Momentum

Customer Development the Zipments Way

By Laura Percherski

Over the course of Momentum, there are weekly dinners for the teams, mentors and students to learn from local entrepreneurs and experts in fields relevant to starting a web based business.

I’m Laura Pecherski, by the way. I will be guest blogging for Momentum at events like this and other programs throughout the summer. I love creating things, connecting with people and being apart of a community like Momentum that fosters the growth of ideas and startups in Michigan.

This week’s dinner was held at GRID 70 on Ionia Ave downtown and we heard from local serial entrepreneur, Garrick Pohl. I work with Garrick at Zipments so it was particularly interesting for me to hear his perspective on customer development and how it’s changed over the years.

Garrick is CEO & Co-Founder of Zipments, an online marketplace for local delivery services. Prior to this role, Garrick spent five years as CEO of Crayon Interface, a company he co-founded in 2005 that developed mobile applications. In 2010, this company was sold to several parties including Ingersoll Rand and others (including one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S.).

Garrick started with this: “How many of you know how to lose weight? I discovered this crazy thing, that if you want to lose weight, you actually have to eat good things in moderation and exercise daily! I know, crazy right?”

We all know how to lose weight – and the secrets to developing a company aren’t much different. Here are a few common sense takeaways from Garrick’s experience:

“Find a lot of people who are willing to pay you for some thing…and then do that thing!” Garrick Pohl, 2011

While it seems obvious and again, common sense, Garrick reminded entrepreneurs to break this sentence down and put it into action. First, find a lot of people. This means pick up the phone. Locate your customers. Who are they? It’s not your mom or your friends – and it’s certainly not you.

Secondly, are they willing to pay you for that thing? Getting someone to use a free trial doesn’t make them your customer.

Don’t skip steps in the lean startup model. You must prove a need before you refine your idea.

Garrick admits that he’s an idea guy – he loves ideas. However, starting with an idea, (rather than a validated customer need) is problematic. He cautioned that approaching an idea from a ‘wouldn’t it be cool if ___’ approach, can lead to wasted time and money. Without customer validation of an idea, you could end up being your only customer.

Determine a need, and then craft your idea.

Remember this phrase – ‘If I do (this) will you do (that)’

Asking this question, Garrick says, will help you validate your market before building an extravagant piece of software that no one wants.

As an example, if you were going to write a book, go ask a large amount of potential customers (or who you think they are) if I write a book about (x), will you pay $50 for it. This will help determine if your customers will actually buy your product before you even start creating it.

It’s never too late to go back to discovering your customers.

Garrick candidly discussed his experience with Crayon and now Zipments in the process of customer discovery/development. He explained that when your plans for customer acquisition aren’t working, it’s time to go back and re-define your customer. Learn more about them and their pain points again, if your current plan isn’t working.

Even though I talk with Garrick daily about Zipments and our direction, it was valuable to look at it through the lens of customer development, rather than from a sales and marketing perspective. Understanding your customers is definitely step one before you attempt to guess how to market and sell to them.

Thanks, Garrick for sharing your experiences to help other local entrepreneurs!

At next week’s speaker dinner we will hear from Zoe Carmichael about public speaking – an area that I bet most entrepreneurs wish they didn’t have to do. However, it’s a skill that is necessary to convey your business to potential customers, investors and community advocates. I’m looking forward to learning from Zoe who teaches this topic at Aquinas College.

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks. In between the crazy work schedule of the Momentum teams, we will be doing some interviews so you can get to know the people behind the startups.

Now, get to work! :)

Garrick Pohl of Zipments