Pretotyping comes from the words “pretend” and “prototype.” It is a method to validate business ideas to improve the chances of building a product people want.
Pretotyping helps to answer such questions (about the product or service to build) as: Would I use it? How, how often, and when would I use it? Would other people buy it? How much would they be willing to pay for it? How, how often, and when would they use it?
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Pretotyping in a nutshell
In the FourWeekMBA interview to Alberto Savoia, author of the Right It and the person who coined the term “pretotype” he explained:
The key difference between pretotyping and prototyping is the following: typically you build a prototype to make sure that what you are planning to build can actually be built to see if it will work, how it will work, how long the battery will last, etc. etc.
So, prototypes are built to make sure that you can build something. Now, my research shows that 99% of the time you can build it. Most of the apps, say, in an app store do not fail because people cannot build them, they fail because people are not interested.
As Alberto Savoia explained, pretotype is really:
Designed to ask a very different question. It asks the question, “should we build it?”So, if we build it, will people buy it?
In the book, there are many examples of pretotypes.
Let’s look at an example of pretotyping to understand how you can use it to validate your business ideas.
YouTube Pretotype case study
Alberto Savoia explained the YouTube Pretotype:
One of the techniques I teach, one of the pretotyping techniques I write in the book, is called the “YouTubePretotype,” so instead of actually building the app with code, you can use PowerPoint or KeyNote or any other program to simulate what the app will do, right? So you can make a little video, a little movie, that will show the potential users what the app actually does.
And he continued:
So you can have one screen where you write your name and you write the books that you like and then you click a button and it asks for recommendations and you see the app giving you a recommendation. You can do all of this without writing a single line of code. Anybody can do it if you can use PowerPoint or Keynote you can do that.
Key takeaways
Pretotyping (pretending to have a working prototype) is a fast way to prove an idea. Rather than focus time, effort and money on a prototype that the market doesn’t want.
With pretotyping you can flip the questions “if I build it will you buy it?” and approach the market with the following research question: “If you buy it, we will build it.”
Read next: Pretotyping: How To Find The Right Idea To Avoid Business Failure With Alberto Savoia
Related interviews:
- Discussing Business Model Innovation With Felix Hofmann [Interview]
- Lessons On Running Lean With Ash Maurya [Interview]
Key resources:
- What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
- The Complete Guide To Business Development
- Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
- What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
- Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
- What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
- What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
- What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
- Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
- Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
The post What Is Pretotyping? How To Use Pretotyping To Validate Your Business Idea appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
