This case study offers insight into how uTest developed its value proposition and successfully addressed the gain/pain ratio. This is part of the Startup Secrets focus on Value Proposition development. For more information on this and other Startup Secrets focus areas, visit http://www.startupsecrets.com

1. Hi
Harvard innovation : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Value Proposition
Harvard innovation lab lab
@mjskok
STARTUP
SECRETS
An insider’sCase Example: uTest advantage
guide to unfair competitive
Building a Compelling
Value Proposition
MICHAEL J SKOK
North Bridge Venture Partners
twitter: @mjskok mjskok.com
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2. Hi
Harvard innovation lab : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Value Proposition
@mjskok
Value Proposition Template
• For (target customers)
• Who are dissatisfied with (the current
alternative)
• Our product is a (new product)
• That provides (key problem-solving
capability)
• Unlike (the product alternative)
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3. Hi
Harvard innovation lab : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Value Proposition
@mjskok
uTest
• For companies with web or mobile apps
• Who are dissatisfied with apps that work as
expected in the QA lab, but not in the hands of
end users
• Our in-the-wild testing
• Enables them to test their apps under real-world
conditions
• Unlike outsourced testing, which merely moves
the QA lab to a cheaper part of the world, but
doesn’t actually improve app quality
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4. Hi
Harvard innovation lab : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Value Proposition
@mjskok
Gain/Pain ratio
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Revenue
Cost savings
Time
People
Competitive advantage
Reputation
Etc..
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inertia
Switching costs?
Default = do nothing
Alternatives?
Good enough =
good enough!
RISK on a startup
•
•
•
•
•
•
Find (See)
Try
Buy
Implement
Deploy
Own – eg TCO
Pain
Inertia,
RISK
Gain
>10
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5. Before & After
Before: Test In The Lab & Hope
After: Test Where Your Users Are
Testing inside the lab is vital. But today’s web & mobile apps require a new approach to
augment lab testing: in-the-wild testing
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6. uTest: Gain vs. Pain
• Gain from uTest:
– Scale infinitely and immediately
- From 3 testers, to 30, to 300, and back to 0
– Lower total cost of testing
- EG: SMBs - unlimited testing for ½ the cost of one FTE
– Test under real-world conditions
- Live testers, real devices, imperfect conditions… in-the-wild
• Pain from uTest:
– More testing reports, creating more work
- Takes time to re-produce, vet and rate 50+ bugs
– More collaboration, creating more oversight
- Coordination between in-house & crowd testers
• Goal:
– Maximize in-the-wild testing, while minimizing overhead
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7. Gain vs. Pain Ratio
•
Tough to quantify precisely, but here’s what we’ve learned
Lower Escape Rate
by 75%
20:1
Make Testing Mirror
User Base
on cost + value basis
Launch Confidence
Higher Quality Apps
5:1
on cost basis
Cost Savings: 10X
Increased Overhead
Gain
vs.
Pain
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8. Sample Customer ROI
• Test latest version of Google Chrome across 300
highest trafficked URLs on the web
Traditional Outsourcing
vs.
uTest
Testers
8
Testers
30
Hours / Tester
40
Hours / Tester
10
# of Days
5
# of Days
2
# of URLs Tested
300
# of URLs Tested
300
# of Discovered
Issues
19
# of Discovered
Issues
129
Price
Price-per-Issue
$15,000
$789
Price
Price-per-Issue
$10,000
$78
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9. Hi
Harvard innovation : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Value Proposition
Harvard innovation lab lab
@mjskok
START UP
SECRETS
An insider’sCase Example: uTest advantage
guide to unfair competitive
Building a Compelling
Value Proposition
MICHAEL J SKOK
North Bridge Venture Partners
mjskok.com
twitter: @mjskok
9