Rob Adams is a strategy consultant and venture capitalist, and on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. He has been a founder, founding investor, or involved with the IPO or merger and acquisition of more than forty companies, involving the launch of more than 100 new products, representing more than a billion dollars of investment. He is the author of A Good Hard Kick in the Ass: Basic Training for Entrepreneurs. He has been covered in BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune, Money, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, as well as on Bloomberg Radio, Public Television, and National Public Radio's Marketplace program. For more information, please visit www.drrobadams.com

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• Introduction Market Validation: Why Ready, Aim, Fire Beats Ready, Fire, Fire, Fire, Aim 1Step 1 Ready—Could This Idea Fly?Chapter One Ready: The Overview 35Chapter Two Domain Knowledge: Where Did You Get Your Idea? 39Chapter Three The Market: How Big is It, and How Fast is It Growing? 45Chapter Four Lifecycles and Trends: How are These Affecting Your Market? 51Chapter Five Your Competitors: What are They Doing? 71Chapter Six The Experts: What Do They Say? 81Chapter Seven The Ready Checklist 89Step 2 Aim—What Do Your Future Customers Think?Chapter Eight Aim: The Overview 95Chapter Nine Research: Learning What You Really Need to Know 99Chapter Ten Interviews: Getting to the Market Pain 113Chapter Eleven Who are You After? Finding Your Target Audience 127Chapter Twelve Turning Data into Results: How to Practically Apply All That You’ve Learned 137Chapter Thirteen Outside Help: Using Research Professionals 143Chapter Fourteen Countdown: Preparing the Market for Your Product 145Chapter Fifteen The Aim Checklist 147Step 3 Fire—Blasting into the MarketChapter Sixteen Fire: The Overview 153Chapter Seventeen Sales and Marketing: Budget for It 159Chapter Eighteen The Details: Write Product Specs and Schedules 163Chapter Nineteen Fast to Market: Get a Market-Oriented Product Out Quickly 171Chapter Twenty Early Customers: Recruit Design Partners and Advisory Boards 179Chapter Twenty-One Showtime: Launch, Market, and Sell the Product 189Chapter Twenty-Two The Fire Checklist 195About the Author 199Index 201

Rob Adams is a strategy consultant and venture capitalist, and on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. He has been a founder, founding investor, or involved with the IPO or merger and acquisition of more than forty companies, involving the launch of more than 100 new products, representing more than a billion dollars of investment. He is the author of A Good Hard Kick in the Ass: Basic Training for Entrepreneurs. He has been covered in BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune, Money, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, as well as on Bloomberg Radio, Public Television, and National Public Radio's Marketplace program. For more information, please visit www.drrobadams.com

Select Guide Rating

• Introduction Market Validation: Why Ready, Aim, Fire Beats Ready, Fire, Fire, Fire, Aim 1Step 1 Ready—Could This Idea Fly?Chapter One Ready: The Overview 35Chapter Two Domain Knowledge: Where Did You Get Your Idea? 39Chapter Three The Market: How Big is It, and How Fast is It Growing? 45Chapter Four Lifecycles and Trends: How are These Affecting Your Market? 51Chapter Five Your Competitors: What are They Doing? 71Chapter Six The Experts: What Do They Say? 81Chapter Seven The Ready Checklist 89Step 2 Aim—What Do Your Future Customers Think?Chapter Eight Aim: The Overview 95Chapter Nine Research: Learning What You Really Need to Know 99Chapter Ten Interviews: Getting to the Market Pain 113Chapter Eleven Who are You After? Finding Your Target Audience 127Chapter Twelve Turning Data into Results: How to Practically Apply All That You’ve Learned 137Chapter Thirteen Outside Help: Using Research Professionals 143Chapter Fourteen Countdown: Preparing the Market for Your Product 145Chapter Fifteen The Aim Checklist 147Step 3 Fire—Blasting into the MarketChapter Sixteen Fire: The Overview 153Chapter Seventeen Sales and Marketing: Budget for It 159Chapter Eighteen The Details: Write Product Specs and Schedules 163Chapter Nineteen Fast to Market: Get a Market-Oriented Product Out Quickly 171Chapter Twenty Early Customers: Recruit Design Partners and Advisory Boards 179Chapter Twenty-One Showtime: Launch, Market, and Sell the Product 189Chapter Twenty-Two The Fire Checklist 195About the Author 199Index 201