Tonight

[Dani Fillmore]

Good Morning Team,

I can't recall if we decided to start our wednesday night meetings tonight. If so, I will not be able to attend this one :( Sean and I had made some prior arrangements, but I am completely with you all for the long haul. The following Wednesdays are fully detected to this team and StreetCode :oD

Hope you all are having a great week! If you need me to do any work for you for the following Wednesday feel free to toss it my way. I am super excite to share some StreetCode related stuff with you all next week and continue to build this beautiful concept with such awesome people.

Cheers!
Dani

Sent from my iPhone

[Mike Koss]

Yes, we are meeting tonight at 5:30 - minus Dani and Andres :-(.

We should use tonight to discuss how we want to organize ourselves, assign tasks, and measure results.

I've been reading the book The Lean Startup, and I am a big fan of those methods.  I would propose we use that as a framework to define the "validated learning" that we want to do as our top priority.

We want to get into a "Build" - "Measure" - "Learn" loop.  We have some leap-of-faith assumptions right now that we need to validate:

1. Homeless people will ask for donations via QR Code.
2. Homeless people will share some personal information with strangers in order to promote donations.
3. Donors will give to homeless people (or their sponsoring organizations) via a QR-Code phone donation.
4. Partner organizations will provision homeless people with StreetCodes accounts, profiles and kits.
5. Partner organizations will fulfill the donated items to the homeless that donors have purchased.

These are all questions beyond our control (no amount of efficient execution or progress on are part can change the answers). But if any of them are not true - our original idea will not succeed.  The thing that Eric Ries's book has impressed on me, is that you can't find out the answers to these questions, generally, by just asking people.  You have to created a controlled "experiment", where you present the person the opportunity to either accept or reject the offer you give them.  You can then measure how true each of the assumptions are (if 50% of donors are willing to donate via QR-Code, we could still have a successful launch).

The essence of the Lean Startup is the Minimum Viable Product - it is our job to build the smallest possible experiment (product/service), that can answer each of these questions.  So, for example, we need not ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT a payment system to know if people click on a "donate" button, and complete the form "as if" they were about to donate money.

I would propose the way we set our goals and priorities, is to identify the most critical untested assumptions we rely on, and then make it our goal to find out if they are "true".  We will then incrementally, and smartly work our way toward a successful product that will grow to fill a need in available markets around the country (and world).

See you tonight!

P.S. Call the office phone if the front door is locked and I'll come down to let you in - it should be open until 6pm.

Mike Koss
StartPad.org
Seattle Software Development Offices
(206) 388-3466
Twitter: @mckoss @startpad

[schmidt]

And minus Ryan. :'(

I just got a call from my agent and I got cast in a bit part on a
Zombie/Sasquatch movie called Black Hills that starts shoots this
afternoon at 2pm. I left work early and am getting ready to drive out
to Sumner. I don't expect I'll be done in time for the meeting.

Mike, this approach sounds wonderful. These questions have popped up
time and time again in talking to people about StreetCode. I'm
excited to compile actual data to guide our efforts.

Best of luck tonight. I'll see you all next week.

[Dani Fillmore]

I can make it :oD Sean and I rearranged some stuff. Will be there, just might be late and not equity with my computer. 

Sent from my iPhone

[Kristine Johnson]

I'll be there Mike, and your methodology sounds fantastic. It is something I align with. I'll bring my laptop just in case, but sounds like we are just goal setting and framework discussing.
Kristine

[Dani Fillmore]

Hey all, now I can't attend :( Haven't left work yet and afraid with traffic I would make it to you all till close to 7. Hope it goes well and look forward to hearing about how everything went tonight. 

Sent from my iPhone

[Kristine Johnson]

Hi Team,
I'm sorry but I got sick on the way there and turned around and came home. I have food allergies and must have had a bad reaction to something I ate for lunch, really bummed to have missed the meeting. I'm usually really careful what I eat, and vow to be there next Wednesday in full strength!
Kristine