Founder Q&A: design programs
3 really good questions I always get from climate founders in the trenches.
Climate PMF Newsletter by Peter Nocchiero
Hey, I’m Peter and I help climate founders find and improve product/market fit. The climate imperative isn’t enough for a startup to win. I created a practical, experience-based approach borne out of my direct, operational work with 100s of startups called PMF 2.0 for Climate Startups.
Disclaimer: no AI was used in the creation of this post or any of my content. You’re stuck with the madness swirling around in my brain.
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Let’s dive in.
1/ If I pick an ICP for my design program, am I stuck with them?
Short answer, no. A DPP is a vehicle for learnings (and sales which we will talk about next). So in reality, it's not about your ICP, it's a contentless vehicle that you fill with meaning. You put an ICP into it and see what comes out.
Strategically, you might want to prioritize a list of multiple ICPs and then run them through your DPP or run multiple DPP's (concurrently or serially), depending on your bandwidth.
2/ Aren’t design programs just a dressed up version of customer discovery and lean/agile methodologies?
Initially, yes. But what they really are are a product-led growth sales motion. If your DPP doesn't result in revenue, from at least some of the participants of the DPP, then you aren't doing it right (sorry).
3/ I’m trying to measure success in my design program but the metrics I’m focused on - revenue & retention - can take 6-12mo to show signal. How do I work this challenge?
Time, reputation, and money (credit @themomtest) are leading indicators of revenue, retention, and product/market fit. What do these look like?
Time: a prospect is willing to spend a few hours a month with you - in your DPP - giving you product feedback.
Reputation: a prospect or customer is willing to refer you to someone else they care about. This might be a user recommending you to their boss, one group inside of a F500 co referring you to another group, or the use of a logo/testimonial.
Money: well... obviously. BUT the key thing that folks miss here is that if you have revenue, but don't have time and reputation, THAT REVENUE WILL CHURN. I've had founders come to me excited that they have $100k in revenue, and that's no small feat, but when I ask how frequently they get on a call with their customers, or if their customers have made any efforts to put their reputation on the line for you, and the answer is "not much"... I don't like it. It means churn is coming.
Thanks for listening.
Peter💚✨
🙋♀️ Questions about PMF? DM me and I’ll answer them.
Climate PMF Newsletter by Peter Nocchiero
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