business model, customer development, e245, engr245, lean launchpad, lean startup, stanford, startup, steve blank

1. Market: Resegmenting as niche entrant
Where we started...
Helping gig workers use their
customer ratings to get better
career opportunities
Darren,
an uber driver
Where we ended up!
Helping low-skill workers advance
their careers with
‘better resumes’
We
interviewed
107 people
Mary,
an aspiring medical
assistant
Market: New market

2. Jenny Molyneaux
MBA 2
- Background in user
acquisition, growth, and
tech
Tom Bedecarre
Mentor
- Cofounder, Chairman
of AKQA.
Stanford DCI Fellow
Christine Tataru
CS, Masters in AI
- Background in
algorithms,
bioinformatics, and
software development
Tatiana Brezina
MBA 1
- Background in
designing financial tools
for underserved
Americans
Eleanor Cooper
MBA 2
- Background in finance,
design thinking
A crew of people all committed to helping low-skilled workers find better jobs

3. • Gig economy workers
who want to move into
stable, full-time work. Their
current work doesn’t meet
their needs, but they don’t
know how to pursue a
better opportunity
• Employers in industries
struggling to find high
quality low-skilled workers
• Potentially, educators/
intermediaries (ie.
community colleges, job
training programs, etc) who
are not reaching or
adequately serving this
demographic
• Employers: provide jobs
that our users can be
placed into
• Skills training programs
(Job training programs,
vocational schools,
community colleges): we
want to connect individuals
to these programs /
increase their impact
• Gov: there is lots of
political will and gov.
funding for job training and
upward mobility initiatives
• Other companies : there
are several other
companies that work in this
space, however target a
different demographic. We
want to enhance their work
not compete with it
• Problem: Gig-economy
contract employees
(GEWs) are not adequately
rewarded for good
performance or able to
leverage it for career
progression/ upward
mobility.
• Solution- GEWs: provide
career progression
opportunities, both ‘cross -
gig platform’ as well as into
non-contract roles
• Solution- employers &
intermediaries: saves time
and costs in connecting
them with an important
demographic; reduces
hiring & turnover costs
• Acquiring users (contract workers) to our tool
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers
• Labor costs because there are a number of manual elements to our
product (updating new job opportunities, figuring out what skills are
relevant cross-platform, connecting w job training programs)
• Employers will pay for better quality candidates to reduce their hiring
turnover costs
• Workers will pay either a small subscription fee for regular career
progress tracking or a larger one time fee for job placement assistance
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for
vocational training programs / colleges / related public grants
• Our customers are on the
move so we hope to track
performance through an
app. We are also thinking
of having in-person visits w
career counselors.
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn
& GSB network intros
• Requires dependable
relationship to build the trust
necessary for GEWs to share
goals/ challenges
• Need to address the
emotional as well as practical
barriers to pursuing upward
mobility
• Requires intermediaries view
us as complementary to their
work / initiatives
• Technical expertise to
build the product
• Ability to understand
HR/legal landscape
• Career counselors &
career path creators
/connectors
• De-risking career pursuit
by providing actionable
career pathways (may
include identifying funding)
• Converting local
performance metrics (i.e.
Uber’s stars) to universal
metrics
• Securing ‘fillable’
positions from employers
2 sided marketplace:
1. Gig workers looking for
stable work
2. Employers looking for
new info on candidates
2 key activities:
1. Converting gig reviews to
a universal metric
2. Partnering with
employers in need
Week 1

4. Most gig workers
don’t want
traditional FTE jobs
Week 10
Figuring out that Darren wasn’t the right customer
Week 1
There are no easy
metrics to
distinguish gig
performance

5. ...but we found a real pain point, for employers!
• Gig economy workers
who want to move into
stable, full-time work. Their
current work doesn’t meet
their needs, but they don’t
know how to pursue a
better opportunity
• Employers in industries
struggling to find high
quality low-skilled workers
• Potentially, educators/
intermediaries (ie.
community colleges, job
training programs, etc) who
are not reaching or
adequately serving this
demographic
• De-risking career pursuit
by providing actionable
career pathways (may
include identifying funding)
• Converting local
performance metrics (i.e.
Uber’s stars) to universal
metrics
• Securing ‘fillable’
positions from employers
Would love data to validate entry
level job seekers’ abilities
- Job Training career counselors & small business owners
Fit is most important, but interviews
are so time consuming
- Liz Trujillo, small business owner
...so many applications… hard to get
the right type of people.
- Dave Hinders, Hinders Home Care
Week 10Week 1

6. Time to focus on an industry
Retail
Banking
Health Care IT Hospitality
Fast growing industry
Necessary skills not easy
to identify/ validate
Opportunities for workers
without bachelor's degrees
Leads to a career with
above avg. income
Hiring is big
pain point
Hiring our
demo of
interest
Week 10Week 1

7. We interviewed lots of Health Care HR departments
Week 10Week 1

8. Current Workflow
And their pain points were exemplified by
Tammi (Stanford Hospital Hiring Manager)
Stanford Hospital
posts online for
Medical Assistant
60 applications
overnight
Call 5-10 applicants
In-person interview
3 people
Hire 1 person
She told us her process was:
1. Inefficient (took way too long)
2. Inadequate (still can’t fill 30 open medical assistant positions)
4-5 Weeks
Week 10Week 1

9. ...and were willing to pay for better applicant information.
Platform to showcase
networks, references,
soft skills via personal
profile
Healthcare company
Job Seekers
Subscription:
$100/seat/month
activities
payments
Information on job
candidate’s networks,
references, and soft skills
Referral fee:
$50 for every 10 friends
onboarded to Strivve
Hiring
Quoted regularly ~$100-$150
/ seat/month
“Phone interview evaluations
cost $800 - $1,500 per hire”
- Stanford Health
Week 10Week 1

10. The information they wanted most was soft skills.
“I could be missing tons of better fit
candidates because I simply don’t
have time to interview all qualified
applicants”
- Cole Souza, Menlo Clinic Stanford
“I can tell within 30 sec. of meeting -
by looking at body language, tone,
speech patterns - whether they are
potential hires”
- Patricia Wei, Direct Urgent Care
“It would be easier to hire
someone without experience, but
we use experience as a proxy”
- Sammy Alan, One Medical
Week 10Week 1

11. Behavioral & Personality Quizzes
Videos
Connections (Referrals & References)
How do we ‘show off’ applicants’ soft skills?
Week 10Week 1

12. So we sold employers on a fake candidate...
Introducing Mary! (Our 1st MVP)
Mary M. Info not typically found on
a resume is:
- Verified references
- Social connections
- Available work area
- Story
- Video interview
Week 10Week 1

13. We ran ads to attract real “Marys” to our site
Week 10Week 1
What’s our CAC?
Will job seekers create videos?

14. We ran ads to attract real “Marys” to our site
CTR: 1.1%
CVR: 1.9%
1st 12 hr.
leads:
2
Week 10Week 1
We could attract job
seekers to our website at
an affordable price

15. ...but it was hard to get them to make a profile.
33 people hit
our landing
page
4 people gave
their name,
number, email
1 person
submitted
resume
0 people made
video
Week 10
(1 week of results)
Week 1

16. Why?
We called them and found out we were asking for too big of a
behavior change
“[I didn’t make a video]
because it was different
and I wasn’t sure what it
was for...I’ll do it tonight
if the wifi works!”
[After explanation]
“Oh ok, no problem.
I’ll make one today.”
...Doesn’t happen.
“I just assumed I
couldn’t record the
video on my phone,
but I could make one
tonight”

17. Finally...we got a real “Mary”!
Week 10Week 1
A candidate seeking a Medical Assistant
position came to our site and completed a
profile

18. Her application was in bad shape...
Week 10Week 1
NO INTERVIEW

19. ...so we made her a
Strivve Profile.
Week 10Week 1

20. Current employer
● “always making customers smile”
● “always on time and rarely misses a day.”
Prior employer
● “great team player”
● “take the initiative to help out”
● “we have missed having her ”
Verified
● High attendance record - 2 absences (sick
days) in last 2 years
● Successfully diffused 4 contentious customer
complaints in last 3 months
Languages: English - native language
Spanish - 40% professional fluency
Typing: 45WPM
References (0-10)
-click for details-
Current employer: 9
Professor: 8
Prior employer: 7
Connections:
2 Verifed references
1 [Stanford Hospital]
connection
8 Strivve connections
Last Profile Update:
5 days ago
Current Employment: United Healthcare Staffing
Duration of Last Positions: 3 mo, 2 mo
Explanation of work gaps: in school
Education: Bay Area Medical Academy
Certificates: Certified Phlebotomist
Direct Position Experience: 2 mo externship @
Zuckerberg hospital
Other Related Experience: none
Mary Montanez
Position Sought: Medical Assistant
My story:
“I got into medicine people because I like helping people.
I like to putting a smile on someone’s face.”
AccomplishmentsBackground
Strivve Verified Competencies
References
INTERVIEW!

21. I can’t believe that profile is for
the same person I rejected!
- Patricia, Direct Urgent Care
I’ve probably applied to 50 jobs.
I had no idea why I was getting
rejected. This is so exciting!
- Mary
Both Tammi (Employer) and Mary (Job Seeker)
were happy!
Week 10
Mary got interviews with:
Week 1

22. Employers loved the
new information but
were wary of the new
format
Week 10
We built a final MVP that looked a little more like a
resume.
Week 1

23. Employers starting
asking us to verify
more!
…like tech-savviness
and WPM
We realized there are great opportunities to measure
a lot more than just soft skills
Week 10Week 1

24. GET
Week 10Week 1
KEEP GROW
ACQUIRE
Job applicants submit
Strivve resumes to
employers’ job posts
ACTIVATE
Register to see job
applicants’ videos
KEEP
Ability to search
for passive job
seekers (often
considered best
candidates)
Revenue impact?
Employer subscription model:
UPSELL
Customized video
interview questions
NEXT SELL
Verification of
additional types of
skills
Freemium model instead of
upfront subscription

25. Cash flow positive in year 3. ~$1MM funding needed
Week 10Week 1

26. • Acquiring users to our platform - advertisement
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers & intermediaries
• Labor costs up front to design & manually check our systems are working - connections,
reference verifications
• Job-seeker:
Get: Craigslist, Facebook ads,
employer job posts
Keep: profile ‘last updated’ status &
text reminders
Grow: Info. + connections to training
and self-development opportunities
• Employer:
Get: direct network outreach
Keep: Continually updated candidate
pool; access to more data points
(Strivve metrics)
Grow:Personalize metrics and video
questions based on employer needs
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn & GSB
network intros; also in places
where they typically recruit this
demographic (trade schools, job
fairs, monster/indeed, etc)
• Reach job seekers in same
places, in addition to Facebook &
Craigslist ads
• Employers will pay a subscription fee on a per seat basis (major hospitals may opt for per
‘employer’ basis for data to assess candidates in areas they care about
• Potential for advertisement revenue
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for vocational training
programs / colleges / related public grants
Week 8
Job Seekers:
Problem: Low-income job seekers
have no professional networks /
transferable credibility building
platform
Solution: Job seekers
- Can showcase / get
credit for their best skills
& traits
- Find personal
connections for referrals
/info/’role models’
Employers
Problem: hospitals receive high
volumes of applicants but lack
information to efficiently sift to find
‘soft skill fit’ candidates
Solution: Employers
- Have access to a
candidate database with
connections, references,
& video answers to ‘fit’
questions
• Employers, at least initially, to
draw job seekers to the platform
• Skills training programs (Job
training programs, vocational
schools, community colleges): we
want to connect individuals to
these programs / increase their
impact . They can also refer job
seekers to us, after they graduate
• Companies providing similar
services to high-skilled demos.
(LinkedIn)
• Other companies providing
services to our demo(Coursera,
financial services products)
• Entry level employers who would
like to have career advancement
as a benefit for retention
• Career Coaches
• Government bc they provide
funding to our partners contingent
on certain metrics (i.e. %
placement rate after training
program)
• Low income / low skill workers
who want to enter or be promoted
within the healthcare industry
- Already have
certification (if
necessary) but little
experience
- Decently tech savvy
(can follow links to
upload video)
- Have good soft skills to
promote
• Health care industry employers
hiring entry level positions -
hospitals as early adopters
- Too many applicants to
sort properly (need
faster way to find out
more)
- Concerned about hiring
people with soft skills
and patient care
mentality
• Technical expertise to build the
product
• Ability to understand HR/legal
landscape
• Career counselors & career path
creators /connectors
• Access to job seekers for entry
level positions
• Attract employers and passive &
active job candidates to the
platform
• Source references that are as
high or higher quality than
employers get on their own
• Facilitate job seekers’ finding
connections with employers’
employees
• Facilitate job seekers finding
‘friends’ on the platform
Still 2 sided marketplace:
1. Low-skilled healthcare
workers who need help
differentiating themselves
2. Employers who need more
info

27. 107 interviews later… a few things we learned:
LSWs & employers rely on
resumes, but do not ‘speak the
same language’.
Low skill workers (LSWs) are
focused on immediate pain
points, ie. job placement.
Creativity is required when
your product replaces the
person who’s buying it.
Employers don’t realize how
often they are pre-cutting
qualified candidates.
LSWs & employers are
resistant to changing the
job application process.
Week 10Week 1
LSWs are more hesitant
to ‘trust institutions’ or
enter data online.
There are emotional barriers to
LSWs seeking higher wage jobs
LSWs & HR managers are
concerned about
discrimination & biases in the
hiring process.

28. What’s next?
Week 10Week 1
Customer
Need
Product-
Market Fit

29. What’s next?
Week 10Week 1
Healthcare is an ideal starting
point, but just the beginning.

30. ● Stanford Professor Michal Kosinski can grade 5 employability traits with just
your Facebook profile!
● At least one company is working on Audiolytics: evaluating someone’s soft
skills and cognitive ability with just voice recordings.
The team members of Strivve will continue exploring this space independently
through course-work and either reunite with a better solution or considering joining
companies already operating in this space.
Further Exploration

31. Thank you!
Teaching
Team!
Tom! Leyon!

32. NEW
NEW
Competitor Diagram

33. Final Competitor Diagram
Week 10Week 1
Needs
updating!

34. TAM / SAM / Target Market / Revenue in Year 3
TAM = $85.5B SAM = $29B
Target Market = $5.7B
Key assumptions: at scale, 20% of US healthcare employers pay for Strivve
Year 3 Revenue = ~$5M
Key assumptions:
- Revenue generated through a subscription model with two flavors: basic
($100/seat/mo.) & premium ($200/seat/mo.)
- 90 employers served in year 3

35. Appendix

36. Business Model Canvases

37. • Gig economy workers who are
‘financially strapped’. In current
roles, they lack adequate
consistent income, income growth
opportunities, benefits, etc.
Low income workers who want
to receive training or change
career paths
• Employers in industries that
struggle to fill skilled roles and
with employees retention
• Potentially, educators/
intermediaries (ie. community
colleges, job training programs,
etc) who are not reaching or
adequately serving this
demographic
• Employers: provide jobs that our
users can be placed into
• Skills training programs (Job
training programs, vocational
schools, community colleges): we
want to connect individuals to
these programs / increase their
impact
• Gov: there is lots of political will
and gov. funding for job training
and upward mobility initiatives
• Other companies : there are
several other companies that work
in this space, however target a
different demographic. We want to
enhance their work not compete
with it
• Problem: Gig-economy contract
employees (GEWs) are not
adequately rewarded for good
performance or able to leverage it
for career progression/ upward
mobility.
Problem: some low income
workers want more interesting,
better paying jobs
• Solution- GEWs: provide career
progression opportunities, both
‘cross -gig platform’ as well as into
non-contract roles
• Solution- employers &
intermediaries: saves time and
costs in connecting them with an
important demographic; reduces
hiring & turnover costs
Solution: Offer clear information,
direction, structure and support
Solution: Offer connections to
job-training programs, making
application and financial planning
simple
• Acquiring users (contract workers) to our tool
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers
• Labor costs because there are a number of manual elements to our
product (updating new job opportunities, figuring out what skills are
relevant cross-platform, connecting w job training programs)
• Employers will pay for better quality candidates to reduce their hiring turnover costs
Platforms like Uber will invest because
• Workers will pay either a small subscription fee for regular career progress tracking or a
larger one time fee for job placement assistance
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for vocational training
programs / colleges / related public grants
• Our customers are on the
move so we hope to track
performance through an
app. We are also thinking
of having in-person visits w
career counselors.
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn
& GSB network intros
• Requires dependable
relationship to build the trust
necessary for GEWs to share
goals/ challenges
• Need to address the
emotional as well as practical
barriers to pursuing upward
mobility
• Requires intermediaries view
us as complementary to their
work / initiatives
• Technical expertise to
build the product
• Ability to understand
HR/legal landscape
• Career counselors &
career path creators
/connectors
• De-risking career pursuit
by providing actionable
career pathways (may
include identifying funding)
• Securing ‘fillable’
positions from employers
• Converting local
performance metrics (i.e.
Uber’s stars) to universal
metrics
Week 2

38. • Employers: provide jobs that our
users can be placed into
• Skills training programs (Job
training programs, vocational
schools, community colleges): we
want to connect individuals to
these programs / increase their
impact
• Gov: there is lots of political will
and gov. funding for job training
and upward mobility initiatives
• Other companies : there are
several other companies that work
in this space, however target a
different demographic. We want to
enhance their work not compete
with it
• Acquiring users to our platform
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers & intermediaries
• Labor costs because there are a number of manual elements to our product (updating
new job opportunities, figuring out what skills are relevant cross-platform, connecting w job
training programs)
• Requires dependable
relationship to build the trust
necessary for low income workers
to share more personal skills and
career goals
• Requires intermediaries view us
as complementary to their work /
initiatives
• Requires employers to view us
as helpful, not poaching their
talent; HR teams may see us a
threat
• Technical expertise to build the
product
• Ability to understand HR/legal
landscape
• Career counselors & career path
creators /connectors
• De-risking career pursuit by
providing actionable career
pathways (may include identifying
funding)
• Securing ‘fillable’ positions from
employers
• Develop tests to assess soft
skills and experience that
employers trust
• Problem: low income workers
who want more interesting, better
paying jobs don’t know where to
start
Problem: Employers in health care
lack adequate quality of entry level
job candidates (JCs) and quantity of
mid-skill JCs
Soft skills are very important but
information is not accessible on
current platforms
• Solution: Provide clear, digestible
career path information & simplify
application process for job-training
programs and jobs
Solution: digital talent platform -
LinkedIn of unskilled and lower-skill
workers - which allows employers
to identify unskilled workers with
high soft skills and qualified, low-
skill ‘passive job seekers’
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn & GSB
network intros; also in places
where they typically recruit this
demographic (trade schools, job
fairs, monster/indeed, etc)
• Reach job seekers in same
places, in addition to Facebook
ads
• Low income / low skill workers
who want to enter or be promoted
within the health care industry
• Health care industry employers
hiring unskilled and low skill
positions
• Potentially, educators/
intermediaries (ie. community
colleges, job training programs,
etc) who are not reaching or
adequately serving this
demographic
• Employers will pay a subscription fee or placement fee for better quality candidates
• Potential for advertisement revenue
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for vocational training
programs / colleges / related public grants

39. • Acquiring users to our platform - advertisement
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers & intermediaries
• Labor costs up front to design & manually check our systems are working - connections,
reference verifications - because there are a number of manual elements to our product
(updating new job opportunities, figuring out what skills are relevant cross-platform,
connecting w job training programs)
• Job-seeker:
Get: Craigslist, Facebook ads,
employer job posts
Keep: profile ‘last updated’ status &
text reminders
Grow: Info. + connections to training
and self-development opportunities
• Employer:
Get: direct network outreach
Keep: Continually updated candidate
pool; access to more data points
(Strivve metrics)
Grow:Personalize metrics and video
questions based on employer needs
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn & GSB
network intros; also in places
where they typically recruit this
demographic (trade schools, job
fairs, monster/indeed, etc)
• Reach job seekers in same
places, in addition to Facebook &
Craigslist ads
• Employers will pay a subscription fee on a per seat basis (major hospitals may opt for per
‘employer’ basis or placement fee for better quality candidates for data to assess candidates
in areas they care about
• Potential for advertisement revenue
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for vocational training
programs / colleges / related public grants
Week 6
Job Seekers:
Problem: Low-income job seekers
have no professional networks /
transferable credibility building
platform
Solution: Job seekers
- Can showcase / get
credit for their best skills
& traits
- Find personal
connections for referrals
/info/’role models’
Employers
Problem: hospitals receive high
volumes of applicants but lack
information to efficiently sift to find
‘soft skill fit’ candidates
Solution: Employers
- Have access to a
candidate database with
connections, references,
& video answers to ‘fit’
questions
• Attract passive and active job
candidates to the platform
• Verify references
• Facilitate finding any
connections a job seeker has to
employer company’s current
employees
• Develop tests to assess soft
skills and experience that
employers trust
• Employers, at least initially, to
draw job seekers to the platform
• Skills training programs (Job
training programs, vocational
schools, community colleges): we
want to connect individuals to
these programs / increase their
impact
• Other companies : there are
several other companies that work
in this space, however target a
different demographic. We want to
enhance their work not compete
with it (LinkedIn)
• Other companies providing
services that our demographic
could benefit from but had not
been effectively reached
(Coursera, financial services
products)
• Low income / low skill workers
who want to enter or be promoted
within the healthcare industry
- Already have
certification (if
necessary) but little
experience
- Decently tech savvy
(can follow links to
upload video)
- Have good soft skills to
promote
• Health care industry employers
hiring entry level positions -
hospitals as early adopters
- Too many applicants to
sort properly (need
faster way to find out
more)
- Concerned about hiring
people with soft skills
and patient care
mentality
• Technical expertise to build the
product
• Ability to understand HR/legal
landscape
• Career counselors & career path
creators /connectors
• Access to job seekers for entry
level positions

40. • Gig economy workers
who want to move into
stable, full-time work. Their
current work doesn’t meet
their needs, but they don’t
know how to pursue a
better opportunity
• Employers in industries
struggling to find high
quality low-skilled workers
• Potentially, educators/
intermediaries (ie.
community colleges, job
training programs, etc) who
are not reaching or
adequately serving this
demographic
• Employers: provide jobs
that our users can be
placed into
• Skills training programs
(Job training programs,
vocational schools,
community colleges): we
want to connect individuals
to these programs /
increase their impact
• Gov: there is lots of
political will and gov.
funding for job training and
upward mobility initiatives
• Other companies : there
are several other
companies that work in this
space, however target a
different demographic. We
want to enhance their work
not compete with it
• Problem: Gig-economy
contract employees
(GEWs) are not adequately
rewarded for good
performance or able to
leverage it for career
progression/ upward
mobility.
• Solution- GEWs: provide
career progression
opportunities, both ‘cross -
gig platform’ as well as into
non-contract roles
• Solution- employers &
intermediaries: saves time
and costs in connecting
them with an important
demographic; reduces
hiring & turnover costs
• Acquiring users (contract workers) to our tool
• Expenditures to maintain partnerships with employers
• Labor costs because there are a number of manual elements to our
product (updating new job opportunities, figuring out what skills are
relevant cross-platform, connecting w job training programs)
• Employers will pay for better quality candidates to reduce their hiring
turnover costs
• Workers will pay either a small subscription fee for regular career
progress tracking or a larger one time fee for job placement assistance
• We may explore seeking revenue from existing funding sources for
vocational training programs / colleges / related public grants
• Our customers are on the
move so we hope to track
performance through an
app. We are also thinking
of having in-person visits w
career counselors.
• Reach employers &
intermediaries via LinkedIn
& GSB network intros
• Requires dependable
relationship to build the trust
necessary for GEWs to share
goals/ challenges
• Need to address the
emotional as well as practical
barriers to pursuing upward
mobility
• Requires intermediaries view
us as complementary to their
work / initiatives
• Technical expertise to
build the product
• Ability to understand
HR/legal landscape
• Career counselors &
career path creators
/connectors
• De-risking career pursuit
by providing actionable
career pathways (may
include identifying funding)
• Converting local
performance metrics (i.e.
Uber’s stars) to universal
metrics
• Securing ‘fillable’
positions from employers