Risk Free Entrepreneurship?

Rick Gregg March 25,2025 What do you think?

Considering Entrepreneurship?

Thirty-one (31%) of Americans consider entrepreneurship. The reality? Entrepreneurship is risky. We’re offering a risk-free option for an aspiring Entrepreneur to learn and participate in a real, for-profit tech startup part-time while working their full time job, working on their own startup, or to develop real-world resume building experience for future employment.

We Respect your Work-Life Balance

You are not going to get shamed or cast aside if you have professional and family obligations that may limit your participation in The saaskamp Community Startup once you sign-up. The saaskamp Community Startup is built around your schedule and available time. Proceed at your own pace. You can leave at any time, come back when your schedule permits, and pick up where you left off. You will always earn one (1) share for each hour you contribute to The saaskamp Community Startup.

We Will Teach You the Skills You Need

No experience. No problem. At The saaskamp Community Startup, we take an innovation first and technology second approach to building a startup. Our goal during the bootstrapping phase is to find a repeatable business model. You will learn from the premier thought leaders in the Lean Startup space and practice the following during the bootstrapping phase of the Community Startup before we build anything. You will receive a curriculum tailored for your skills, interests and experience level. We have beginners, experts and everything in between currently enrolled in saaskamp. Our curriculum is based on the following world class teachings on how to build a startup.

• Ideation – The Market Opportunity Navigator (Gruber & Tal)
• The Lean Startup (Blank & Reis)
• The Human Element – Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas (Nordgren & Schonthal)
• Customer Discovery and Validation (Blank & Dorf)
• Value Proposition Design (Osterwalder & Pigneur, et. al.)
• Testing Business Ideas (Bland & Osterwalder)
• Business Model Innovation Strategy (Amit & Zott)
• Business Model Generation (Osterwalder & Pigneur)
• Minimum Viable Product (Stevenson, Burnell & Fisher)

Onboarding Now

You can begin accruing participation shares today by simply registering with the saaskamp Community Startup. You will receive one (1) share for registering and given a seat on our Slack channel. Get timely information, ask questions and get answers; help us craft policy and begin working on our innovation and technology challenges. We can’t wait to see what we create as a startup community together.

What’s the BIG Idea?

Rick Gregg March 11,2025 What do you think?

What are We Going to Build?

One of the problems we have observed in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is they come into the startup world with a pre-concieved idea that never gets thoroughly tested. The Community Startup is open to all ideas. The more the better. We’ll identify the real Market Opportunities for the ideas that the Community Startup members have using the methodology developed by Gruber and Tal in their foundational teaching entitled “Where to Play”. We’ll take our time, do this together and then proceed with business model innovation; and customer discovery and validation. When we are done figuring this all out … we’ll build something really cool. But only then. And, we’ll actually decide together which idea is right for the Community Startup to execute on. We’ll also take other promising ideas and if a group decides they would rather work on something else, we’ll fund that work too.

Don’t Have an Idea? Can’t Decide What to Work On?

We have one of our own original saaskamp ideas that needs to find a Market Opportunity. Okay. It’s more technology that anything else right now. This is absolutely the classic solution looking for a problem. One of our more recent projects was the development of an open source Internet-of-Things (IoT) SaaS Framework for building an IoT SaaS Minimal Viable Product (MVP) quickly. The reference implementation uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W for the IoT device. The source code along with detailed documentation is available for free under the MIT open source license. We’ll throw our hats in the ring on this idea …. errr technology …. along with all the others. May the idea with the best Market Opportunity win! We’ll also have some workshops on ideation to help you get creative.

Phase One – Bootstrapping

We’re going to need to earn our way into the funding available to the Community Startup. In other words, we have to build value before we can fund execution. How do we do this? Through ideation and an exploration of the Market Opportunity. We’ll also learn how to apply several of the leading startup methodologies to discover and create the following:

• Ideation
• Market Opportunity
• Innovative Business Model
• Customer Profile & Value Proposition
• Customer Discovery & Validation
• Business Model Canvas
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Interested in exploring entrepreneurship with little downside risk while earning equity? The majority owned Community Startup may be the answer for you while staying in your current job. Sign up today. In the mean-time if you want to get a head start on where we are going, register for the free 6 week on-line course entitled “Find the right markets for your innovation – A tool for entrepreneurs and innovators for choosing which markets to play in”. We will use this methodology to evaluate all of our ideas so that as a community we can make an informed decision on Where to Play! We can’t wait to see what we create as a startup community together.

Democratizing Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Everyone

Rick Gregg March 06,2025 What do you think?

Opportunity for All

The saaskamp Community Startup is a funded, for-profit majority community owned and democratically controlled early-stage Omaha technology startup. The Community Startup bridges the gap for the Ninety-Nine (99%) of aspiring Entrepreneurs that never receive funding to pursue their American Dream.

Thirty-one (31%) of Americans consider entrepreneurship. The reality? Entrepreneurship is risky. We’re offering a risk-free option for an aspiring Entrepreneur to learn and participate in a real, for-profit tech startup part-time while working their full time job, working on their own startup, or to develop real-world resume building experience for future employment. Established businesses in our community can participate as well. And, from day one everyone earns real ownership when they participate – whether you are learning the ropes or building our future economic engine. We will all share the outcome as a community.

We take an innovation first, technology second approach to building a tech startup. The steps you take on your saaskamp Community Startup journey will follow what you would typically expect in a startup: bootstrapping, launching, and scaling.  You can just participate in your area of interest or learn other startup skills that you would like to acquire. We will create an individualized, unambiguous plan for your journey that meets your needs. You can come and go as you please and are always welcome. We expect that you will find your perfect fit whether its with The saasmvp Project, The Community Startup or your own startup. You can even work on your own startup with our support while contributing to the saaskamp Community Startup.  

Proposed Ownership Structure

Subject to agreement by the participants in the majority owned Community Startup and in consideration of the overall goal of democratizing innovation and entrepreneurship for everyone, we’d like to propose to you the following ownership structure for your initial consideration.

• We must establish value for everyone’s contributions. We propose the following: one (1) hour = $100 = one (1) share. You will begin accruing ownership the minute you decide to participate. Participants will receive one (1) share for each hour of participation. Established community businesses that wish to participate will receive one (1) share for each $100 of your product or services that are consumed by the Community Startup. We are working with our lawyers and tax professionals to defer exposure on any share taxes until an equity conversion, revenue distribution or exit event occurs.

• Initial ownership. The community participants will initially own 60% of the Community Startup. Participants will receive a normal and customary uncapped Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) with a discount. 40% of the Community Startup will be owned by The saasmvp Project and it’s Limited Partners (LPs) using a Venture Debt Agreement with Community Startup friendly terms.  

• 100% community ownership. Once the Venture Debt obligation has been retired, the 40% ownership held by The saasmvp Project and it’s Limited Partners will be released back to the Community Startup participants.

Proposed Control Structure

Subject to agreement by the participants in the majority owned Community Startup and in consideration of the overall goal of democratizing innovation and entrepreneurship for everyone, we’d like to propose to you the following member managed control structure for your initial consideration.

• Community management. We propose empowering the participants of the Community Startup with the following control mechanisms: board representation, hiring of the management team, personnel decisions (including the management team), policy decisions, business and strategy decisions; and funding and exit decisions.

• Member obligations. With the overall goal of democratizing innovation and entrepreneurship for everyone, the participants of the Community Startup will develop the Code of Conduct and Contribution Guidelines for all members of the Community Startup. We will help each other and succeed together.

Open to Everyone Regardless of Age, Skill Sets & Experience

Are you looking for an opportunity to improve your life and learn new skills in a tech startup? We will find a role for you. Are you one of the following? Register with the saaskamp Community Startup today.

• Full time employees looking for a change while keeping their job
• Underemployed professionals looking to grow and use their skills
• Older discriminated against experienced professionals. We need you!
• College & high school students who want hands on experience
• New, aspiring and experienced Entrepreneurs just like you
• Community businesses and non-profits
• Anyone looking for an opportunity to improve their life and learn new skills

Onboarding Now

You can begin accruing participation shares today by simply registering with the saaskamp Community Startup. You will receive one (1) share for registering and given a seat on our Slack channel. Get timely information, ask questions and get answers; help us craft policy and begin working on our innovation and technology challenges.

In the next few weeks, we will be working to educate the community on this innovative approach to democratizing innovation and entrepreneurship for everyone. Our first order of business is obtaining agreement by the participants of the Community Startup regarding the ownership and control structure. Once this has been completed, the required legal agreements will be made available on our website for registered members. We are also working diligently to roll out a comprehensive onboarding experience and can’t wait to see what we create as a startup community together.

It’s Time to Call Your Own Shot

Rick Gregg February 25,2025 What do you think?

Introducing The saaskamp Community Startup

Unsure about the future? Join the saaskamp Community Startup. The Community Startup is a funded early stage tech startup majority owned and managed by you, the participant. You can contribute to the Community Startup while keeping your current full-time job, earn ownership for every hour of effort and attain a full-time paid position with benefits if you wish. You can also take what you learned and create your own startup. We’ll even help you get funding for your own pursuits. And, you’ll still retain ownership for what you contributed to the Community Startup.

Motivation

  “I have this problem. Everyone else MUST have this problem since I do. I’m going to solve this problem today. The Total Available Market (TAM) is enormous! Someone else is going to beat me to this. I must act now!” I run into this type of thinking frequently in my work with aspiring Entrepreneurs. Always, it seems, a solution is looking for a problem. Going fast and breaking things is simply useless if you are not moving in the right direction. If you are not pursuing a valuable market opportunity, or not playing in the right field, you are wasting your time, energy and resources … and those of others too. Finding the right direction is not obvious at all. Your unique abilities and resources can address different needs for different sets of customers, thereby creating several potential market opportunities for your venture and a set of possible paths for your entrepreneurial race.

Internet-of-Things (IoT) SaaS MVP Framework

One of our more recent exercises at The saasmvp Project was the development of an open source Internet-of-Things (IoT) SaaS Framework for building an IoT SaaS Minimal Viable Product (MVP) quickly. The reference implementation uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W for the IoT device. The source code along with detailed documentation is available for free under the MIT open source license.

We absolutely have no idea if the cool technology we built is useful for anyone. We haven’t identified a market opportunity and one may not even exist. If we do identify a market, how will we know its the right market? Who is going to fall over themselves to pay us money?

What’s the Market Opportunity?

What’s the first step in our Community Startup? Identifying the Market Opportunity using the methodology developed by Gruber and Tal in their foundational teaching entitled “Where to Play”. We’ll take our time, do this together and then proceed with business model innovation; and customer discovery and validation. When we are done figuring this all out … we’ll build something really cool. But only then.

Put me in Coach!

Interested in controlling your own destiny, learning valuable skills and owning a piece of the action along the way in a majority owned Community Startup with little risk? We have the answer for you while staying in your current job. The Community Startup is open to anyone of all skill sets, experience levels and age. Sign up today. In the mean-time if you want to get a head start on where we are going, register for the free six (6) week on-line course entitled “Find the right markets for your innovation – A tool for entrepreneurs and innovators for choosing which markets to play in”. We can’t wait to see what we create as a startup community together.

What Makes Entrepreneurs Tick?

Rick Gregg December 09,2024 What do you think?

I’ve thought about this for a very long time. Why, oh why, do I stick with it? Four decades. Several startups, one of which is currently operating; and two exits. I’m beyond the traditional retirement age. Is it an addiction to the roller coaster thrill of success and failure? What exactly motivates an entrepreneur to persist? It turns out, unsurprisingly, that the answer can be found in the psychological domain.

Psychological Ownership

Psychological ownership is the state in which individuals feel as though the target of ownership, or a piece of it, is “theirs”. At the core of psychological ownership is the feeling of possessiveness and of being psychologically attached to an object. Such possessive feelings make people evaluate a situation more favorably than other things that they do not own or cannot easily obtain.

The concept of psychological ownership is relevant and important to the context of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs come up with business ideas, invest tremendous time, money, and energy into developing their venture, design the venture’s values, goals, vision, and culture; and acquire critical resources such as employees and customers. During this process, they have also developed industry knowledge, the market; and business operations gaining a sense of control over their venture. Because self-investment, having control, and intimate knowledge of their venture are three routes to the development of psychological ownership, ownership feelings are developed during the entrepreneurship process. As a result, there is a positive relationship between psychological ownership for the venture and the likelihood of persistence.

Adversity in Entrepreneurship

Adversity in Entrepreneurship is the comparison between venture performance and entrepreneur’s expectations. Well-performing ventures are those whose performance exceeds the entrepreneur’s expectation and therefore are low in adversity. In contrast, underperforming ventures are those where the performance falls short of the entrepreneur’s expectation and are high in adversity. Entrepreneurs cycle through this comparison daily which explains the roller coaster ride metaphor.

Examining the relationship between adversity and the likelihood of persistence, individuals will act in a certain way when they expect that (1) a given amount of effort can result in the achievement of a particular level of performance that will lead to a particular outcome which, in turn, creates an expectation for the entrepreneur; and (2) the outcome is attractive to motivate the entrepreneur to attain it. When the entrepreneur perceives things are going well, the entrepreneur remains motivated and continues their current behavior, increasing the likelihood of persistence.

In contrast, when adversity is high, the negative disparity between venture performance and entrepreneurs’ expectation will prompt entrepreneurs to reassess the situation. As a result, you might conclude that an entrepreneur may have a lower likelihood of persistence with the venture. However, this is incorrect. Instead, psychological ownership and adversity interact to affect the entrepreneurs’ likelihood of persistence.

Entrepreneurs high in psychological ownership tend to protect their ownership target, particularly in adverse situations when they feel their ownership is challenged. There is a much stronger desire to react to the high adversity to protect their ventures, no matter how irrational that may seem. To be specific, the sense of responsibility that accompanies psychological ownership will be triggered in the high adversity context and entrepreneurs with deep psychological ownership will feel responsible for protecting the venture to maintain the felt ownership no matter what the adverse circumstances are.  

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

An entrepreneur’s persistence decision to continue with their venture is highly governed by the entrepreneurs’ psychological ownership when adversity is high. As a result, psychological ownership will have a stronger influence on the likelihood of persistence when adversity is high than when it is low. This constant battle between psychological ownership and adversity effects not only the founder but all involved in the venture which creates a tremendous mental health challenge for every entrepreneur.

At The saasmvp Project we stive to provide entrepreneurs with the mental health resources they need to navigate this challenge by incorporating these resources and access to counseling dedicated to this very issue in our saaskamp program. You can learn more about this in the 2017 Applied Psychology paper entitled “An Investigation of Entrepreneurs’ Venture Persistence Decision: The Contingency Effect of Psychological Ownership and Adversity.” In the meantime, we’re excited to help you discover your ideal SaaS customer profile and can’t wait to see what you build! Let me know what you think.

Don’t Compete Against Luck

Rick Gregg October 03,2024 What do you think?

SOURCE: freepik.com

In its 2012-2016 annual Breakthrough Innovation Report, Nielsen tracked over twenty-thousand new product launches and identified just ninety-two that sold more than $50 million in year one and sustained sales in year two. That’s a failure rate of 99.5%! In our work of identifying the customer jobs for our customer profile, we view customer jobs in light of the “Jobs to Be Done” theory made popular by the late Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and thought leader in his book Competing Against Luck.

Creating the Right Experiences

Defining the Job

Customers don’t buy products or services; they pull them into their lives to make progress. This progress is the “job” they are trying to get done. The metaphor used is that customers “hire” products or services to solve these jobs. Remembering that the definition of a Job to Be Done is precise, a job is then defined as the progress that a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance. The idea of a circumstance is intrinsic to the definition of a job. A job can only be defined – and a successful solution created – relative to the specific context in which it arises. The emphasis on circumstance is not hair-splitting or simple semantics – it is fundamental to the Job to Be Done. Finally, a job has an inherent complexity to it; it not only has functional dimensions, but it has social and emotional dimensions too. In many innovations, the focus is often entirely on the functional or practical need. But consumers’ social and emotional needs can far outweigh any functional desires.

Who Does Your Customer Have to Fire Before They Hire You?

Most companies want to stay closely connected to their customers to make sure they’re creating the products and services those customers want. Rarely, though, can customers articulate their requirements accurately or completely – their motivations are more complex and their pathways to purchase more elaborate than they can describe. But you can get to the bottom of it. What they hire – and equally important, what they fire – tells a story. That story is about the functional, social and emotional dimensions for their desire of progress – and what prevents them from getting there. The challenge is in becoming part sleuth and part documentary filmmaker – piecing together clues and observations – to reveal the jobs customers are trying to get done.

The saasmvp Project is dedicated to helping SaaS Entrepreneurs who want to create a repeatable SaaS business model and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that generates revenue with minimal financial risk. If you’ve enrolled in saaskamp, our FREE one-on-one mentoring program for SaaS Founders, you already know that we rely heavily on the Jobs to Be Done Theory in the development of our customer profile’s jobs. We’re excited to help you discover your ideal SaaS customer profile and can’t wait to see what you build! Let me know what you think.

How to Build a Startup

Rick Gregg September 12,2024 What do you think?

Source: Udacity

Startups are not simply smaller versions of large companies. Companies execute business models where customers, their problems, and necessary product features are all “knowns”. In sharp contrast, startups operate in “search” mode, seeking a repeatable and profitable business model. The search for a business model requires dramatically different rules, roadmaps, skill sets, and tools in order to minimize risk and optimize chances for success.

Startup success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Startup success can be attained by following the right process which means rejecting the traditional business plan and embracing the methods taught by Eric Rees in his seminal book entitled, The Lean Startup, combined with Steve Blanks prime directive on Customer Discovery and Validation entitled The Startup Owners Manual. You can read both of these books for FREE by clicking on their respective titles.

Take the How to Build a Startup Course for FREE

Want to learn what it takes to build a successful startup using the Customer Development process, where entrepreneurs “get out of the building” to gather and iterate on feedback? This FREE Udacity Course entitled How to Build a Startup by Steve Blank and Kathleen Mullaney teaches both the Lean Startup; and Customer Discovery and Validation. I highly recommend before developing your business model canvas.

The saasmvp Project is dedicated to helping SaaS Entrepreneurs who want to create a repeatable SaaS business model and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that generates revenue with minimal financial risk. We’re excited to help you discover your ideal SaaS customer profile and can’t wait to see what you build! Let me know what you think.

Exploring Customer Jobs

Rick Gregg August 24,2024 What do you think?

Source: freepik.com, The saasmvp Project

Your first Customer Profile results from your initial assumptions about your innovative product and service. These assumptions are then tested by you for accuracy in the customer discovery and validation process. As Steve Blank has famously said “no business plan survives first contact with a customer.” You are no different.

The Customer Profile

In Alexander Osterwalder’s ground breaking book, Value Proposition Design, the Customer Profile describes a specific customer segment in your business model in a more structured and detailed way. You may have more than one customer segment which requires its own profile. The Customer Profile breaks the customer down into its jobs, pains and gains. Consider:

• Jobs. Customer jobs describe what customers are trying to get done in their work, and in their lives, as expressed in their own words. Make sure you take the customer’s perspective when investigating jobs. What you think of as important from your perspective might not be a job customers are trying to get done!

• Pains. Customer pains describe bad outcomes, risks, and obstacles related to customer jobs.

• Gains. Customer gains describe the outcomes customers want to achieve or the concrete benefits they are seeking.

Customer Jobs

We begin our development of the Customer Profile by considering Customer Jobs. One of the best frameworks is the “jobs-to-be-done” theory popularized in the book Competing Against Luck by the late Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and thought leader. The foundational principle is that people “hire” products and services to deliver three basic needs: functional value (e.g. it will save you time), social value (e.g. it will impress your friends), and emotional value (e.g. it will bring you joy). These three dimensions of value are present in every decision we make about whether to buy or try something new.

• Functional. When your customers try to perform or complete a specific task or solve a specific problem, that’s a functional job. For example, how warm and dry you feel when wearing a jacket you are considering for purchase.

• Social. When your customers want to be perceived by others in a favorable way or gain power or status, that’s a social job. For example, what does the style and brand of the jacket tell you about the purchaser? (fashion conscious, wealthy, earthy, hipster, etc.)

• Emotional. When your customers seek a specific emotional state, such as the feeling of job security in the workplace, that’s an emotional job. For example, how do you feel about yourself when you wear the jacket (and even when it’s hanging in your closet).

The past few blog posts have discussed in detail four human frictions (inertia, effort, emotion, and resistance) that prevent someone from adopting your innovative product or service. We will evaluate the impact of the four frictions when discovering and validating your customer’s functional, social and emotional jobs.

The saasmvp Project is dedicated to helping SaaS Entrepreneurs who want to create a repeatable SaaS business model and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that generates revenue with minimal financial risk. We’re excited to help you discover your ideal SaaS customer profile and can’t wait to see what you build! Let me know what you think.

Kill the Business Plan. Adapt and refine your Minimum Viable Business Plan.

Rick Gregg August 19,2024 What do you think?

Alexander Osterwalder has it right. Business Plans are the enemy of the startup. Check out Alex’s insight entitled “Kill the business plan. Adapt and refine your Minimum Viable Business Plan.” The saasmvp Project empowers you to build a repeatable business model & MVP using the methods taught by the renowned Alexander Osterwalder.

Overcoming Buyer Resistance

Rick Gregg August 17,2024 What do you think?

In my last post, I discussed the importance of uncovering the tricky customer pain of Emotion. In the last part of this four part series, I will continue my discussion of the four frictions that cause innovation headwinds and prevent your customer from buying. In summary, these frictions are: 1) Inertia (part one), 2) Effort (part two), 3) Emotion (part three); and 4) Reactance (this post).

Why We Feel the Impulse to Resist Change

If inertia is the resistance to change, Reactance is the resistance to being changed. In their groundbreaking 2022 book “The Human Element,” authors Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal point out that “people don’t like having change imposed on them. We don’t like being told what to do. This is a major obstacle for the innovator, because innovation is the act of changing what people do. This means that the innovator’s objective is at odds with our human nature. And when people feel they are being pressured to change, the automatic reaction is to react against change. This phenomenon is known as Reactance. Reactance leads us to see new ideas not as opportunities, but as invaders. We raise the drawbridge and arm the gates.”

Humans have a fundamental need for freedom over their environment. Freedom is a basic human need because it is essential for survival. Freedom allows us to select options that are beneficial and desirable and avoid options and outcomes that are detrimental. The trouble is, when we attempt to influence people we are, in effect, imposing on their freedom. We are attempting to push them down a particular path. When people feel their freedom being threatened, their instinct is to restore the freedom by pushing back.

Don’t Add Features

Innovators quickly learn to expect new ideas to be met by knee-jerk doubt and disapproval. When we encounter resistance to a new idea, the innovators impulse is to add features. We are attempting to overcome buyer resistance by igniting the idea with features in the hope of providing more evidence and encouragement to get them to adopt. However, by creating more change through the addition of features, we create an unintended consequence of even more Reactance.

Overcoming Reactance

The secret to overcoming Reactance is to stop pushing for change. Rather than attempting to persuade others, we should try and help them persuade themselves. This approach uses self-persuasion which occurs when the arguments and insights for change come from within. Rather than telling people what to think, self-persuasion uses questions that lead to self-discovery. Oftentimes self-persuasion is the only technique that will work to overcome Reactance.

Ask Yes Questions

When practicing self-persuasion, asking is a better approach to getting buy-in than telling people what to do. New innovations and ideas will be more easily accepted if we begin with questions that reveal acceptance and common ground. Getting people to say yes to small requests, such as giving feedback stokes self-persuasion because it makes them feel more involved in the process. By the time they get to the big request, they already identify with the idea. To calculate the degree of Reactance your innovation will produce, consider these three questions:

• Does my idea threaten a core belief? This question determines whether your audience is open-minded to the change you are trying to create. If your idea touches on issues you avoid at the Thanksgiving table (e.g. politics, religion, social justice), it’s probably a core belief.

• Does my approach pressure people to change? When people feel pressured to change, their instinct is to push back to maintain their autonomy. Pressure comes in many forms. Penalties for not changing, time pressure, and a demanding message all are strong Reactance generators.

• Was your audience excluded? Is the idea entirely yours or did your audience play a role in the process?

When asking yes questions contemplate the following:

• Are you asking or telling? Telling people what to do is a form of pressure. Asking removes Reactance.

• Are you asking a yes question? The innovator’s faulty instinct is to begin the conversation at the point of tension or disagreement. New innovations and ideas will be more easily accepted if we begin with questions that reveal acceptance and common ground.

• Can you create public commitments? Self-persuasion becomes more powerful when the commitment is made publicly. This has the effect of accelerating adoption from the like minded people that are resisting the change since one or more of their own is endorsing the concept among their peers.

This wraps up our four part series on overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas. We will be using the four frictions during customer discovery when we develop tests to measure the effectiveness of our customer profile and value proposition for our innovative SaaS offering. Want to learn more? Check out The Human Element book for more information and examples.

The saasmvp Project is dedicated to helping SaaS Entrepreneurs who want to create a repeatable SaaS business model and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that generates revenue with minimal financial risk. We’re excited to help you discover your ideal SaaS customer profile and can’t wait to see what you build!