Get your idea out of your head and into the hands of paying customers!
If you want to build a successful startup or create an insanely great product, join this program.
The first course in our Lean Product Development Program: Ship It will be offered in February 2016. It will help you with the following:
- Go from idea to launching a product.
- Build a world-class software product without a technical background or startup experience.
- Make money from Day 1 with customers who will gladly pay for your product.
Start the 7-part introductory series and have lessons delivered to your inbox!
Your ideas can change the world … if they actually get out of your head
You probably have an idea in your head right now … maybe even more than one! But you’re NOT sure if it’s the right idea. You’re probably also concerned that someone may steal your idea and copy it!
Maybe you’re stuck obsessing about it … asking yourself questions like:
“Should I build a web or mobile app?”
“Should I offer it for free or change?”
“Should I look for investors, advisors, or a technical co-founder?”
“Should I quit my day job?”
You’re stuck with uncertainty, instead of executing, because you feel like you just don’t have the time, resources, or money to get started.
Even if you have time and money, maybe you’re still stuck, because you don’t have the technical chops to build it. You think you need a technical co-founder or someone to help you build.
And until you build a product, your idea is going to be stuck in your head! “I want to get unstuck.”
The only thing that limits what you’re capable of is what you believe you can do. Femgineer’s Lean Product Development Program is a great crash course on the non-optional basics of how to build a product that people will love.
You’ve already built a product! It’s just not yet profitable…
So maybe you’re further along … you committed to your idea. You immediately jumped into building it, spending lots of time and money.
Then you launched your product.
But now you’re stuck! You’re asking yourself:
“Why aren’t people signing up for my product?”
“Why aren’t they coming back?”
“Why aren’t people paying me for it?”
You’ve tried slashing prices and giving the product away for free, but nothing is working!
You’ve tried listening to your customers, and built more features, but they still won’t budge and pay you.
If your product is stuck in purgatory, then it’s probably because:
You picked a market that isn’t ready for tech or you don’t have enough domain expertise in it to convey credibility.
You’re not clearly communicating who the product is for, what the problem is that you’re solving, and what the benefits are of the experience that you’re providing.
You’ve attracted a set of customers who aren’t willing to pay because they’re too price sensitive, feel like your new product is a big risk, or are disinterested because they’re happy with a competitor’s solution.
It is possible to pull your product out of purgatory. “I want to get started!”
Even though we were farther along (had launched a product and were making money), there were things we didn’t know. In the Lean Product Development Program we learned to improve the signup process for customers, perform tests, and grow our customer base. And, we received introductions to investors that eventually helped us join the 500 Startups accelerator program.
You think you’ve got it under control.
It takes a LOT to go from idea to product to profitable business, and we know because we’ve come across people who have spent thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even as much as millions of dollars … and they didn’t get anywhere!
Or, they spent months and years of effort only to shut down.
“Why?”
Because they took a trial-and-error approach. They kept spinning their wheels until they eventually burnt out.
“But don’t startups need time and learning to succeed?”
Sure, the tangled world of startups and software development seems intimidating and hard to navigate.
But trial and error takes years of research, setbacks, and heartache … not to mention a lot of money. You could go to design school, teach yourself how to code in the off-hours, and spend thousands of dollars testing marketing campaigns.
Or you could…
Gain confidence in the right idea for your market.
Then turn your passion into a living, breathing software product—and make money from it!
Our founder, Poornima Vijayashanker, has founded 3 startups and personally guided 100+ people who have launched products that make 6 and 7 figures per year. They all started with varying levels of technical and business know-how—or none at all—but they all were passionate about an idea. With the right approach, you can launch a winning software product too.
Successful founders believe in having a set of trusted advisors who will coach them, push them through the hard times, and believe in them even when they don’t believe in themselves.
They also value their time, want to make progress, see results, and make a positive impact on the world by bringing their idea to life!
You can be one of the founders who has built a profitable business and a product customers love.
My friend told me: Join Poornima’s program, it will save you from the 2 years of agony I’ve been through trying to figure all this stuff out on my own.
Follow a proven system for turning your ideas into successful products (and even 6- to 7-figure businesses).
“Thankfully, the course gave me the blueprint to help me cut development time and build something that the users actually want.” —Diana Espino, Software Engineer
Our students have successfully:
- Raised funding from angel investors
- Been accepted into an accelerator program such as 500 Startups
- Completed crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo and Kickstarter
Learn how Alyssa Ravasio found her early adopters, launched a prototype, and raised $1M in angel funding for her startup.
Where will you be in 3 months, 6 months, and a year from now?
You may be stuck wondering:
- Is my idea really going to become a business?
- Will people really pay me for my product?
- Will they really pay for a prototype?
- I hate sales … how am I going to get people to pay for my product?
- Wait! How am I going to build this?
- How am I going to afford to get this whole thing off the ground?
It’s natural to have a LOT of questions, and very few answers. Fortunately for you, we have a LOT answers.
We’ll walk you through the following phases:
- Idea validation to clear product vision
- Product vision to prototype
- Prototype to attracting and closing paying customers
- Exploring investment and accelerator program opportunities
Our goal is to keep you on track, and launch your product with paying customers!
Learn how Jessica Jalsevac saved time by building an MVP for the right product idea.
David Kadavy: Designer and Author of Design for Hackers, Debuted at #18 on Amazon
Sarah Doody: Designer and Consultant to Startups and Fortune 500 Companies
Poornima Vijayashanker: Previously Founding Engineer at Mint.com, Lecturer at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at 500 Startups. Currently Founder of Femgineer.
Our Program
- You’ll be guided through an 8-week online course that contains step-by-step lessons starting with idea and ending with launch strategies
- You’ll complete exercises at the end of each lesson, submit them, and receive ongoing feedback from instructors tailored to your situation.
- You’ll receive individual checkins from instructors and other students, who will act as your accountability partner to make sure you stay on track!
- You’ll be invited to participate in an active and engaged community of founders around the globe who are also building software products.
- You’ll receive lifetime access to the materials, including future additions and improvements.
You’re taking a risk and your @$$ is on the line…
Ours is too, which is why we offer a money back guarantee!
If you’ve been doing the work, following along, but are dissatisfied with the results, simply contact us for a full refund within 2 weeks of starting the program.
You’re wondering about other programs
While we do believe we are THE program for people looking to go from idea to a profitable software product, we encourage you to check out other programs and find the one that:
- Meets your needs financially and intellectually
- Holds you accountable in a way that resonates with you
- Is invested in your success and doesn’t just take your money
- Has a proven track record of helping founders launch software products
- Matches your preferred learning style and offers a high level of individualized attention
- Understands your goals of making money and an impact in the world
- Can help you beyond the program through a strong network to get partners, customers, mentors, and investors
Module 1: Ideation and avoiding interference to bring an idea to life!
You’ll learn how to:
- Identify what holds you back
- Get over the fear of someone stealing your idea
- Whittle down many ideas to one
- Test and iterate on ideas
- Clearly communicate your idea, who it’s for, the problem you’re solving or experience you’re providing, and its benefits to potential customers, employees, and investors
- Make sure you have enough money to fund product development
- Manage your own motivation and avoid burnout
- Recruit co-founders, manage the relationship, and resolve conflict
- Position yourself against a new or existing competitor
- Ship product on time and avoid delays
- Deal with teammate turnover
- Pursue the right idea and market
Module 2: Funding product development and launch plan
You’ll learn how to:
- Get budget approval at a big company for a skunkworks project or new product
- Start by bootstrapping, why it’s an effective technique, and different ways to bootstrap
- Hit milestones that will help you raise capital from angels investors and VCs
- Create a feasible financial to fund product development
- Plan for a successful launch
Module 3: Mitigating market risk and making people want your product
You’ll learn how to:
- Manage risk and mitigate it
- Start small, then scale
- Use online and offline channels to get early customers and feedback
- Identify marketing activities that will accelerate growth
- Explore free and paid marketing channels to accelerate growth
- Attract an audience, then retain them with email marketing
Module 4: Customer Development
You’ll learn how to:
- Attract early adopters and understand their needs
- Translate customer needs into an interactive prototype
- Get your prototype approved by prospective customers
Module 5: Visual Design
You’ll learn how to:
- Analyze your competitor’s product design
- Use design to gain a competitive advantage
- Evaluate, communicate, and hire designers
- Launch a product and make money without “high design”
Module 6: Recruiting technical talent and product development
You’ll learn how to:
- Recruit co-founders and managing the relationship
- Hire an in-house vs manage an outsourced team or contractors
- Create a product roadmap and track product development to ensure you ship on time and on budget!
Module 7: Price your prototype and key metrics to track growth
You’ll learn how to:
- Price based on value
- Get customers to pre-pay for your product
- Track key metrics to increase customer signups and sales
You’re a maker and doer at heart, but you’re buried under an avalanche of ideas. You have an amazing vision for a product, but your perfectionism is stopping you from taking your first steps forward. You’re looking to move faster and make a bigger impact with fewer resources—you’re a big believer that in business, small steps can carry you farther and longer. You just need some guidance to help you get started. This course is for:
- Anyone who wants to build a software product: Designers, product managers, developers, entrepreneurs, etc. The methods in this book have been tested by both technical and non-technical folks.
- Anyone who is struggling to productize: Whether you’re moving from a service business like consulting or freelancing, have too many ideas, or no ideas, this book will help you come up with an idea and provide the steps to make it into a product.
- Anyone who is cares about making money on launch day: If money is an issue, you’ll learn techniques for how to generate working capital and do more with less.
- Anyone who has limited time: All the methods in this book have been tested by people who were working on their idea full time and on the side.
- Anyone who has already built a product and is stuck: You’ll learn how to get your initial set of paying customers, how to grow the business, and when it’s the right time to seek outside funding.
Our students are highly motivated engineers, designers, product managers, marketers, and entrepreneurs who have gone on to launch paid products, raise capital from angel investors, run successful crowdfunding campaigns, and get accepted into accelerators.
If you’re looking to learn how to code, then you’ll be thoroughly disappointed. We don’t teach people how to code. If you do know how to code, then you’ll benefit from learning the best practices when it comes to product development and attracting customers. And if you don’t know how to code, then we’ll teach you how to recruit people who do!
If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, this program isn’t for you either. It will put you on a fast track to bringing your product to life, but you still have to do the exercises included in order to reap the benefits, which will take some time. How much time depends on your level of productivity. It also comes down to how the market responds to your product. If you’re trying to build something for a very niche segment, then chances are it will take time to find and attract a base of early adopters who understand your product’s benefits.
Don’t participate if you’re not ready to invest. We know what it’s like to be strapped for cash, and to have other financial commitments! If you cannot afford course right now, then we recommend checking out our free resources. We don’t offer discounts, but we periodically offer scholarships. You can sign up to hear when we’ll be offering them next.
If you’re really busy. We know you have other commitments, but to see real results we believe that you need to be focused. The program requires a minimum commitment of 5 hours a week. You’ll devote that time to completing the lessons, performing the exercises, and receiving feedback from instructors.
This course also isn’t for people who are building businesses that aren’t based on a software product. If you’re looking to take your existing business online or build and sell a physical product through an online store, then our program won’t meet your needs. Our speciality is software, and we help those who are looking to build a web or mobile app such as:
- An online marketplace
- A financial software service
- A healthcare solution
- A consumer internet application, content site, or game
- An enterprise application
- A software infrastructure product
Start our 7-part introductory series!
Try out the Lean Product Development Program for free. You’ll receive:
- Opportunities to tell us about your product idea
- Receive lessons and exercises to start working on it
- Immediate feedback from our instructors
During the free introducotry series you’ll figure out:
- If the course is the right fit for your needs
- If you’re making progress on your idea and product
- If you enjoy interacting with the instructors and find their feedback valuable
The course distills the best books, research, and experience down to an actionable process for how to build a product. You’ll learn by doing!
Start the 7-part introductory series and have lessons delivered to your inbox!
