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Unit of Value: A Framework for Scaling
The document outlines strategies for startups to effectively scale their business, emphasizing the importance of understanding the 'unit of value'—the smallest measurable unit that delivers value to customers. It discusses different go-to-market approaches, the significance of distribution in relation to market incumbents, and offers case studies to illustrate successful scaling methods. The key takeaway is to create non-linear value by expanding offerings and embedding network effects, while being deliberate in defining pricing strategies and market penetration techniques.
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Unit of Value: A Framework for Scaling
- 1. Unit of Value AFramework for Scaling Jerry Chen
- 2. As a startup,you enter a classic battle of David vs. Goliath.
- 3.
- 4. Technology Deep Innovative IP Distribution Channel SalesForce Partners Existing Customers vs.
- 5. Can a startupbuild distribution before the incumbent builds or acquires tech? - Aneel Bhusri Workday & Greylock
- 6. To compete with giants,it becomes a race to scale and build go-to-market quickly enough with a product.
- 7. Product - marketfit New, innovative technology Large market How do you get your product to market? GTM
- 8. Why does go-to-market matter? (Andwhy do investors care?)
- 9. Impacts how much money toraise Determines profit margins at scale Your cost of distribution must match what customers are willing to pay GTM
- 10. GTM: Things tothink about Channel Customer Acquisition Costs Partnerships Awareness & Trial PricingPackaging Unit of Value
- 11. Unit of Value noun 1.The smallest measurable unit at which your product or service delivers value.
- 12. Unit of Value noun 2.The unit of scaling used when increasing your product in pricing or services. 3. What your customers pay for. E.g. servers, TB of storage, API calls, users
- 13. Your unit ofvalue determines how you price, scale, and sell your product to your customers.
- 14. A unit ofvalue can vary from: small to large
- 15. Single Units ofValue : One User : One Server : One User : One Container
- 16. Medium/Team Units ofValue : Team or Department : Team or Department : Dev Team : 3-4 Sales Reps /
- 17. Big Units ofValue : Big data e.g. terabytes : Entire clusters of servers : HCM for entire company : ERP for entire company or LOB : Enterprise apps for entire company
- 18. Every startup hasa different size unit of value. Bigger is not better, smaller is not better.
- 19. Bigger Units ofValue - Have bigger deals & longer sales cycles - Big deals don’t mean it’s a big market. The Big Questions: - How do I build a cost effective direct sales force? - How do I build an advantaged go-to-market?
- 20. Smaller Units ofValue - Have smaller deals & shorter sales cycles The Big Questions: - How do I create a cost effective channel? - How do I scale up the value?
- 21. To reach $100Min revenue, there are a multiple unit of value paths to take.
- 22. Rules of thumbto reach $100M Target Price GTM Volume $0.10 $100 <$10K $10-20K+ $100K 1B calls 1M >10,000 5000-10,000 1,000 API call self service dead zone inside sales direct sales
- 23. Companies on eitherthe far left or right tend to work well. Companies in the “dead zone” don’t reach $100M as easily. Target Price GTM Volume $0.10 $100 <$10K $10-20K+ $100K 1B calls 1M >10,000 5000-10,000 1,000 API call self service dead zone inside sales direct sales
- 24. Case Study A: CompanyA (API Service) Pricing: < $0.10 per API call 50% of bookings are from customer paying $25k+ Takeaway: Company A has a small unit of value, but has managed to scale up customers to do big $25k+ deals. *Company name is kept anonymous for protection.
- 25. Case Study B: CompanyB (Cloud app infra service w/ 50k users) Pricing: avg monthly customer < $50 5% of customers drive 50% of monthly recurring revenue Takeaway: Company B also has a small unit of value, but has scaled up a handful of customers to drive half of their revenue. *Company name is kept anonymous for protection.
- 26. The Big Takeaway Afew customers can drive sales. Companies A & B scaled up a handful of customers to be very profitable. .. But how?
- 27. The goal isto create non-linear value. Sum of Units Value
- 28. Going Non-Linear - Youwant to build out your offerings so the more your customers consume, the more value they receive - Sell additional products at scale (e.g. management, monitoring, security) - Sell to a different / additional buyer (CTO, CIO, CFO)
- 29. If you canscale non-linearly, it becomes harder and harder for you to be displaced.
- 30. Ways to Increase Value 1. Networkeffects 2. Standardization 3. Platforms
- 31. Network Effects Metcalfe’s Law: Thevalue of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users on the system. More users = More value
- 32. Network Effects - Builda product or service that will enable network effects to create non-linear value for your customers/users. Examples: - collaboration tools - communication platforms
- 33. Standards Ask yourself: “Can thisproduct be a de facto standard? Within a company, within a market, within an industry?”
- 34. Standards are powerful - They reduce complexity and costs for enterprises who standardize their apps. - De facto standards + network effects often lead the winner of every industry to gain the majority of market share. Examples: - Languages & frameworks - MS .ppt & .doc formats
- 35. .. but theycan change - The de facto standard within a company or even within an entire industry can change very quickly. Example: - Browser wars
- 36. Platforms - Platforms takethe longest to build but will yield massive economic benefits if built right. Ways to create non-linear value: 1. Build a “system of record” e.g. a database 2. Become the ”glue layer” between layers of tech 3. Application and cloud platforms try to be both storage (data) and glue
- 37. Platforms Create or finda system of record and build a platform on top of it. When you control that data, you can build analytics, third party apps, etc. to create non-linear value. Customer records Employer records Asset records
- 38. Platforms Become the glue layerbetween technologies. As an intersection between multiple layers of tech, your product will become an important platform to build on top of. Infrastructure Storage Networking Monitoring Management Security
- 39. Platforms Applications and cloud platformsaim to be both a system of record and a glue layer by storing customer’s data. They also connect the broader ecosystem of applications, API services, and other startups.
- 40. Middleware Messaging Database Systems Monitoring Data Storage Database as-a-service ApplicationsStartups API Services CloudPlatforms Infrastructure Broader Ecosystem System of Record
- 41. How to scaleup your unit of value Sum of Units Value Aim to be the customer standard Sell additional products e.g. management, monitoring, security, etc. Create platform ecosystem
- 42. Make a consciouschoice. - Don’t expect to fall into your go-to-market strategy. - Don’t be pushed into your unit of value by your customers, partners, or competitors. - Be thoughtful about how to charge and go- to-market and you can be highly disruptive.
- 43. For example: Cost $ peruser Free Unit of Value One User Eyeballs (one user’s attention) With Google Docs, Google made a conscious choice to charge differently than Microsoft for the same unit of value (users) and monetized attention for ads and search.
- 44. Don’t be afraidto iterate. When thinking about your go-to-market strategy: hypothesize, try new things, and don’t be afraid to walk away if things aren’t working.
- 45. How can Imake this actionable for my team?
- 46. First, define yourunit of value. - *Ask: What is the smallest unit of your product or service that’s delivering value to your customers? - Make sure your go-to-market strategy matches your unit of value. * Be honest about it.
- 47. And then, createa road map to increase that value as you scale. - Identify ways you can increase your value as you and your customers grow. - Figure out how you can layer and stack your services and technology on top of each other to create non-linear value over time.