For our first episode of 2020, we go to the very heart of product launch: the product development cycle.

It used to be that if you had a product idea you had to not only finesse the ideation, but somehow cobble together a development team for each stage of the process. For first-time inventors or even seasoned product brands, it was a journey fraught with pitfalls.

Technology has transformed the product development cycle. Photorealistic 3D rendering makes visualizing new products easy. Your product can be near-perfect, but to be successful, the marketing, packaging, and shipping need to be at the same level. It's a staggering array of moving parts. And often the biggest barrier is knowing where to start, especially knowing your manufacturer will produce your product a world away, in a foreign language and culture.

Kyle Handfield knows exactly where to start. His company, Ventrify, leads brands and inventors through the entire product development cycle using a nine-step process starting with discovery, and culminating with shipping. The consultancy also provides industrial design, engineering, testing—even going as far as managing regulatory certifications.

We invited Kyle Handfield into the Graphos Product recording studio to share his sharp perspective of the broad product development process, and insights into what to do (and avoid). It’s stuff inventors, product brands and entrepreneurs need to hear.

Ventrify's website: https://ventrify.net
Graphos Product: https://graphosproduct.com

If you ask Mom what she thinks about your new product, she’ll lie and tell you it’s fabulous — even if nothing could be farther from the truth.

When you’re launching an innovative product, product-market fit is essential. That means knowing a sufficient, reachable customer base will be more excited about the product than you are. Conducting validation research is crucial. But the questions you ask is where things often start to go wrong.

If market research questions return answers like, “I think it’s a good idea,” or “I’d buy that,” it’s NOT a good thing.
chances are, you're asking the wrong questions — especially because the responses are so hollowly encouraging. Remember, the respondent has no skin in the game, and talk is free.

People will naturally lie to you, just like Mom, because it feels helpful and is easy. No one wants to hurt your feelings. Trouble is, when your market survey respondents don’t give you the straight goods, it defeats the purpose of validation work, and bad data can bait you toward product failure.

Author Rob Fitzpatrick has been a tinkerer and tech entrepreneur for over a decade. He believes you can avoid mistakes by asking questions that elicit the answers you NEED, not the ones that make you feel good. Complements, verbal support, and new ideas can feel helpful, but in conversation with Graphos Product CEO Laurier Mandin, Rob Fitzpatrick says it’s much better to ask questions about people’s problems or challenges — as well as current solutions and what they cost.

If you ask someone how often they go to the gym, they’ll probably inflate the number. If you ask “how many times did you go to the gym last week,” you’ll probably get a more realistic answer. Rob's first book, "The Mom Test" is taught at Harvard, MIT, UCL and many other top universities.

Rob Fitzpatrick - https://robfitz.com

Graphos Product - https://graphosproduct.com

Buy The Mom Test on Amazon

Manufacturing in China is different. How different is hard to describe if you’ve never seen it. It’s not that there are cities with factories. There are cities OF factories. And those cities often specialize in a particular kind of manufacturing. Competition is extreme and cutting corners is common.

Having a good idea for a product is one thing, but you can’t exactly open the yellow pages and find which city of factories specializes in laser pointers. Where do you even start?

Daniel Sande is a manufacturing sourcing agent. He found success in people, and uses technology to communicate with manufacturers, plus he’s establishing a networks of people in China who can put eyes and hands on products as they come off the line to verify everything is according to spec, including packaging, shipping, labelling and customs.

Daniel Sande is Managing Director of HotShot Sourcing, a consultancy that helps product brands source bulk orders, packaging, and custom-branded materials. He can be reached at [email protected]

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

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A licensing deal can be transformative to an inventor or product brand. It can open up new markets and create ongoing passive income. But doing it wrong can be a nightmare and leave piles of money on the table. 

In our fourth instalment of Product: Knowledge, we did a fly-over of intellectual property with Erika Murray, an Intellectual Property Lawyer and Director of Innovation at PCK Intellectual Property. This episode drills down into a sub-topic of intellectual property: licensing. 

Licensing is Trevor Prentice's specialty. He's an Intellectual Property Strategist. He’s worked with businesses in a wide range of industries and circumstance. In this conversation we get a clear definition of licensing. Trevor also explains how a good licensing strategy can benefit the inventor and brand, and even propel a new product forward. 

We talk about how to decide what to license, valuation strategies to figure out what your product or process is worth, what you can license, and more. 

What’s clear is talking to an IP strategist like Trevor Prentice can contribute to your bottom line and make issues around intellectual property easier to navigate.

Trevor Prentice at Whiverwill IP Services: https://www.whiverwill.com/
Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

A little research into “Product Marketing” and the name Justin Jackson will show up, a lot. Whether he’s running his podcasting platform Transistor.fm, his bootstrapper community MegaMaker, writing his blog, juggling multiple podcasts and Twitter accounts while being daddy to his four kids, Justin Jackson is remarkably prolific.
 
Justin thinks about product launches and marketing a lot, because he doesn’t accept conventional wisdom; he’s a keen observer of both brand and consumer behaviours. Justin says rather than trying to get the market to find your product, you need to take your product to a market that’s ready, eager—and sizeable. The discussion covers a lot of ground, but it’s tightly focused on making consumers aware of products. This the conclusion of our two-part conversation with Justin Jackson.

Justin's blog: JustinJackson.ca
Justin's favourite coffee hangout in Vernon, BC: ratiocoffee.ca
The MegaMaker community for bootstrappers: megamaker.co

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

A little research into “Product Marketing” and the name Justin Jackson will show up, a lot. Whether he’s running his podcasting platform Transistor.fm, his bootstrapper community MegaMaker, writing his blog, juggling multiple podcasts and Twitter accounts while being daddy to his four kids, Justin Jackson is remarkably prolific.
 
Justin thinks about product launches and marketing endlessly, because he doesn’t accept conventional wisdom; he’s a keen observer of both brand and consumer behaviours. Justin says rather than trying to get the market to find your product, you need to take your product to a market that’s ready, eager—and sizeable. The discussion covers a lot of ground, but it’s tightly focused on making consumers aware of products. This the first of our two-part conversation with Justin Jackson.

Justin's blog: JustinJackson.ca
Justin's favourite coffee shop: ratiocoffee.ca
The MegaMaker community for bootstrappers: megamaker.co

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

Video, at least television, has been around for a long time. Commercials and product demos have been around forever. So why are we talking about video as though it’s something new and mysterious? We’re talking about video because digital marketing adds complexity and sharability.

Video is a cool medium: the audience is passive. They feel what - more or less - what they're shown to feel. But emotions aren’t the most effective way to market your new product. In fact, Stephanie Testa thinks the focus should be on authenticity.

Stephanie Testa started out as a film and media student with a passion for documentaries. She works as a technical consultant on documentaries until forming Firelight Studio -  a New York City production facility focusing on branded entertainment and product videos.

Firelight Studio: https://firelightstudio.com
Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

If you’re preparing to launch a new product—or have ever relished the experience of removing one from its packaging—this episode is for you. The popularity of “unboxing” is just one illustration of how important product packaging has become. Packaging is no longer merely to “protect, deliver and entice;” but a highly experiential differentiating opportunity for smart product brands. Guest Dave Hopkins is a packaging advisor who believes great packaging aims to surprise and delight consumers—which translates into a sales and brand-building advantage. Graphos Product: http://graphosproduct.com Dave Hopkins’ "Quickie Podcast - Interviews for Graphic Designers" iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-quickie-interviews-for-graphic-designers/id1463743075 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cX7gO7xbN2x2UKkZtVBQd?si=bRaCyjCTQt2szdswKXP_bA

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

Filip Valica is a mechanical engineer who has worked for large corporations and as founder of The Product Startup has coached numerous product brands through his development and launch process, a comprehensive view of the product lifecycle that begins with an original idea and culminates with sales. In this episode, he describes how product design extends into every stage, and why each is important. Filip Valica’s The Product Startup website: https://theproductstartup.com The Product Startup Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/product-startup-product-development-for-small-business/id1091774526

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com

Part 1 of 2: Alan Klement wrote "When Coffee and Kale Compete: Become great at making products people will buy." The book provides a new way of thinking about your business: people don't buy your product for features, they hire your product to do a job: to make their life better. Klement's "Jobs to Be Done" (JTBD) idea is game-changing, transforming how product marketers approach and understand products and customers. Klement’s perspective on “Jobs to Be Done” (JTBD) is game-changing, transforming how product marketers approach and understand products and customers. Book: http://www.whencoffeeandkalecompete.com Twitter: @alanklement Jobs to Be Done Website: https://jtbd.info

Graphos Product: https://www.graphosproduct.com