our direction and pivoted too at a vital stage  subsequently and I strongly believe that in this stage of consolidation in the market, it is a critical  tool for every startup that’s gearing up for a successful run.


HOW WE LEARNT TO LAUNCH WITH THE LEARNING LAUNCH TOOL – A REFLECTION Introduction and Background It was the spring of 2016 . The flowers were in bloom and the fourth digital epoch was at its peak . Startups were the flavour of the season and every Big Idea seemed to carry with it , the promise of raking in billions . Catchphrases were flying around with every college dropout to big ticket investor scampering to get a hold of one of them . Being a digital strategy house , we were n’t far behind on the spring madness nor were we starved of the key ingredient that defined the season – a Big Idea that could be transformative or even disruptive . The Rio Olympics 2016 was just a year away and sports was taking the shape of an organized business more than ever . Social networking was into its second decade , having evolved into a model that monetized even a regular Jane with something interesting to share . It was in this context that we developed a unique model that would marry sports with social – a comprehensive sports social network called GetSportiv . Challenge and Selection We were traditionally servicing businesses across the globe in B2B strategy , and so in all fairness the B2C game was relatively new to us . It called for us to unbutton our suits and get into slacks ; to go beyond conceptualizing and strategizing , and instead start with listening and understanding . It called for adapting a new way of thinking , something that we recognize today as Design Thinking . The idea had to be tested . We had reams of research material that we collected from secondary sources , ranging from psychological behaviours that guided social media usage to the current trends in social media usage for sports . But these pieces of research were n’t going to give us the answer to a very fundamental question . Would this model turn out to be profitable business venture or would it be just another one of those Big Ideas that would revolve around its own axis before falling under its own weight ? What was the hypothesis that we needed to test ? What did we need to reject before our confirmation biases got the better of us , lest we turn out to be the aspiring poets and rock stars who would just feed on their creative juices and passion for the rest of their lives ( truth be told , a part of all of us were secretly envious of that ) . The hypothesis was that lovers of sports would be more comfortable in conglomerating around a network that ’s niche targeted at sports . Which meant that every partaker of this ecosystem , ranging from an enthusiast to a player to a professional would display some level of homogeneity in their choice of an online hangout . Which would also mean that they would either be less motivated to share on their current social networks like facebook or they spend more time on social by devoting an additional amount of time to GetSportiv . The next set of days were spent busily validating our self - fulfilling prophesies . This model was after all a stroke of genius , the single greatest innovation that the sporting world was to encounter was Air Jordans and Lycra . A closed door brainstorming session with multi - functional teams , comprising the founders and their circle of friends would just lend the final seal of approval . What started off as a meeting to discuss the features and functionalities for GetSportiv , turned out to be a cacophony of dissent , which ultimately brought a lot of practical problems that would potentially turn this project into a non starter . The confirmation biases were thrown out of the window as sceptics and devil ’s advocates outnumbered the believers . This was new , something we had n’t really trained ourselves to accept , with the huge amounts of competitive intelligence and market research we had done . How could it all go wrong in a space of a few days ? Application We had to get back to the drawing board . And incorporate every aspect of the Learning Launch to practice . By this time , we already had a few of the practices of the Learning Launch without quite knowing the fancy term . Testing the hypothesis called for a true focus group and a lot of social listening , beyond looking at the obvious results that tools threw up . It called for employing human insight in consonance with analytical methods to predict a possible outcome and then decide on the risk . The idea was precious and our passion was not to be cast away with a few analytical findings . So we decided that the findings , would be used like a street lamp for a drunk , more for support than for illumination . That was a breather because structures would no longer be shackles anymore ( in the wise words of Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises ) . The focus group comprised 20 people who would use a bit of the mind map approach ( without incorporating the elements of the yard sale and the board ) . These individuals were handpicked from a selection of sports fans , university level players , coaches and even ground staff . They were provided certain data which emerged from a mix of our studies and assumptions , which they needed to corroborate or flatly reject . Further on , they needed add their thoughts about certain specific possibilities that we listed out , which would range from the usability of features , the relevance to the target group and the propensity for payment . It was a long yet fruitful session which yielded a lot of feedback that validated our model with plenty of suggestions for improvement from its existing form and shape . Insights and Approach It took us 6 more months to get out of the drawing board and swing into developmental action , and another 6 months to get the first MVP out , by which time we have learnt , unlearnt , grown and developed . We are currently in the early stages of customer acquisition and in negotiations for a first round of seed investment , but the Learning Launch approach has streamlined our growth philosophy , tempered our expectations in line with the market and offered an overall improved strategic direction . There are several learnings we have taken from this as well . While it can be debated at what stage , the hypothesis of an idea needs to be tested , it goes without saying that the Learning Launch tool gives a clear roadmap for startups and early stagers to define their path forward . In retrospect , we believe that we could have saved a good 6 months , if we had adopted the Learning Launch model in the early stages of our entity . We have changed our direction and pivoted too at a vital stage subsequently and I strongly believe that in this stage of consolidation in the market , it is a critical tool for every startup that ’s gearing up for a successful run .