As we continue moving forward with our products, I like the idea that we should consider “should this product be built” and “can we sustain a successful business with this product and its services” as our first product. Because as we have been talking about all along, if we can’t answer these questions with a “yes,” we shouldn’t be making this product. That is what The Lean Startup article confirmed. Also that your work is never done: Entrepreneurs are constantly making small changes as a start-up business owner.

As we have started to create our MVP, I think it is important that we know we have to test the market first. The actual product can come later because it’s true we all make assumptions based on what we think other people need/want, but the truth is we may be completely off base. It is important to find out what the consumer is looking for and then create — not the other way around, which is the point the YC article makes.

The Embrace Ambiguity video was important because it made it clear that we are not going to have the right answer in the beginning. It is going to take a lot of analysis and a lot of different ideas to find the right way to create this solution to a problem. Even when we do find the answer it will constantly change as the market changes. I think with us working in teams we will all have some variation on what we believe is the best solution, we have to listen to each other’s ideas and try different things and eventually we will find the right combination that will work in the market.

The designkit article was cool because it gave a first-hand look into how one conducts field research, understanding your market and what they need that will help you determine what type of product to make. We read that they went in with an idea, but after conducting interviews they learned a better way to focus their product towards the market which is what we are trying to figure out.

The idea presented in the Tedtalk that a product can be designed for trust is something I’ve never thought about. This example was the most extreme version of trust with Airbnb, and that failed at first. The fact that the way we are brought up has such an effect on what we purchase and use as services, and how most startups had to break those barriers to get people to use them. It is interesting that design can is what breaks those stereotypes. Most start-ups are not conventional that’s why they haven’t been created it, and most problems don’t have conventional solutions. While all business is about commerce if you get an audience to trust you the commerce will come.

As we are getting ready to create our prototype this could be one of the most important things we learn, is how to design our product to make it trustworthy for consumers.