GetBadges Lean Startup by Example

Justyna Wojtczak Krzysztof Hasiński

What is…

What is GetBadges?

What is GetBadges?• 2014 - Badges for OpenSource tools

• 2015 - Gamification for programmers

• 2015 - Gamification Platform for IT teams

• 2016 - Game for IT Teams

• 2016 - Motivation platform for teams

• 2017 - ?

What is Lean Startup?

What is Lean Startup?

A temporary organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

What is Lean Startup?

Lean Startup

So you’re a startup

GetBadges v0

• Badges

• Redmine + GitLab (Espeo’s infrastructure)

• Leaderboard

Fat startup

GetBadges v0

• Started at a hackathon…6 months to deliver

• Aimed at friends

• No market validation

Lean Canvas

• Looks for problem/solution

• Not focused on customer segments

• …or money flow

GetBadges v0

• Solves no real problem

• Has no real customers

• Not an MVP (no value)

GetBadges + Lean Canvas

• Done waaaaay too late

• Shows potential problem/solution fits

• Extracts unique value (game algorithm, integrations)

Experiments and Pivoting

• Experiment one - go around CEOs of software houses and find what problems do they have

• Result one - no problems at all, they’re doing great

• Lesson learnt - software houses are liars

• Pivot - none, ask developers

Experiments and Pivoting• Experiment two - go around devs of software

houses and find what problems do they have

• Result one - boring projects, problems with cooperation

• Lesson learnt - a simple game can make their work more enjoyable…for a week or so

• Pivot - prepare some predefined badges and arrange them into a game (with progress)

Experiments and Pivoting

• Experiment three - will somebody pay for our product?

• Result one - yes, but not for very long

• Lesson learnt - improve longevity, next time implement payments sooner

• Pivot - none, it works

Experiments and Pivoting

• Experiment four - can we get more software houses onboard?

• Result four - no, software houses are too tricky

• Lesson learnt - change customer profile

• Pivot - target product based companies

Experiments and Pivoting

• Experiment five - can we upsell or lower the churn?

• Result five - no, the game is not long enough

• Lesson learnt - if you want to make a game have a game designer

• Pivot - implement a game instead of just badges

GetBadges

• We’re not a poster child of lean startup

• But it helped us a lot

• When in doubt do this: