Re: A Hold-Up for streetcode

[Mike Koss]

Hi Thibaut,

Thanks for contacting us again.  I actually judged a Startup Weekend event and worked with Notedly on their product and strategy.  Did you end up being able to help them with some student input (I didn't see students in the video - just the founders)?

Our team is currently meeting every Wed evening at 5:30pm at StartPad (811 First Ave, Suite 480).  We will definitely discuss this tomorrow - I think it would be great to get 10-15 students actively engaged with us to help us solve a specific business challenge.

Some questions:

1. If I understand the video you're making would be a marketing tool in order to invite students to a Hold-Up session with us.
2. How should we prepare to have a successful "Hold-Up" (what sort of challenges are best dealt with by the student team)?

Thanks for helping us!

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

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Thibaut Labarre <tlab...@uw.edu> wrote:

Hi!

I am the member of MakeSense who was there at the Startup Weekend. Congratulations on your 2nd place there and your place at the Hub!

I told you about the Hold-Ups we do that are brainstorming sessions that help solve the challenges of social entrepreneurs. 

We then share it with the international MakeSense Network.

Here is a video from the previous Hold-Up done by the Seattle MakeSense Hotspot for Notedly.org, a social venture in education: http://vimeo.com/33331726.

I would be glad to meet you and the team again to film a short video about streetcode and see what the goal of a Hold Up could be.

I'm mostly available at noon from Monday to Thrusday or on Friday evenings (after 6) and could meet you at the Hub.

All the best!

Thibaut Labarre

Gangster at MakeSense

[Mike Koss]

Attached is an email I just shared with our team.  Perhaps this would form a good foundation for the Hold-Up session - if you can help us figure out how to most efficiently answer these questions.

-----

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).

-----

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

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 3:41 PM, Thibaut Labarre <tlab...@uw.edu> wrote:

Yes! It was our first event in Seattle and we were 8 participating in that Hold-Up. Here are the pictures (and the mindmap of all the ideas): https://plus.google.com/photos/100142659104112590044/albums/5701342201900200657

1. That is the idea. It is also a video that is shared with the MakeSense network to raise awareness about the project.

2. Based on my experience, what works best is to ask questions such as "How do we recruit the first streetcode sponsors?" or "How to make sure that Homeless Assistance Organizations accept and use the service?". We would then specify 3 goals and 3 constraints to frame it. The trick is to make it easy to apply so that some of the students will want to try out their ideas and help you make it happen. I'd be glad to spend some time preparing the challenge with you.

At the end of such events the outcome is usually that you get a bunch of ideas, maybe one or two applicable solutions and one or two students who are interested in helping you more on the project itself.

Thibaut Labarre

CLMS Student

University of Washington

[Mike Koss]

Confirming we'll see you at StartPad Thursday afternoon to prepare for the hold up and your shoot of promo video.

Thanks!

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

On Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Thibaut Labarre <tlab...@uw.edu> wrote:

Hi Mike!

This sounds great. With the UW social entrepreneurship club and the MakeSense Seattle Hotspot, we have decided to plan the Hold-Up session for Monday 13th of February at 6pm.

If that works for you and your team, we would be glad to have you participate.

Do you think it would also be possible to meet beforehand so that I can interview you and prepare the short video introduction for this event?

I'll be at the protoHub event tonight, maybe we can meet there.

Best,

Thibaut Labarre

MakeSense Gangster

[Mike Koss]

Thanks for hosting us.  I'll give you a call when I get to Paccar.

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

On Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 3:18 PM, Thibaut Labarre <tlab...@uw.edu> wrote:

Hi,

The video is online here and we already have 9 registered students to help you tomorrow!

This is my phone number for tomorrow: (206) 552-0797

We will meet in the Paccar Hall lobby and I'll guide you to the room in the library where it will take place.

[Thibaut Labarre]

Hi,

The video is online here and we already have 9 registered students to help you tomorrow!

This is my phone number for tomorrow: (206) 552-0797

We will meet in the Paccar Hall lobby and I'll guide you to the room in the library where it will take place.

Thibaut Labarre

CLMS Student

University of Washington

[Thibaut Labarre]

Hi Mike!

This sounds great. With the UW social entrepreneurship club and the MakeSense Seattle Hotspot, we have decided to plan the Hold-Up session for Monday 13th of February at 6pm.

If that works for you and your team, we would be glad to have you participate.

Do you think it would also be possible to meet beforehand so that I can interview you and prepare the short video introduction for this event?

I'll be at the protoHub event tonight, maybe we can meet there.

Best,

Thibaut Labarre

MakeSense Gangster

On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 11:29 AM, Mike Koss <mck...@startpad.org> wrote: