One of the benefits of the ‘lean startup’ approach is to seek customers very early on the basis of a ‘Minimum Viable Product’.
Having first customers for a startup provides feedback on two levels:
- customers are ready to buy the product: the product is bankable!
- get real-life feedback from the usage of the product by the customer
The second type of feedback is essential as well and it is important to make the effort to collect it. It is also why the quality of the customers is essential: great customers will provide great feedback which will greatly, in turn, improve the product!
“A great customer wants you to be world class, and is willing to help you get there. Learn to spot them early, and then treat them like gold. Enough said.” – Gapingvoid
From the experience of developing a product in our new startup, I cannot agree more with this statement.
