BML Loops are Rock Tumblers
Many start-ups believe in the popular myth that the key to founding a successful company is perseverance and an iron will: a heroic founder has a brilliant idea and fights through many setbacks until the idea finally becomes a hit.
Eric Ries
Ideas are like rocks in a rock tumbler.
They start rough, often unsightly, and unrefined. Persevering with the original idea and being stubborn to change or refusing to adapt to your market can often lead to selling unrefined and rough rocks products. However, taking the approach of learning what your customers want and pivoting quickly, the rocks soon become refined, smooth, and pleasant to look at.
This process can’t happen if you’re out of touch with the real world. You need to get out there, show your product to customers, gather their feedback and then learn from it. Create quick-to-build prototypes or quickly mock-up a website using a drag-and-drop tool like Squarespace.
Then through this prototype, you can measure interest in the product; for instance:
How many people clicked the purchase button?
How many people subscribed to a waiting list?
How many of the people who signed up are my original target audience? You will often find competitors, industry experts, etc. signing up to see what you’re doing. These people should be engaged separately to learn more about the industry or their business model, as this may help you. You may find that your target audience was off, that people interpreted the product differently, or that it has a different use case you hadn’t thought of.
Everything you learn in this process should be captured, analysed, and then utilised in the next iteration of this so-called BML loop (build-measure-learn). Each loop that passes, you’re optimising your product idea further towards a product the market resonates with. Like a rock tumbler, the rocks become smoother and more refined with each rotation.
It’s essential to be fast here. Each BML loop helps you improve your product and gives valuable insights into your customers’ wants. The more loops you can go through, the more likely you will find traction.
Build, measure, learn – as fast and as often as possible.
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