My CTO Friend - Startup Founders Learn Tech Management Amaury KHELIFI

In this episode, Amaury and Mitchie go over the last 2 levels of the prototyping process, where your MVP will gradually transform into an established product. This includes educating founders on the bare minimum of tech CEO’s need to understand.

Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/
 
Disclamer!
This episode has a lot of technical terms. The idea is for you to get the concept more than memorizing the technologies. You can always refer to our notes and other content to address more specific topics in the prototyping stage.
 
4 levels of MVP Prototyping Level 0: No tech 0%
Do everything or almost everything manually Level 1: Little tech, anyone can learn 1%
Start automation and using existing tools Level 2: 5% Custom dev
Real application with a bit of customization Level 3: 10- 15% Custom dev 
Move on to proper development.  
Is it necessary to go through all of them?
 
No, it's a self-assessment exercise to figure out where you should start.
If you only have an idea without much market understanding, start from Level 0 . Make sure you know that this is going to have an audience.
If you're already figured that out, you've been working on the industry for long enough, then you might start from Level 2.
Or if you're not sure how to structure things at the beginning, maybe Level 1 is more up your alley.
 
The point is: if there’s enough market understanding you can invest a little in a real functional app.
 
 
So when setting up a simple Wordpress website, headless CMS or a business intelligence tool -aka. a reporting tool- is not cutting it anymore, how do you move forward?
Prototyping Level 2 5% of Tech : Real app with a bit of customization
GOAL: To build a better Customer Experience (not just talking about graphic design, but also functionalities, experience, interactions… )
Use an app maker (ex. Bubble.is→ you can learn with Zeroqode) with (opensource) templates → Moodle/Edx Saas solution with a membership LMS/Business intelligence
Reuse existing technologies for an SaaS - Solution

What do we need to make it? So far we’ve been able to do things mostly by ourselves. We just needed a bit of help for the automation… Nothing really complex

Now we will need a bit of a developer’s and engineer’s time to install the right tools, and combine them.
Also identify resources on a global marketplace, or people that are good with specific development…
 
MVP Prototyping Level 3 10- 15% of Tech:
At this level, the goal is to make the gradual transition to our own product.
Developing the core of our application, still using most of the tools we have so far,
Refactor the interface… Focusing on specific needs
 
GOAL: Get rid of what is inefficient, transform what works and standardize it.
And keep using external services that are relevant and reliable!
 
A good example of what you would drop is Zapier. It's an extremely useful tool, but at this scale it becomes extremely unreliable, so stop using it. Move on to real cloud functions.
 
A great way to guarantee reliability is by moving onto real microservices, with the option of rollback or a fail-over process in case of failure.
 
What are Microservices?
Instead of developing one big software that includes all of the actions one may ever ask of it, we create one small piece of software for each clear and independent feature or function. That small piece of software is referred to as a Microservice.
 
Let's assume that we want to recognize a text on an image. We can have a microservice that is going to take the image from one directory, analyze what is inside, and put the result in a database or maybe in a text file next to the image. And that's it, that's the whole purpose of th

In this episode, Amaury and Mitchie describe the first two levels of prototyping and explain how startup founders can build an MVP relying on neither tech nor funds but actual resourcefulness to move ahead in their venture.
Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/
Show notes What the next step after defining your roadmap and presenting it is Should CEOs learn code or make the product themselves Is having a minimal viable product (MVP) the same as prototyping What the four levels of building an MVP are How to start with no tech What are the tools you can use to create a simple landing page What the goal of your first landing page is What you can do when you already have too many clients but aren’t earning that much What are some online services that will help you automate actions that you’re doing every day How to create a better customer experience What are the pros and cons of using WordPress to build an e-commerce site What “prototyping” is for some designers and a simple alternative to the tools they use When is the only time you should not consider using a content management system (CMS) When to focus on improving the customer experience vs improving your product’s backend What the main components of a software are What middleware is and how to easily automate it What a headless CMS is How to know who to get to help you set things up What tools are going to help you at Level 0 and Level 1 of your MVP What the next levels are Links  Prototyping Startup Without a CTO Episode 9: Roadmap definition Episode 10: How to pitch and present your roadmap  My CTO Friend startup courses Thank U, Next Post-it Microsoft PowerPoint  Microsoft Word  Wix  Strikingly  Squarespace  Google Docs  Google Sheets  Microsoft Excel  Software as a service (SaaS)  Zapier  WordPress  Google Drive  Macro  Episode 7: Productivity hacks: The founder’s basic toolbox  Automate.io  Workato  Microsoft Flow  IFTTT  Content management system (CMS)  Plugins  Airbnb  Uber  Shopify  Magento  WooCommerce  Design sprint  Figma  Adobe XD  Marvel  Adobe Photoshop  Screencast  Airtable  Headless CMS  Strapi  Ghost  MySQL  PostgreSQL  MongoDB  NoSQL  Representational state transfer (REST) API  How to write a job description to hire a startup developer  Node.js  JavaScript  Outsourcing  LEGO  Episode 12: Scale your MVP with almost no money  My CTO Friend the Podcast  Episode 11: Your first MVP with almost no tech  My CTO Friend the Podcast on iTunes  Transcript https://myctofriend.co/11#TRANSCRIPT

In this episode, Amaury and Mitchie cover how you should organize the presentation of your product roadmap to pitch to investors, incubators and accelerators. You can download the FREE template mentioned in this episode on https://myctofriend.co/10. 
Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/ 
Show notes How to put your product roadmap together in a slide show to share with potential providers, investors, incubators and accelerators Where to download Amaury’s actual roadmap template for free How to present your project in a very simple way to catch the attention of your audience How to show how everything works and how you’re going to make money How to display what the customer experience is going to be and some tools you can use What a balanced ecosystem is and how to show that in the simplest way How to display the different features and versions, and prove that people are interested in your product Why we can’t really multi-task and what to do about it What are the other things you need to define for your roadmap planning How to integrate how each group of people in your ecosystem sees your product What’s the “secret sauce” and how do you add it to your roadmap How to show that you have control over your costs so they can trust your figures when you talk about the revenue Where you can get the worksheet to help you with computing for the costs How to best display your plan How to get your audience to take action What’s the one thing you need to keep in mind Links  Roadmap – https://outoftech.com/how-development-fits-into-your-business/ Roadmap definition – https://outoftech.com/product-roadmap-definition-process/ Episode 9: Roadmap definition – https://myctofriend.co/9 Amaury’s book, Startup Without a CTO – http://startupwithoutcto.com/ FREE Startup Technical Plan Template – https://myctofriend.co/technicalplantemplate/ Pivot – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_startup#Pivot Artificial intelligence (AI) – https://outoftech.com/building-a-startup-with-ai/ Healthtech or medtech – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_technology_in_the_United_States Fintech – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_technology Mind map – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map Brainstorming – https://outoftech.com/how-to-find-the-greatest-success-with-brainstorming/ Customer experience – https://outoftech.com/best-practice-build-happy-customer-experience/ Mock-up – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockup Sketch – https://www.sketch.com/ Adobe XD – https://www.adobe.com/products/xd.html Figma – https://www.figma.com/ Balsamiq – https://balsamiq.com/ Proto.io – https://proto.io/ Moqups – https://moqups.com/ Marvel – https://marvelapp.com/ Customer journey – https://outoftech.com/8-key-components-for-great-technical-specifications/ Empathy maps – https://www.copyblogger.com/empathy-maps/ Episode 4: Build your business vision – https://myctofriend.co/4 Episode 5: Know your customer – https://myctofriend.co/5 Ecosystem – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_ecosystem Episode 9: Roadmap definition – https://myctofriend.co/9 Wireframe – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_wireframe Prototyping – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_prototyping Meetup – https://www.meetup.com/ Agile methodology – https://myctofriend.co/askmycto/how-do-i-write-the-specifications/ Why is it so hard to talk with developers? – https://outoftech.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-talk-with-developers/ Landing page – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_page Airbnb – https://www.airbnb.com/ Specifications – https://outoftech.com/how-to-turn-an-idea-into-a-startup-specification/ Episode 8: From an idea to an innovative startup – htt

In this episode, Amaury and Mitchie discuss what a roadmap is, why it’s important, and how to define one through practical exercises to prioritize, structure and budget your dream.
Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/  
Show notes What a roadmap is Why it’s important to build a roadmap How to create your own roadmap What’s the first exercise you should do How to evaluate how much time and money your project is going to cost you How to set up a scoring system How to know what you’re going to develop first Tools you can use to know what features your customers want How to know how many screens are needed per feature Where you can download the template to help you with your roadmap How to organize ideas and prioritize features How the Startup Roadmap Definition course can help you At what time are you ready to move on to the next version Compiling all of what you’ve done and putting it in a slideshow Why you shouldn’t aim too high or aim too low when setting your goals Links  Roadmap definition – https://outoftech.com/product-roadmap-definition-process/ Amaury’s book, Startup Without a CTO – http://startupwithoutcto.com/ My CTO Friend online courses – https://myctofriend.co/products/ Roadmap – https://outoftech.com/how-development-fits-into-your-business/ Technical plan – https://myctofriend.co/free-startup-course/ Vision – https://outoftech.com/is-a-well-defined-business-vision-necessary/ Episode 4: Build your business vision – https://myctofriend.co/4 Brainstorming – https://outoftech.com/how-to-find-the-greatest-success-with-brainstorming/ Episode 6: Productivity hacks: Brainstorming and project planning – https://myctofriend.co/6 Episode 10: How to pitch and present your roadmap – https://myctofriend.co/10 Post-it – https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/ Steve Jobs – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs Apple – https://www.apple.com/ Agile methodology – https://myctofriend.co/askmycto/how-do-i-write-the-specifications/ Microsoft Excel – https://products.office.com/en-us/excel Google Sheets – https://www.google.com/sheets/about/ Episode 5: Know your customer – https://myctofriend.co/5 Empathy maps – https://www.copyblogger.com/empathy-maps/ UserVoice – https://www.uservoice.com/ Get Satisfaction – https://getsatisfaction.com/ Artificial intelligence (AI) – https://outoftech.com/building-a-startup-with-ai/ Internet of Things (IoT) devices – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things#Applications Project Quotation Worksheet – https://myctofriend.co/project-quotation-worksheet/ Business Model Canvas – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Model_Canvas Visualization – https://outoftech.com/8-key-components-for-great-technical-specifications/ Outsourcing – https://outoftech.com/outsourcing-should-tech-startups-outsource-product-development/  Startup Roadmap Definition course – https://members.myctofriend.co/p/startup-roadmap-definition/ Key performance indicator (KPI) – https://outoftech.com/kpi-the-answer-to-almost-every-entrepreneurs-questions/ Startup Technical Plan Template – https://myctofriend.co/technicalplantemplate/ My CTO Friend website – https://myctofriend.co/ Out of Tech blog – http://outoftech.com/blog/ My CTO Friend videos – https://myctofriend.co/videos/ Episode 9: Roadmap definition – https://myctofriend.co/9 My CTO Friend the Podcast – https://myctofriend.co/podcast/ Startup Without a CTO – http://startupwithoutcto.com/ My CTO Friend the Podcast on iTunes – https://myctofriend.co/itunes Transcript  https://myctofriend.co/9#TRANSCRIPT

In this episode, Amaury and Mitchie discuss how startup founders can take on the role of the innovator in their startup. They cover the 3 categories of innovation, and the process to integrate them into early-stage project planning and brainstorming.
Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/ 
Show notes What the CTO’s innovator role is all about What to do first when taking over for a CTO in innovator role What the 3 categories of innovation are and some resources you can use to make your start attractive to investors, accelerators What process you can follow when injecting new technologies How you can create value and new business opportunities out of the data that you already have How you can further gather data What are some game-changing technologies you can use How you can integrate them into your project Why growth hacking and Web marketing are key (it’s not always the techy things) What are the basics of a marketing and sales funnel What are some social media tools you can use to target people Why starting small is the way to achieve your vision Links  Amaury’s book, Startup Without a CTO – http://startupwithoutcto.com/ Episode 3: What startups WANT vs what they NEED – https://myctofriend.co/3 The Best Technologies for Your Startup – https://members.myctofriend.co/p/best-technologies-for-your-startup/ Web marketing – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing Brainstorming – https://myctofriend.co/6 TechCrunch – https://techcrunch.com/ Improve your project with technology – https://outoftech.com/improve-your-project-with-technology/ Growth hacking – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hacking Innovation – https://outoftech.com/what-does-innovation-really-mean-for-startups/ Product Hunt – https://www.producthunt.com/ Artificial intelligence (AI) – https://outoftech.com/building-a-startup-with-ai/ Internet of Things (IoT) – https://outoftech.com/could-low-bandwith-be-the-wave-of-the-future Image recognition – https://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/image-recognition Natural language processing (NLP) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language_processing Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/ Siri – https://www.apple.com/siri/ IoT devices – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things#Applications Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ Blockchain – https://outoftech.com/how-blockchain-can-make-your-idea-more-innovative/ Augmented reality – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality Virtual reality – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality Pokémon GO – https://www.pokemongo.com/en-us/ Value Proposition Canvas – https://outoftech.com/value-proposition-canvas-giving-customers-want/ Episode 5: Know your customer – https://myctofriend.co/5 Scraping – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_scraping Funnel – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchase_funnel Inbound marketing – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbound_marketing LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/?lang=en Facebook ads – https://www.facebook.com/business/ads Pixel – https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-ads-pixel Retargeting – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_retargeting Episode 4: Build your business vision – https://myctofriend.co/4 Pivot – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_startup#Pivot Episode 8: From an idea to an innovative startup – https://myctofriend.co/8 My CTO Friend – https://myctofriend.co/ AskMyCTO videos – https://myctofriend.co/videos/ Post-it – https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/ Episode 9: Roadmap definition – https://myctofriend.co/9 Startup Roadmap Definition course – https://members.myctofriend.co/p/startup-roadmap-definition/ My

In this episode, Mitchie and Amaury cover the founder’s basic toolbox, including different resources and techniques to help startup founders save time daily by optimizing repetitive tasks.
Pre-order a copy of Amaury’s new book, Startup Without a CTO, and get an early digital version two months before the official launch: http://startupwithoutcto.com/
Show notes How you can document all of your brainstorming process and project planning using some simple tools and techniques How the same tools can help you delegate tasks How Amaury and Mitchie used the same technique in the production of the My CTO Friend courses and AskMyCTO videos Why Amaury hates emails and how he makes replying faster and better What’s even better than videos when it comes to reviewing meetings How you can use this tool for bug management What new tool you can try to optimize video when giving feedback or talking to a new customer What’s a great tool to use to record meetings or podcasts automatically via mobile or PC How to set up a top down camera to make explainer videos or brainstorm without using a PC/keyboard/tablet What’s a super tool you can use for automations (automatically send emails, create folders in Google Drive, copy files in Dropbox, etc.) How Amaury’s clients made 8 million euros building a startup without developers Why follow-up is key, and what tool you can use for regular communications and email newsletters How you and your team can organize your passwords for all your different tools What to do when a team member leaves What tool to use for designing your app when you’re an early-stage startup founder What are some tools and strategies to optimize content marketing How to find the best combination of tools for you and your team What are some more examples for communication, project management, business workflow, team meetings and customer support How Amaury and Mitchie met and started working together What’s the best thing to do when you’re struggling with something How you can apply these strategies to your business, and save time and money Why you should try freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork Links  Amaury’s book, Startup Without a CTO – http://startupwithoutcto.com/ Episode 6: Productivity hacks: Brainstorming and project planning – https://myctofriend.co/6 Screenshot – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenshot Screencast – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencast Screen-O-Matic – https://screencast-o-matic.com/ My CTO Friend courses – https://myctofriend.co/products/ AskMyCTO videos – https://myctofriend.co/videos/ Specifications – https://outoftech.com/how-to-turn-an-idea-into-a-startup-specification/ Bug management – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_tracking_system Bonojoro – https://www.bonjoro.com/ Zoom – https://zoom.us/ Top-down camera – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_graphics#Top-down_perspective My CTO Friend – https://myctofriend.co/ Zapier – https://zapier.com/ Typeform – https://www.typeform.com/ FollowUpThen – https://www.followupthen.com/ Dashlane – https://www.dashlane.com/ 1Password – https://1password.com/ LastPass – https://www.lastpass.com/ UX – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience_design Canva – https://www.canva.com/ Content marketing – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_marketing Auphonic – https://auphonic.com/ YouTube – https://myctofriend.co/youtube Dashboard – https://en.support.wordpress.com/dashboard/ API – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface Slack – https://slack.com/ WhatsApp – https://www.whatsapp.com/ Microsoft Teams – https://products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software Trello – https://trello.com/en Jira – https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira Salesforce – https://www.salesforce.com/ CRM – https: