NESTLÉ

INNOVATION
BOX
TURN YOUR IDEAS INTO REALITY
 WELCOME TO THE NESTLÉ
INNOVATION BOX.
You are holding in your hands everything that you need to
successfully drive innovation by yourself!

The INNOVATION BOX provides you with step-by-step

instructions to bring your idea to life in only 3 months! It will
help you with clear steps, exercises and tips, so that you can
be more confident about your solution. Like a detective, you’ll
gather evidence for your assumptions. This helps you to
minimize uncertainty and strengthen your concept. The result
will be a great pitch to convince potential sponsors.
The box is here to assist you – you alone will decide how you
use it. Your journey as an intrapreneur will sometimes feel like
a rollercoaster ride: One day you receive positive feedback on
your idea and the next it’s torn to shreds. Don’t give up!
Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s a prerequisite!
Our main motto is: Better fail early than late. Keep improving
the idea based on your customers’ feedback. What you start
with, will never be what you finish with – you keep learning.
You’ve got an exciting journey ahead!
Ready? Steady? GO!
Yours,
 This is a basic structure for you to
follow. However, be aware that
getting an idea validated often
requires turning back, repeating and
trying again.

NESTLÉ INNOVATION BOX

START SECTION 01 SECTION 02

PROBLEM SOLUTION
Team up and get started What’s a problem that’s big What’s the perfect solution
and relevant enough for you that people love, buy and
to solve? recommend to friends?
 READY?
Start

GO!
Teaming Up & SCAN ME 
Getting Started
Principle #1 – Love your user!

We see our customers as invited

guests to a party, and we are the
hosts. It’s our job every day to make
every important aspect of the

CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
a little bit better.
Your customers should be at the heart of
everything you do. Focus on a continuous
feedback loop to develop a solution that
will be needed, wanted and used!

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon

Principle #2 – Love your team!

The great
TEAMS
find a way to win.
Allan Ray, American Basketball player
Behind every great product is an even
better team. You might have the idea of a
century, but without the right team to bring
it to life, it might never succeed. Cross-
functional teams bring different disciplines
together, enabling increased cooperation
and improved problem solving.
Principle #3 – Love building things!

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a

PROTOTYPE
is worth 1000 meetings.
Tom & David Kelley, best-selling innovation authors & founders of IDEO

Do not waste time building the perfect slide

deck. Whilst being able to communicate your
solution and convince people of it is important,
having a first prototype to show is a lot more
convincing.
Principle #4 – Love change!

Some people don’t like

change, but you have to

EMBRACE
CHANGE
if the alternative is disaster. No idea is perfect from the start. You will
gain new insights every day that might
challenge your pre-conceptions. If you
remain flexible and work in an iterative
process, changing course if needed will
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX make your idea stronger.
TEAMING
UP
THE TYPICAL STARTUP FOUNDERS.
WHO ARE YOU?

HACKER HUSTLER HIPSTER HELPER

The hacker builds the idea The person who develops The person who makes The person who gets stuff
and finds a way to bring your business, who seeks your product appealing to done. They are true team
your concept to life in the to make the first sale, who others and looks for great players and are masters in
form of a working explores new partnerships UX/UI. They are experts at managing conflict, they
prototype. They have and sells the business to all aspects of design and are the glue of the team,
great technological investors. Without them, digital marketing. who enjoy putting their
understanding and are your idea will never earn skills in service of making
experts at coding. you money. things happen.
EXAMPLE:
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

MARIE – THE HIPSTER TO CONVINCE ME

Tends to learn quickly and loves to help out Use metaphors
Visualize
Ask questions
WHAT COMES NATURALLY TO ME? Be concise
Approaching people and strangers
Preferring “white spot” tasks PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO ME
Solving problems by talking to others Very welcome, anytime, not worrying about the wording
Informal – don’t make a big deal out of it
WHAT DRAINS ME? Will probably execute it, but will react not thrilled
Routine
To be micromanaged POTENTIAL BLIND SPOTS FOR ME
Talking without actions Wants too much at a time
Trusts own intuition
IN A MEETING WITH ME
Get to the point WHEN WORKING WITH ME
Informal always good Help me delegate, instead of doing everything myself
Probably 5 min late  Use me for creative brainstorming, problem solving and coaching
Show me passion
TEAM EXERCISE:
Fill out the template and introduce yourselves to each other.
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

YOUR NAME – YOUR PERSONALITY TYPE TO CONVINCE ME

Brief personality description.

PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO ME
WHAT COMES NATURALLY TO ME?

POTENTIAL BLIND SPOTS FOR ME

WHAT DRAINS ME?

WHEN WORKING WITH ME

IN A MEETING WITH ME
 WHY DO THIS?

Working hard for something

we don’t care about is called
stress. Working hard for
something we love is called
passion.
Simon Sinek
INSPIRATION: WHAT’S YOUR
MOTIVATION TO GET STARTED?

 Put a cross by all the motivation reasons that apply to you.  Increasing my visibility within the organization.  Prevent layoffs.

 Complete the list if there are any others.  Increasing my visibility outside the organization.  I’m bored.

 Proving to myself that I can do it.  Helping my family.  I’m driven by everything creative.

 Being a positive example for others.  Helping my community.  How smart am I?

 Coming up with something that makes sense.  Having a feeling of personal satisfaction.  I want to find out.

 Doing something to help others.  Receiving a pay raise or a bonus.  How creative am I?

 Creating something others love.  Finding a better job.  I want to find out.

 Starting something new.  Life is a game that takes me to the next level.  Creating astonishing moments.

 Making a difference.  Showing my worth.  I need to prove something to myself.

 Showing the world I’m innovative.  Changing the world.  Solving a specific problem.

 I love challenges.  Spending more time with my customers.  Just becoming rich and famous.

 I love to surprise people.  Doing what I love.  Impressing women.

 I have a healthy ego.  I am an untapped natural resource.  Impressing men.

 I want it. It doesn’t exist yet.  The whole company is doing it wrong.  Impressing everyone.

 I want to sort something out.  Securing my position.  Nobel prize.

 I want to create something that corresponds to my values.  Protecting my team from the next reorganization.  World peace.
TEAM EXERCISE: Identify your 3 most important motivational drives. Then take 15
minutes for a quick brainstorming session to find your personal
MOTIVATION “why”. Next: Share it with your team and find a common “why”.

REASONS FOR MOTIVATION ARE AS DIVERSE AS PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT YOUR REASONS FOR MOTIVATION
FROM EACH OTHER. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER.

We all function on three levels: what we do, how we do it and why. Start
with the “why”, as that is the purpose, reason or conviction that drives each
one of us on a daily basis. Everyone can easily explain the “how” and
”what”, but very few people can say why they do what they do.
Can you do it?

BRAINSTORMING: YOUR TEAM WHY BRAINSTORMING: YOUR PERSONAL WHY

 OGETHER

VERYONE

CHIEVES

ORE
 PROBLEM
SECTION
01

Find a problem that is

worth solving.
If I had an hour to solve a
problem I'd spend 55
minutes thinking about
the problem and 5 minutes
thinking about solutions.

Albert Einstein
I
ntrapreneurs are solution-focused by nature. They
want to create things, implement them and watch
them grow. However, if you leap to develop a
SECTION OVERVIEW
solution too quickly, it’s more likely you will miss STEP
your goal. More than 90% of our innovations fail
because they are simply not relevant; they are not
solving any pressing problem. In order to develop
something that people will buy, you first need to
find out everything there is to know about your
01 Describe the problem

customers. STEP
What problems do they have? When and how often
do they have them? What do they like and dislike
about the current solutions and why? What are
some wishes they have? The more you know about
02 Investigate the problem

the problem, the easier it will be to develop the

perfect solution. STEP

AIM:
At the end of this section, you will know your
03 Validate the problem

customer like you do your friends. You will know

exactly what problem you need to solve for them in
order to make them happy.
 Trust your intuition.
You know more than you think
you know!

STEP 01 –
DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM
What is it that you want to work on? Who do you
want to help? This first step is all about your
intuitive gut feeling. What is a problem that you see
in this world, in your company, in your private life?
Who has this problem and how big is it?
You are now going to describe both the problem
that you want to solve, as well as the person who
has this problem. Put down everything you have in
your head on paper. This will be the starting point
for your in-depth research, when you will further
refine your initial assumptions.
TEAM EXERCISE: Ideally, hang your problem description in a
prominent place on your inspiration board
DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM and make it the wallpaper on your
computer screen, so you see it all the time.

Step one is easy: Use the empty space to write down which problem
you’d like to solve.

A GOOD PROBLEM DESCRIPTION ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• What is the problem?
• Where and when does the problem occur?
• What impact does the problem have?
 For corporate ideas, ask yourself: How many
WHO HAS THIS PROBLEM? companies employ a person who has this
problem and who has the authority to make
decisions for change? What budget does this
person have at their disposal?

THIS TOOL WILL HELP YOU IDENTIFY YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TARGET EXAMPLE – Losing Weight
GROUP.

MARKET SIZE
Estimate the market size of your potential target groups. In other words, POTENTIAL MULTIPLICATION
S P A
how many people have the problem you described? TARGET GROUPS RESULT
Market Size Willingness Access
to Pay
WILLINGNESS TO PAY
3= Large 3= A lot 3= Days
Estimate if and how much your potential target groups would be prepared 2= Medium 2= Some 2= Weeks
to pay for a solution to this problem. 1= Small 1= A little 1= Months

Overweight 2 3 3 18
ACCESS
Supermodel 1 3 1 3
Estimate how easy it will be for you to reach these target groups.
 Brainstorm all potential target groups who could have this
TEAM EXERCISE: problem using the SPA template. Select the target group with the
highest potential/ scoring (= highest multiplication result). Start
FIND YOUR TARGET GROUP with this one. You can always come back and re-test others.

POTENTIAL TARGET GROUPS S P A MULTIPLICATION RESULT

Market Size Willingness to Pay Access

3= Large 3= A lot 3= Days
2= Medium 2= Some 2= Weeks
1= Small 1= A little 1= Months
 Remember that your ideal
customer can be an external
consumer (B2C/B2B) or an
internal customer (Nestlé
employee). It is any person who
you design your solution for.

DESCRIBE YOUR CUSTOMER

Now bring your target group to life! Imagine
you are creating a book character with an
actual name, life, interests and hobbies. Try to
empathize with your customer and really put
yourself in his or her shoes. What does he or
she really want? How could you help him/her?
Use the template on the next page and simply
write down what comes to your mind.

Johnny Katy
TEAM EXERCISE: Keep in mind, this is a first draft. You will
have to return and adapt it several times.
DESCRIBE YOUR CUSTOMER It’s alright to fill it out with your initial
assumptions or leave a few areas empty.

NAME, PICTURE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA & INTERESTS

CURRENT SOLUTIONS

+ Aspects to take over

NEEDS & GOALS PURCHASE & USAGE BEHAVIOUR

- Aspects to improve
 You will reach best results
when combining all research
methods together!

STEP 02 –
INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM
It’s time to collect as much data as possible about
your customer and his or her problem.
We will now provide you with 3 different, but
complementary research methods: Qualitative
interviews, Quantitative surveys and Observation
Techniques.
The objective is to get to know everything there is to
know about your customer and existing solutions by
competitors.
With these new insights, you will be able to update
your customer profile up to a point where you’ll say:
“Yes, that’s it. I completely understand my customer
and know which problem is bothering him/ her the
most”.
QUALITATIVE
INTERVIEWS
 Quality over quantity! It’s better to do
fewer interviews, but with the right
people – people who have the problem
themselves. Anything else is a waste of
time!

QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RIGHT CONTACTS? WHAT SHOULD YOU ASK PEOPLE?
Think about who in your personal or professional
network corresponds to the person you imagined in
the previous step. Approach them and ask them for an
interview. Don’t have anyone in your network who How does the person
matches your vision? Think about where you could Does the person have the
currently solve the problem
find these people inside or outside your company. Can problem or need that you have
(work-arounds or alternative
you find them on LinkedIn or on other social media solutions)?
imagined?
channels? Is there a relevant forum, a physical location
or event where these people spend their time?

HOW MANY INTERVIEWS ARE NECESSARY?

As soon as answers overlap, confirm and repeat, then
you have gathered enough ‘evidence’ for now. Round What costs are incurred due to the problem Of all the problems (or
(cost of alternative solutions, loss time etc.)?
about ten interviews per target customer group will partial problems) you’d like
suffice at this stage. What would a solution to the problem be to solve, which hurts the
worth to the person? person most?
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW:
INTERVIEW TIPS
What do you need to be careful of in interviews?

ATTITUDE FACTS WHY WISH STAY IN TOUCH

It’s important to go into the Don’t ask hypothetical ‘Why’ is the key word in an Don’t try to sell anything Schedule a follow-up
interview with the right questions, such as effective problem and don’t mention any meeting and stay in touch.
attitude. Be open to “Would you…?” Instead, interview. Always ask about solutions yet. It’s too soon At a later stage in the
hearing things you don’t ask about past situations, the underlying reasons and for that. It’s better to find process, you can come
expect and adopt the role such as “When was the try to understand the cause out what kind of solution back to the same people
of the active listener. An last time you…?” . This of the problem. A rule of your target customer and present your solution
interview is at its best, after means you get facts thump: Ask 5 times ‘Why’ wants, what they would be to them. Always ask if they
all, when the interviewee instead of opinions. to get to the root cause. prepared to pay for, what know other people in the
does most of the talking. criteria they use to decide, same situation or with the
You want to learn from what is really important to same problem, and
them! them, etc. whether you can contact
them too.
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW: See this only as a guideline, the objective
is to start a natural conversation. Spend
EXEMPLARY INTERVIEW GUIDE 80% of your time listening, only 20%
talking. Seek stories and facts.

GENERAL GUIDELINES THE INTERVIEW

• Ask open ended questions rather than questions that lead 1_Introduce yourself 4_Evoke stories – with open ended questions
to yes/no answers.
• “ Hi, my name is …. As explained during our previous • Ask questions that allow the interviewee to get
• Avoid asking leading questions, e.g. do you think it is conversations, we are currently conducting research about into “story telling mode”.
important to install alarm? learning behaviours. Thanks again for your time and
dedication.” • Tell me a story about the last time you learned something
• Be prepared for the interview and prepare that the new (i.e. skill, hobby, interest)
interview conversation might require you to take side 2_Set the stage – Share the purpose and desired outcome
jumps. • Walk me through that process (i.e. how did you decide
• The purpose is to have an open conversation to better which platform to learn from, who did you approach for
• Remember the tools are there to get the conversation understand the reasons and why you make certain advice?)
started. If the tool or question doesn‘t resonate with the decisions when it comes to learning.
customer, you‘re not getting a lot of responses, move on • What did you do with what you have learned?
to the next question or tool. The key is to get the • The desired outcome is to have some concrete stories that
conversation flowing. will inspire us to develop meaningful solutions. • Share with me the last time you had to learn something
new at work?
• Challenge the assumptions you hold by directly asking the • Just to be clear: there are no right or wrong answers. We
customer. want to hear your experience and opinions about things. • What was challenging for you?

• Make sure to write down exactly what the person says, • We don’t want to give you too much context, but we will 5_ Look for tensions, contractions and surprises
not what you think they might mean. give you more information afterwards.
• Dig deeper by asking 5 why’s or for a story.
• Be sure to observe the person's behaviour, intonations, 3_Ask broad questions - about values, habits and the
pauses and interaction with the surrounding and see what person’s life Tensions, contradictions, surprises:
you can learn from the context. If granted permission from
the customer, also take some snapshots • Ease in the conversation by asking broad questions before
asking more specific questions related directly to your
ROLES challenge.
• What’s your name? Why, why, why? Tell me a story:
• Interviewer - focus on the conversation and inquiring
deeper into the user‘s answers to help them and you
uncover reasons behind their responses. • Which department are you from and what is your role
there?
• Observer - you‘ll be wearing several hats during the
interview: ensure the conversation is recorded, take • Walk me through your day to day life at work.
pictures during the conversation, and take notes of the
conversation, while making sure to time keep the
interview.
CUSTOMER INTERVIEW:
INSPIRATION

Customer Interview Script Generator The MOM test

TEAM EXERCISE: DEVELOP Structure your questionnaire alongside the
key information boxes of your customer
YOUR INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE profile. Focus on those aspects where you
still have a lot of blanks.

Now develop your own questionnaire.

Keep in mind the customer profile you initially developed. What are
important aspects that you need to confirm?

33
 Always conduct the interviews in a
pair: one person speaks, the other one
takes notes and observes. Switch roles
INTERVIEW ANALYSIS after every interview to get the most of
it!
After every interview you conduct, write down your key findings.

KEY QUOTES
• What were surprising/ extreme/ interesting statements that were
straight to the point?

KEY PAINS
• What is really bothering them?
• What problem(s) do they have that they really want solved?
• What don’t they like about existing solutions?

KEY GAINS
• What makes them happy?
• What deeper motivations/needs are they trying to fulfil?
• What do they like about existing solutions?

KEY INSIGHTS
• What is your conclusion/ interpretation?
• How do you need to refine your initial problem statement and
customer profile?
PAIR/ TEAM EXERCISE: After every interview as well as at the end
of all interviews, fill out this template.
ANALYZE YOUR INTERVIEWS Update your initial customer profile based
on your learnings.

KEY QUOTES KEY PAINS KEY GAINS

KEY INSIGHTS
OBSERVATION
TECHNIQUES
 Split tasks as a team in order to
get a more complete picture.

GO WHERE THE CONSUMER IS

These techniques are rather simple and inexpensive.
Essentially, they are a competitor research of existing
solutions. By observing the consumer in a natural situation, IN– STORE TIPS
purchasing or using existing solutions, you can find out what
solutions exist and what your customers think of these
products, i.e. what they like/ dislike about them. Observe (at least one hour)
• Who buys the product?
You can do this in various ways. Take an afternoon: • Who takes the product and returns it?
• To screen forums/ websites/ apps/ social media to read • What else do they have in their basket?
consumer reviews of existing solutions. You can do this in
different languages.
• To test the existing solutions yourself. Talk to them

• To observe your target group when they use the existing “ Hi, I just saw you grab that and that. I was also
solutions. thinking about buying this, why did you buy it/ put
this back?”
• To go to three different stores to observe who is buying
the existing solutions.
 What customers like about existing solutions
TEAM EXERCISE: should also be included in your solution.
What they don’t like, should be improved.
OBSERVATION NOTES Remember to update your customer profile
accordingly.

What our solution must

Existing solutions What customers like What customers dislike
include or improve

WHAT CUSTOMERS LIKE ABOUT EXISTING SOLUTIONS SHOULD ALSO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR SOLUTION.
WHAT THEY DON’T LIKE, SHOULD BE IMPOVED. REMEMBER TO UPDATE YOUR CUSTOMER PROFILE ACCORDINLGLY.
QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
PRINCIPLES
1) Write a short introduction
2) Create different chapters
3) Keep it simple – a 5 year old should understand
your questions
4) Most important and simple questions at the
beginning
5) 1 question = 1 objective
6) Formulate questions neutrally not to bias your
respondents
7) Ask for demographics at the end
8) Use a variety of answer types (single choice,
multiple choices, open questions, answer grid,
ranking, etc…)
9) Limit questionnaire duration to 5 minutes (=
max. 10 questions)
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
IN PRACTICE

• Remember request for facts not opinions  use past or present, NO Once done, always test the questionnaire & the links
future
• For multiple choices, randomise answers (not valid for frequency or
logic/gradual answers)
• Ensure that all choices are available and make sense
• “do not know”
• “prefer not to say”
• “none of the above”
• “others”, please precise
• For open questions, indicate “ please precise, your answer is important
to us”
• Set the most important questions as ”mandatory”
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY: Start with Microsoft forms. If that doesn’t
work for you, reach out to the Nestlé IT fast
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOOL line for finding the best option (contact
details in the innovation box).

NESTLÉ COMPLIANT OTHER SOLUTIOS

FREE 35 USD/ month Multiple options on the market. Above are examples. Price
depends on population tested.

RECOMMENDED

Survey only Survey + Interview partner acquisition

TEAM EXERCISE: Send out your survey using your private
CREATE YOUR QUANTITATIVE SURVEY networks, social media accounts, Nestlé
email distribution lists or Nestlé workplace.

Now it‘s your turn! Create an online survey and send it out to at least 30-50
new customers you haven‘t yet talked to.

Focus on your key learnings from the qualitative interviews and observation
techniques and re-test them with your survey.

Your goal should be to validate and prioritize the most important pains and
gains you identified.
 Your customer profile has not changed?
Then you can be fairly sure that you need
to do more research.

CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO YOUR FIRST POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Your various researches should have reduced your initial
uncertainties about the problem and your consumer.

Now you’re ready to draft a revised and, above all, detailed

description of the target customer and the problem. In doing so,
think about which of the people you interviewed have genuine
potential as customers. What do they have in common and what
distinguishes them from the others? Are the problem and its
cause exactly the same? How do these people currently solve the
problem? Take another look at your interview notes and then use
the template on the next page to describe your ideal customer
and the problem once again.

Compare the completed template with the earlier one in the

INNOVATION BOX. How much more certain are you of your ideal
customer? Of the problem? What has changed and what have
you learned?
TEAM EXERCISE: If your research has shown that your initial
target group is more diverse than you
UPDATE YOUR CUSTOMER PROFILE thought and sub-groups have different
pains/problems, create one customer profile
for each.

NAME, PICTURE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA & INTERESTS

CURRENT SOLUTIONS

+ Aspects to take over

NEEDS & GOALS PURCHASE & USAGE BEHAVIOUR

- Aspects to improve
CLARIFY THE
PROBLEM
WHAT IS THE KEY PROBLEM THAT Make sure your HMW statements are
neither too broad nor too narrow. Focus
YOU WILL SOLVE FOR YOUR CUSTOMER? only on your most important pain that
people would pay for if you solve that.

Formulate the key problem that is bothering

your customer the most as a challenge that you
can solve in the next section.
Brainstorm several “How might we” questions PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY Mix and match needs and insights to create
and pick the best. What problem or opportunity are you a design question for your situation.
Example: focusing on?
…………………………………………………………………
• „How might we help Emma to reduce the ………………………………………………………………...
food she wastes as effortless as possible?“ HOW MIGHT WE…………………………
……………………………………………………
• „How might we help John to feel at home NEEDS SO THAT ……………………………………..
even when he‘s in a business hotel for 3 days a What needs have you identified? What ………………………………
week?“ needs to be achieved? What is the desired
• „How might we help Lisa to ride her bike to outcome?
work without the negative side effect of …………………………………………………………………
arriving in sweaty clothes?“ ………………………………………………………………...

INSIGHT
What have you learned about the HOW MIGHT WE…………………………
situation? What interesting things did you ……………………………………………………
find? What conclusions can you draw? SO THAT ……………………………………..
………………………………………………………………… ……………………………
………………………………………………………………...
TEAM EXERCISE: You can also adjust the wording if that suits
you better: Replace “so that” with other
PROBLEM STATEMENT words like “while”, “without” or “and” . Pick
the best question jointly as a team.

How might we...

STEP 03 – Problems not impactful

90%
VALIDATE THE PROBLEM
You’ve spoken to people who are actually facing the
problem and have learned a lot from doing so. You
now know the problem your customers have, how
they currently solve it and why the existing
‘solutions’ are unsatisfactory.
Before you set about creating the missing, improved Problems impactful,
solution, it’s now time to critically analyze what you but not solvable
have learned. Do enough people face this problem?
Is the problem really that big? Is there actually a 9%
need for a new, better solution?
This last step will help you work out whether solving
this problem is worth your time and energy. 1%
Problems worth solving

PROBLEM SPACE
TEAM EXERCISE: Keep in mind, this is a first draft. You will
have to return and adapt it several times.
HOW BIG IS THIS PROBLEM? It’s alright to fill it out with your initial
assumptions or leave a few areas empty.

1.PROBLEM: WHICH PROBLEM DID YOU DISCOVER?

Describe your customers’ problem.

2.USER SEGMENT 3.FREQUENCY 4. SEVERITY 5. EVOLUTION: 6. EVOLUTION:

(#USERS) (#TIMES/USER) (#MONEY/TIME) BOOSTERS SETBACKS

How many people have this How often per year does How much € is the user Conduct an analysis from Conduct an analysis from
problem and are seeking to this problem occur? already spending on trying your market scan. your market scan.
solve it? to solve, reduce or avoid
this problem? What trends will boost the What trends will decrease
problem size? the problem size?
How much € is solving this
problem worth to the user? What is the growth rate of What is the growth rate of
these boosting trends? these setback trends?

Annual problem size

 HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE PROBLEM?

one thousands

HOW MUCH ARE PEOPLE WILLING TO PAY FOR A SOLUTION?

buttons millions

CONGRATS!
YOU FOUND A PROBLEM WORTH SOLVING! 
FINAL
OUTPUT
YOUR CUSTOMER

NAME, PICTURE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA & INTERESTS CURRENT SOLUTIONS

+ Aspects to take over

NEEDS & GOALS PURCHASE & USAGE BEHAVIOUR - Aspects to improve

THE PROBLEM YOU'LL BE SOLVING

HOW MIGHT WE…

TIME TO
REFLECT
TEAM EXERCISE Take 1-2 hours for this team reflection and
be brutally honest. Focus on concrete
REFLECT ON YOUR WORK suggestions for improvements in your ways
of working for the next section.

WHAT WENT WELL?

WHAT DIDN’T GO WELL?

WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER?

 SOLUTION
SECTION
02

Develop, test & improve the

perfect solution to the
problem you identified.
Don’t find customers
for your products,
find products for
your customers.
Seth Godin
N
ow it gets really exciting! You start to work on your
idea. But be careful: Don’t think for a second that
you’ve got it all figured out yet. Instead, constantly
SECTION OVERVIEW
examine with your target customers whether the STEP
solution you developed really solves the problem
properly and in line with the customer wishes.

Your ultimate solution is created through ongoing

01 Develop your solution

testing, learning and iteration and will become STEP

increasingly clear over the course of this process. So
don’t fall in love with your first draft too quickly – it
will evolve and become better every single week!
02 Test your solution

AIM: STEP
You have developed a solution that customers love
and are willing to pay for, as it really solves a
pressing problem. 03 Pitch your solution
 To get the most out of your ideation
session, invite externals/ wildcards or

STEP 01 –
have 1-2 representatives of your target
group there. They will bring new
perspective.

DEVELOP YOUR SOLUTION

We will introduce you to two different approaches to develop your
solution: the narrow and the broad approach. It is up to you as a team
to pick the one that suits you best.

THE NARROW APPRAOCH THE BROAD APPROACH

is the simplest way to find “ the one” relevant solution. You systematically allows you to come up with many potential solutions based on the
derive it from your customer profile and the most important pains and challenge you developed earlier – your HMW question. It allows for more
gains you identified. It keeps you focused on creating only one solution creativity and brainstorming, but then requires more work in
that addresses them in the best way possible. prioritization and concept development.
THE NARROW
APPROACH
 Use the trigger questions on the
following 2 pages to fill out your
value proposition canvas.

THE VALUE PROPOSITION

CANVAS
Develop your solution by using the value
proposition canvas.
1. Start with the right side, using your GAIN CREATORS GAINS
insights from your customer profile.
2. Once filled out, transfer every gain into a
PRODUCTS & CUSTOMER
gain creator, every pain into a pain
SERVICES JOBS
reliever and build a product or service
around these features that really helps
your customer to get “his job done”.
PAIN RELIEVERS PAINS
3. Cross-check whether your newly created
solution addresses all relevant pains and
gains you identified before.
CUSTOMER:
TRIGGER QUESTIONS
CUSTOMER JOBS CUSTOMER PAINS CUSTOMER GAINS

Jobs describe the things your customers are trying to get done in their Pains describe anything that annoys your customers before, during, and Gains describe the outcomes and benefits your customers want. Some
work or in their life. A customer job could be the tasks they are trying to after trying to get a job done or simply prevents them from getting a job gains are required, expected, or desired by customers, and some would
perform and complete, the problems they are trying to solve, or the done. Pains also describe risks, that is, potential bad outcomes, related surprise them. Gains include functional utility, social gains, positive
needs they are trying to satisfy. to getting a job done badly or not at all. emotions, and cost savings.

Use the following trigger questions to help you think of different potential Use the following trigger questions to help you think of different potential Use the following trigger questions to help you think of different potential
customer jobs: customer pains:: customer gains:

1. What is the one thing that your customer couldn’t live without 1. How do your customers define too costly? Takes a lot of time, costs 1. Which savings would make your customers happy? Which savings in
accomplishing? What are the stepping stones that could help your too much money, or requires substantial efforts? terms of time, money, and effort would they value?
customer achieve this key job?
2. What makes your customers feel bad? What are their frustrations, 2. What quality levels do they expect, and what would they wish for
2. What are the different contexts that your customers might be in? annoyances, or things that give them a headache? more or less of?
How do their activities and goals change depending on these
different contexts? 3. How are current value propositions under performing for your 3. How do current value propositions delight your customers? Which
customers? Which features are they missing? Are there specific features do they enjoy? What performance and quality do
3. What does your customer need to accomplish that involves performance issues that annoy them or malfunctions they cite? they expect?
interaction with others?
4. What are the main difficulties and challenges your customers 4. What would make your customers’ jobs or lives easier? Could there
4. What tasks are your customers trying to perform in their work or encounter? Do they understand how things work, have difficulties be a flatter learning curve, more services, or lower costs of
personal life? What functional problems are your customers trying getting certain things done, or resist particular jobs for specific ownership?
to solve? reasons?
5. What positive social consequences do your customers desire? What
5. Are there problems that you think customers have that they may not 5. What negative social consequences do your customers encounter or makes them look good? What increases their power or their status?
even be aware of? fear? Are they afraid of a loss of face, power, trust, or status?
6. What are customers looking for most? Are they searching for good
6. What emotional needs are your customers trying to satisfy? What 6. What risks do your customers fear? Are they afraid of financial, design, guarantees, specific or more features?
jobs, if completed, would give the user a sense of self-satisfaction? social, or technical risks, or are they asking themselves what could
go wrong? 7. What do customers dream about? What do they aspire to achieve,
7. How does your customer want to be perceived by others? What can or what would be a big relief to them?
your customer do to help themselves be perceived this way? 7. What’s keeping your customers awake at night? What are their big
issues, concerns, and worries? 8. How do your customers measure success and failure? How do they
8. How does your customer want to feel? What does your customer gauge performance or cost?
need to do to feel this way? 8. What common mistakes do your customers make? Are they using a
solution the wrong way? 9. What would increase your customers’ likelihood of adopting a value
9. Track your customer’s interaction with a product or service proposition? Do they desire lower cost, less investment, lower risk,
throughout its lifespan. What supporting jobs surface throughout 9. What barriers are keeping your customers from adopting a value or better quality?
this life cycle? Does the user switch roles throughout this process? proposition? Are there upfront investment costs, a steep learning
curve, or other obstacles preventing adoption?
GAIN & PAIN:
TRIGGER QUESTIONS
GAIN CREATORS - Trigger Questions PAIN RELIEVERS - Trigger Questions PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Gain Creators describe how your products and services create customer Pain relievers describe how exactly your products and services alleviate This is simply a list of what you offer. Think of it as all the items your
gains. They explicitly outline how you intend to produce outcomes and specific customer pains. They explicitly outline how you intend to customers can see in your shop window —metaphorically speaking. It’s
benefits that your customer expects, desires, or would be surprised by, eliminate or reduce some of the things that annoy your customers an enumeration of all the products and services your value proposition
including functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost before, during, or after they are trying to complete a job or that prevent builds on. This bund le of products and services helps your customers
savings. them from doing so. complete either functional, social, or emotional jobs or helps them
satisfy basic needs. It is crucial to acknowledge that products and
Use the following trigger questions to ask yourself: Could your products Use the following trigger questions to ask yourself: Could your products services don’t create value alone only in relationship to a specific
and services… and service… customer segment and their jobs, pains, and gains.

1. ... create savings that please your customers? In terms of time, 1. … produce savings? In terms of time, money, or efforts. Your list of products and services may also include supporting ones that
money, and effort. help your customers perform the roles of buyer (those that help
2. ... make your customers feel better? By killing frustrations, customers compare offers, decide, and buy), co-creator (those that help
2. ... produce outcomes your customers expect or that exceed their annoyances, and other things that give customers a headache. customers co-design value propositions), and transferrer (those that
expectations? By offering quality levels, more of something, or less help customers dispose of a product).
of something. 3. ... fix under-performing solutions? By introducing new features,
better performance, or enhanced quality.
3. ... outperform current value propositions and delight your
customers? Regarding specific features, performance, or quality. 4. ... put an end to difficulties and challenges your customers
encounter? By making things easier or eliminating obstacles.
4. ... make your customers’ work or life easier? Via better usability, Relevance: It is essential to acknowledge that not all pain relievers, gain
accessibility, more services, or lower cost of ownership. 5. ... wipe out negative social consequences your customers creators and products and services are equally valuable and relevant to
encounter or fear? In terms of loss of face or lost power, trust, or the consumer. Make sure to differentiate between essential and nice to
5. ... create positive social consequences? By making them look good status. have pain relievers, gain creators and products and services.
or producing an increase in power or status.
6. ... eliminate risks your customers fear? In terms of financial, social,
6. ... do something specific that customers are looking for? In terms of technical risks, or things that could potentially go wrong.
good design, guarantees, or specific or more features.
Essential
7. ... help your customers better sleep at night? By addressing
7. ... fulfil a desire customers dream about? By helping them achieve significant issues, diminishing concerns, or eliminating worries.
their aspirations or getting relief from a hardship?
8. ... limit or eradicate common mistakes customers make? By helping
8. ... produce positive outcomes matching your customers’ success them use a solution the right way. Nice to have
and failure criteria? In terms of better performance or lower cost.
9. ... eliminate barriers that are keeping your customer from adopting
9. ... help make adoption easier? Through lower cost, fewer value propositions? Introducing lower or no upfront investment
investments, lower risk, better quality, improved performance, or costs, a flatter learning curve, or eliminating other obstacles
better design. preventing adoption.
TEAM EXERCISE: Remember to constantly cross-check
whether the left and right side match
VALUE PROPOSITION CANVAS perfectly and whether your solution is
better than current competitive solutions.

GAIN CREATORS GAINS

PRODUCTS & CUSTOMER

SERVICES JOBS

PAIN RELIEVERS PAINS

THE BROAD
APPROACH
 Combine at least 3 methods to spark
creativity. Start with brainwriting.
Write down only 1 idea per post-it.
Share and cluster ideas after every
round.

IDEATION/ BRAINSTORMING
Develop your solution by using one or more creativity
methods. The basis is always your “How might we” question
that you developed earlier. It’s the challenge that you are
now going to solve with these different techniques. Hang it
somewhere visible so that everyone can see it.

1. Brainwriting

2. Brainstorming

3. 6-3-5 Method

4. If I was… Method

5. Flip Flop Method

6. Disney Method
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #1:
BRAINWRITING

This is an individual exercise that you should

start with. Everybody takes 5 minutes to write
down as many ideas as possible. Remember –
only one idea per post-it.
It’s about “emptying your brain” in a silent
brainstorming. Why silent? To ensure that
everybody will be heard in the first sharing
round. Some people are extrovert, some more
introvert. If you start off with regular
brainstorming, you’ll soon realize that always the
same people speak. This will bias all the others
and a lot of great ideas could be lost before you
even started.
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #2:
BRAINSTORMING

Take another 5 minutes to collect as many ideas as

possible. This time not individually, but as a group. Pick
one idea you liked and build upon it. Add new aspects to
make it better or combine several ideas together. Don’t
say “No, this can’t be done”, ask “How can it be done”?
Go wild and go beyond the initial point of running out of
ideas. Usually, the best ideas come last – once you
skipped beyond the “obvious”.

RULE 1: RULE 2: RULE 3: RULE 4:

Think outside Don’t interrupt Build upon each Quantity over
the box. Go wild. each other. others’ ideas. quality.
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #3:
6-3-5 METHOD

Start by taking 1 minute to choose your top 3

ideas from all the ideas you generated, e.g. ROUNDS IDEA 1 IDEA 2 IDEA 3
during the brainwriting session.
Next, take 2 minutes to rewrite the ideas on the
template so that someone else can understand
Initial Idea
them without needing a verbal explanation.
Then you pass on the template clockwise, with
the person to your left having 5 minutes to 1st Iteration
further develop all 3 ideas. You do this for 2-3
rounds.
Take the last iteration and share it with the 2nd Iteration
group. Explain how the idea has evolved over
time. Remove duplicates and cluster ideas.
3rd Iteration
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #4:
IF I WAS… METHOD

Now you can be Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein,

Mother Theresa, Pippi Longstocking or whatever
famous figure you would like. Imagine you are
one them and put yourself in their shoes: How
would you solve the problem?

Take 5 minutes and dive into that character to

either develop existing ideas further or to
develop completely new ones.

If you like, you can switch personalities 2-3

times.
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #5:
FLIP FLOP METHOD

Start by re-formulating your HMW question into

a negative version. How could you make that
problem even worse? If your challenge is to
reduce food waste, ask yourself how you can
maximize it in the first place.
Next, generate as many bad ideas as possible by
brainstorming on your negative HMW question.
Thinking of bad ideas is a lot easier, as you do
not have to worry about whether they are
realistic and you can let out your “dark side” ;-)
Finally, take each “bad idea” and “flip” it into a
good one.
CREATIVITY TECHNIQUE #6
DISNEY METHOD

Start by splitting up roles – depending on the size of your team, The dreamer starts by developing an idea. The critic is now allowed to
1-3 people can have the same role: say everything that’s wrong about it. The realist comes up with a plan on
how to improve the idea and make it happen.
- THE DREAMER
You can also use this technique for your 3-5 most promising ideas that
- THE REALIST you have already developed. Just put on the hat of the critic and realist
- THE CRITIC to eliminate and/ or improve your ideas.

THE DREAMER: YOU DEVELOP IDEAS THE REALIST: YOU DEVELOP A PLAN TO MAKE IT THE CRITIC: YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT CAN GO
HAPPEN WRONG
Imagine you have a magic wand and can do
anything you want… How can you use the essence of the idea and Turn the idea inside out! What are its errors and
imagine a more realistic one with the resource risks?
available?

WHAT WOULD YOU CREATE? HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE THE IDEA? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE?
• What would it look like? • Is the idea most valuable for the user? • Does this idea make sense?
• What could you do with it? • Can it be quickly implemented at low cost? • What are potential problems with this idea?
• How would it make you feel? • Is this idea the most inspiring? • Is this the best we can do?
• On a perfect world, there would be… • Is this idea worth our time?
 You can choose to weigh all 3 criteria
equally, or put more emphasis on
desirability. 50% – 25% – 25% is often
used at this early stage.

IDEA PRIORITIZATION
Now that you’ve collected and clustered your ideas, it’s time
to prioritize! There are 3 important criteria that you should
consider when evaluating them:

1. DESIRABILITY
• How much would your customer love this idea? CUSTOMER BUSINESS
• How disruptive is it? DESIRABILITY VIABILITY
• Would it really solve the problem?

2. VIABILITY
• Would your customer pay for this, and if, how much? Innovation
• Is there a potential business case? TECHNICAL
• Could this be profitable within 3-5 years? FEASIBILITY

3. FEASIBILITY
• How realistic is this idea?
• Do you have the human, financial and technological
resources to implement it or can you partner to get them?
 Remember that your initial idea will be
TEAM EXERCISE improved continuously based on your
customers’ feedback. It doesn’t have to be
IDEA PRIORITIZATION perfect at this stage. A good gut feeling is
enough.

First, decide which top 3 ideas to evaluate along

these criteria. If you can’t decide, do dot voting.
Everybody gets 3 dots and chooses his or her
favorite ideas. The 3 ideas with the most dots
win and get evaluated in more depth.

Second, evaluate the top 3 ideas alongside the 3

innovation criteria: desirability, feasibility,
viability. The idea with the highest score on all
three criteria has the highest potential. DESIRABILITY VIABILITY

However, the evaluation serves solely as a

discussion base. You can also decide in favour of
an idea that is very disruptive and hence harder
to realize and monetize, but with a bigger long-
term potential. FEASIBILITY
SWEET SPOT
YOUR IDEA IN
A NUTSHELL
 Come back and refine these
templates every week from now on.

IDEA DESCRIPTION
Congratulations, you’ve successfully developed one
promising solution to the problem you’ve identified
earlier!

Currently, this idea is sitting on a post-it. Now, it’s

time to bring all information you’ve gathered
together – on one single sheet and, ultimately, one
single sentence. This will tell you and others exactly
where you stand. If somebody asks you what you are
working on, this will be what you say.

Over the course of the next weeks, you are going to

improve your idea further and further. This template
is something you can go back to at any stage and
refine it based on your new learnings – just like you
did before with your customer profile.
 TEAM EXERCISE:
IDEA DESCRIPTION

CATCHY TITLE:
High Level Description/ Elevator Pitch:

TARGET CONSUMER: PROBLEM TO SOLVE: KEY BENEFITS: KEY FEATURES: USP:

(Who) (Why) (What) (What) (Wow)
 Say this sentence out loud several times until
TEAM EXERCISE: it nails it to the point. Ask a few colleagues
IDEA STATEMENT whether or not they can immediately
understand your idea and the value it brings.
If not, iterate your statement until they can.

Now it’s time to bring it all together in just 1 simple sentence, by creating an idea statement.
The idea statement brings together all the previous work you have done so far. It’s your elevator pitch!

______________ (1) helps ______________ (2), who have ______________ (3), to achieve ______________ (4).
(1) Name of the product/service
(2) Your customer
(3) Key problem(s)
We do this with ______________ (5), contrary to ______________ (6). (4) Key value proposition
(5) Solution
(6) Existing alternatives
(7) Unfair advantage
Our key competitive advantage lies in ______________ (7).
YOUR
REASON
TO WIN
 Social media platforms, websites,
apps and forums offer further
insights on existing solutions.

QUALITY CHECK

DO A GOOGLE SEARCH
At this stage, it’s worth doing a quick Google check to examine your idea, find out
what’s already available, look for new inputs and ways to improve your idea
further.

DEMAND SOLUTIONS COMPETITORS

• How often are existing solutions • What is already available? • Who are the competitors? Who is
purchased? currently offering something
• Which partial solutions exist? similar?
• Where are they purchased?
• Who are these solutions for? • How successful are the
• What is purchased more often than competitors?
others?
• What do they do particularly well?
• Why is it purchased more often?
• Are there customer reviews?
 Use this previous template as a starting point.
TEAM EXERCISE: Can you find new or more competitors?
QUALITY CHECK Remember: what customers like should also
be included in your solution, what they don’t
like, should be improved.

What our solution must

Existing solutions What customers like What customers dislike
include or improve
 Focus on your top 5 competitors
to avoid being overwhelmed.

COMPETITIVE POSITIONING
Become even more clear about the benefits and USP of your
idea by positioning yourself in the competitive landscape.

What is that you compete with? Is it a feature that nobody

else has? Is it a packaging that’s so unique it will stand out in
the supermarket? Is it a price that no one can beat? What
makes your solution better than all existing ones?

Put yourself in the shoes of your customer that you know so

well by now. Why would he or she pick you?
 TEAM EXERCISE: You might have to adapt your
positioning to be able to compete.
COMPETITIVE POSITIONING Remember to update your idea
statement and description if necessary.

In order to find out how to position yourself in

relation to your competitors, it’s useful to work HIGH QUALITY
with a positioning matrix that captures two
aspects that are important to your customers.
Also reflect where the ideal positioning could lie
from the customer’s point of view.
First, note the two criteria that are most relevant
in your customer’s purchasing decision with
their respective opposites, e.g. high quality vs
low quality, modern vs traditional.
Next, position yourself and your key competitors
alongside this matrix.
CHEAP PRICEY

LOW QUALITY
STEP 02 –
TEST YOUR SOLUTION
So far, you have created many different ideas and decided for The prototype helps you to make your solution clear and easy to
one winning solution. The next step is to find out what your understand. This is important as it enables you to capture
customers think about it. Do they like it? Does it solve their genuine reactions in the subsequent solution interviews. On the
problem? How can you improve it so that it really fits to their next pages, learn more about the prototyping mindset and
needs? decide on your own prototype based on the different examples.

Testing and improving your initial idea up to a point where your Build the first prototype jointly as a team. It will help you clarify
customers say “I’d immediately buy that, I love it!” is absolutely your idea and immerse more. Later, you can think about hiring a
crucial for your success. freelancer/ designer for more sophisticated prototypes.

Prototyping helps you to portray your idea in the easiest way

possible. It’s something that people can touch, interact with and
grasp with all their senses. People find it a lot easier to give
feedback on a prototype than on Powerpoint slides.
PROTOTYPING
 Experience abstract ideas in Get on the same page Gather honest feedback
the easiest way possible within the team from your customers

WHY
PROTOTYPE?

Get great test results with Save time and money as Build a co-creation
little effort methods are cheap community
 Paper prototype Wireframe Click dummy

WHAT ARE
GREAT
PROTOTYPES
TO START Storyboards Lego Video / role play
WITH?
Paper prototypes are simple
visualizations of a physical product
Wireframes are simple sketches of digital
applications showing their basic structure
A click dummy is a clickable wireframe, Use the marvel app to put
together a click dummy within
interlinking the different pages minutes!
 Make 2 contrasting versions: the old,
Storyboards show in which context unsatisfactory way the customer used
to solve the problem vs the new,
your solution will be used much better way, using
your solution
Lego prototypes show complicated systems and Use the Lego movie maker app to
processes that are linked to each other put together a great video and
visualize the entire user journey.
Videos or role plays explain the context of
your idea in a very lively way
TEAM EXERCISE: Don’t try to make it look perfect,
otherwise people will be afraid to give
PROTOTYPING honest/ negative feedback which is exactly
what you’re looking for at this point.

Decide which prototyping method is best suited to portray your idea. You
can also combine several methods, e.g. build a physical prototype and
include it in a video you’re making.

Go ahead, take an hour or two and bring your idea to life!

ITERATIVE
TESTING
 Try talking to 10-15 representatives
of your target group in the first place.
You’ll be surprised how many insights
you get from such a small number –
more than 90%!

SOLUTION TESTING
Now that you’ve built your first prototype to visualize your
solution, get ready to test it and gain valuable feedback from
the people you’ve designed it for!

Prototyping and testing your solution early on is a great way

to reduce the likelihood of developing something that
nobody wants. It’s likely that your customers love certain
aspects of your solution, but dislike others. Over time –
usually 2-3 iterations – you will improve your solution up to a
point where there is little to no negative feedback left. That’s
when you’re ready to bring something to the market.

This section shows you how to conduct successful testing

sessions, which mindset you should have and what questions
you could ask.
TESTING MINDSET
Never defend your idea!

Show, don‘t tell!

Focus on what you want

to learn!

Be empathetic, understand,
don’t sell!
QUESTIONS TO ASK
After explaining the problem you identified: Specific questions regarding your solution:
• Can you identify yourself with this situation? How • Which parts do you like about the solution and why?
relevant is this problem to you (or others you know)?
• Which parts don‘t you like about the solution and why? / If
you could change (1-)3 things about the solutions, what
would that be?
After leading the user through your solution ONCE:
• In your opinion, what is the most important feature that
• What‘s your overall first impression? Why? would add most value to you and why?
• In your opinion, does our solution solve the problem • Are there features that you wouldn‘t use and why?
we described previously? Why, why not?
• Can you think of any new features that we haven‘t yet
thought of and that would be of value to you?
• Can you think of any other solution that already exists which
resembles this one?
• What device do you see yourself using for this solution?
• If we brought this to the market, would you use it? Why, why
not?
• How much would you be willing to pay for this?
• Would you recommend it to family/friends? To whom and
why?
TEAM EXERCISE Try to schedule all interviews within 1-2 days
at the beginning of the week. This way, you
SOLUTION INTERVIEWS have the rest of the week to analyze the
findings and discuss necessary iterations to
your solution/ prototype.

STEP 1: DEVELOP YOUR OWN QUESTIONNAIRE. STEP 2: RECRUIT INTERVIEWEES. STEP 3: CONDUCT INTERVIEWS!

Think about the make or break points of your Schedule 10-15 interviews with representatives The Interview Duo
solution. What are aspects that you really need of your target group. Ideally, meet them in real
to confirm? life. Alternatively, meet them virtually, e.g. via One person speaks,
MS Teams one person takes notes.

Your goal in the first testing round is to

Free recruitment channels:
- reconfirm the relevancy of the problem
Friends, family, colleagues, Social Media
- confirm the overall problem-solution-fit
- get initial feedback for improvements
Paid recruitment channels:
Hellopingpong, Market research institutes
 3 iterations is a rule of thumb. If there
is still substantial new feedback
coming during the 3rd round of testing,
continue with another round until
you’re not learning anything new
anymore.

THE 3 TESTING ITERATIONS

TEST AND IMPROVE YOUR SOLUTION 3 TIMES. HOW TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SOLUTION
BUILD. MEASURE. LEARN. Take a day as a team and analyze all interviews. Improve your
current solution based on the feedback you gathered.
WHAT PEOPLE LIKE
 Leave it as is Build a second prototype to illustrate your iterated solution,
prepare a new questionnaire, recruit 10-15 new people and
WHAT PEOPLE DON’T LIKE conduct the second round of interviews.
 Understand why and improve it Repeat this process a third time.

NEW IDEAS
 Integrate them if it makes sense

2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks

PAIR/ TEAM EXERCISE: After every interview as well as at the end
of all interviews, fill out this template.
ANALYZE YOUR INTERVIEWS Update your initial idea description and
statement based on your learnings.

WHAT PEOPLE LIKE WHAT PEOPLE DON’T LIKE

NEW IDEAS

HOW TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT SOLUTION

 Contact the IT fast lane for help. Tools
like Instapage help you build your first
landing page within just a day.
ADD ON: DIGITAL TESTING Quantilope helps you set up a quick
and dirty survey to
Test your prototype not only with interviews, but also online. Interviews help you find out what people say. link to your ads.
Ads and landing pages help you find out what people actually do.

SOCIAL MEDIA ADS

 Test your value proposition with different texts
 Test your packaging/ design with different images
 Get feedback with a quantitative survey
 Drive traffic to your landing page

LANDING PAGES Up till now, we have always relied on what people

SAY. Example: 80% say that cultured meat is cool and
 Test what people click on/ where they spend time they would eat it. However, not even 50% do when
actually faced with it. It is now time to check whether
 Test if people actually buy your solution people are prepared to DO or to GIVE something for
your solution. If people DO or GIVE something for
 Get quantitative feedback on your solution your solution, that is strong evidence that your
solution offers added value.
FINAL
OUTPUT
FINAL
IDEA DESCRIPTION

CATCHY TITLE:
High Level Description/ Elevator Pitch:

TARGET CONSUMER PROBLEM TO SOLVE (Why): KEY BENEFITS KEY FEATURES OWNABLE PROPOSITION/
(Who): (What): (What): USP (Wow):
FINAL
IDEA STATEMENT

Now it’s time to bring it all together in just 1 simple sentence, by creating an idea statement.
The idea statement brings together all the previous work you have done so far. It’s your elevator pitch!

(1) Name of the product/service

______________ (1) helps ______________ (2), who have ______________ (3), to achieve ______________ (4).
(2) Your customer
(3) Key problem(s)
(4) Key value proposition
We do this with ______________ (5), contrary to ______________ (6). (5) Solution
(6) Existing alternatives
(7) Unfair advantage
Our key competitive advantage lies in ______________ (7).
FINAL
PROTOTYPE

Insert picture/link here.

STEP 03 –
PITCH YOUR SOLUTION
Congratulations, you‘ve found a solution that people love and
are willing to buy! You are convinced, your target group is
convinced – now there‘s only one group left to convince: your
sponsors. You need them to bring your idea to life!

So it’s time to prepare a great pitch presentation which they

can’t say no to. Just like every successful startup, you will need 5
things to make a good story:

1. A great solution to an important problem

2. A validated and working prototype

3. A sound business model to earn money

4. A plan to make it happen

You‘ve already got the first two, so let‘s get going on the last
two!
The difference between a
vision and a hallucination
is that other people can
see the vision.
Marc Andreessen
BUSINESS
MODEL
 A business model describes the 3
innovation criteria that you already
know in a bit more detail. Use the
WHAT IS A BUSINESS MODEL trigger questions on the next page to
fill out your business
model canvas.

CUSTOMER BUSINESS
DESIRABILITY VIABILITY

Innovation
TECHNICAL
FEASIBILITY
 Watch these two videos to learn
more about the business model
canvas and all the different
possibilities to earn money with
your idea.
BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS:
INSPIRATION

Alexander Osterwalder Different revenue models

Inventor of the business model canvas
 Fill out the business model canvas. Start with
TEAM EXERCISE: the value proposition and customer
BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS segments as you already know them. Explore
new revenue streams and find complemen-
tary partners to make your idea happen.

KEY PARTNERS KEY ACTIVITIES VALUE PROPOSITIONS CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

KEY RESOURCES CHANNELS

COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS

MAKING IT
HAPPEN
Crappy Product Great product that
nobody wants to use MINIMUM VIABLE everybody loves, but
takes a lot of time and
money to build

MVP
 Focus on the 3 most important features
from your customer’s point of view.
What is a minimal version that is still
compelling enough for your early
adopters to buy?

DEFINE YOUR MVP

The last thing you need before you can create your final pitch
presentation is a plan to make it happen. How can you bring
your solution to life and test it under real market conditions?
EXPECTATIONS

Enjoyable
The answer: You build an MVP – a minimum viable product
that provides value to your customer but is still reduced to a
minimal version that doesn’t take forever to create. Your goal Usable
is to be on the market within 6 months, collecting feedback
from real customers who have actually bought your offer.
MVP Reliable

If they like it, you can slowly but surely scale it up to your Functional
ideal solution that you’ve visualized in your final prototype. PRODUCT

CONTEXT
User Needs
Go ahead and define your MVP now.

User Segments

AUDIENCE
TEAM EXERCISE: Get feedback from marketing and
DEFINE YOUR MVP finance experts on your launch and
resource plan.

MVP FORMAT MVP TARGET GROUP MVP SCOPE

How will your MVP look like? Who will you target? Everyone or just a small What are the 3-5 features to include
segment (beta testers)? in your initial version?
Will it be an app/ website/ product?
Will you start in a specific city only? Which ones will you launch in version
2 and 3?

LAUNCH PLAN RESOURCES NEEDED PARTNERS NEEDED

What marketing/ communication acitivites will What financial, human or other resources will What internal and external partners will you
you need to attract early buyers – before and you need to build and launch your MVP? need to build and launch your MVP?
after launch
 Rules For Writing Your Future Press Release

The goal must be stated at a future Start with the customer. Use the
PICTURE OF point in time at which success has
been achieved and realized. Press
press release to explain why the
product is important to customers.

SUCCESS releases at launch are good, but a

better one is sometime after launch,
where true success can be discussed.
How did the customers’ experience
improve? Why do the customers
care? What delights customers about
A great picture of success will be this new service?
like a magnet – people will want to
get there. Ask yourselves what
success will look like for you. One
great way to spark this imagination
is writing a fictional press release.
It’s Amazon’s secret weapon to get
everyone on board and on the
same page. One shared vision can Set an audacious and clear goal. Outline the principles used that led
go a long way to make things Articulate clear, measurable results to success. Identify the hard things
happen! you’ve achieved, including financial, accomplished, the important
operating, and market share results. decisions, and the design principles
that resulted in success.
TEAM EXERCISE: Let everyone in the team write his or her
own version first, then come together and
PICTURE OF SUCCESS pick and choose the best parts to rewrite
your joint release.

Write your future press release here.

Step one is easy: Use the empty space to write down which problem you’d like your idea to solve.
 Watch these videos to get some
inspiration for your own pitch. You’re
allowed to steal with pride!

A GREAT PITCH
INSPIRATION

Useful tips from a pitch coach 2 great startup pitches

PITCH
PRESENTATION
 Re-use all your exercise and final output
templates to save time but consider
making them a bit more visual and
appealing. After all, a picture says more
than a thousand words.

MAKE YOUR PITCH

Time to make the final pitch presentation that will convince
your sponsors to launch your MVP.
Every startup knows about the importance of telling a great
coherent story. The most successful ones follow a very
specific approach.
Successful Pitch Recipe
Introduce a big problem that a lot of people have and explain
why existing solutions aren’t solving it
Introduce your solution and explain why it is better than all
existing solutions
Show a working prototype and positive customer feedback
Show that you have a sound business model that makes
money
Show that you have a coherent plan to make it happen
Show what success will look like

Let’s go – start preparing your final pitch!

TEAM EXERCISE: Start with a hook that gets everyone’s
attention – a shocking fact/ statistic
PITCH PRESENTATION supporting the relevancy of your problem/
solution.

Prepare your final pitch presentation.

A great pitch can be delivered in 15-30 minutes.
Allow 2 minutes per slide. Build a maximum of 15 slides.
Plan enough time to show your final prototype.
Focus on key messages and make it visual.
PITCH
PREPARATION
 Make at least 5-10 rehearsals.
Watch some great startup pitches
as an inspiration.

PREPARE YOUR PITCH

Careful preparation for your final pitch is key to get your job
done. The slides are ready, the prototype is ready, now you
need to get ready!

• Plan the pitch day down to the last second.

• Who is going to be there and what are their potential
concerns or questions?
• Where will you present? What tools are already there and
what do you need to bring (flipchart, projector, post-its,
markers…)?
• How much time do you have? Did you allow enough time
for Q&A and for your prototype demonstration?

Last but not least, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! The first

pitch is never the best. Invite a few people to your dry run
and incorporate their feedback. On the day of your pitch,
make one final run through. Then, prepare to shine!
FINAL
OUTPUT
FINAL
PITCH PRESENTATION

Insert presentation here...

NOW GO GET SPONSORED!
TIME TO
REFLECT
TEAM EXERCISE Take 1-2 hours for this team reflection and
be brutally honest. Focus on concrete
REFLECT ON YOUR WORK suggestions for improvements for your next
intrapreneurial project.

WHAT WENT WELL?

WHAT DIDN’T GO WELL?

WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER?

INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE Take 1-2 hours to reflect on your personal
learning journey. Be specific about what
REFLECT ON YOUR WORK concrete actions you are going to take in
order to leverage your new skills.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF?

WHAT NEW SKILLS HAVE I DEVELOPED?

HOW WILL I USE THESE NEW SKILLS IN MY PRIVATE AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE?
WHO
ROCKS?
YOU!
CONGRATULATIONS on getting
started on your intrapreneurial
journey!

You can be proud of yourself.

NESTLÉ MOST DEFINITELY IS!

… so stay on it! 
 THANK
FINAL
WORDS

YOU! SCAN ME 
 is hereby presented to

YOUR NAME

for being a kick-ass official Nestlé Intrapreneur!

Jennifer Kint Nora Moebus

YOUR SIGNATURE

Nestlé Intrapreneur Nestlé Innovation Coaches