Value Props: Create a Product People Will Actually Buy

One of the top reasons many startups fails is surprisingly simple: Their value proposition isn’t compelling enough to prompt a customer to buy. Maybe they have too many other competing priorities. Or the existing solutions, while imperfect, are “good enough.” Whatever the reason, the product doesn’t provide enough value to spark customer action and sustain a business. Nailing your value prop – the benefit you provide to whom and how you do it uniquely well – can make or break your startup. In this workshop, originally presented in-person at the Harvard Innovation Labs, Michael Skok, founding partner of Underscore VC, will guide you through a series of frameworks to articulate and validate your value prop to ensure that it’s highly compelling to customers. About the Speaker: Michael Skok is a founding partner at Underscore VC, a Boston-based firm investing in bold B2B software founders. Since starting his first software business as a teenager, Michael has spent 21 years as an entrepreneur and the past 18 years as a venture investor. During this time, he has founded, worked with, and invested in startups, and created thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of value. As an entrepreneur and an investor, Michael has focused on breakthrough technologies and disruptive business models including Open Source, Cloud, IoT, and emerging domains such as Blockchain, Virtual/Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. He has served on or is active on many private and public boards such as Acquia, Demandware (now a Salesforce company), Mautic (acquired by Acquia in 2019), Salsify, and Zaius. He has also held leadership roles in many industry groups such as the Software Publishers Association, where he served as chairman for many years. In 2015, Michael co-founded Underscore VC to help founders create enduring companies through the power of community. He has a passion for helping the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed by not only backing them with capital but bringing the resources and commitment of an aligned community around them to propel their success. To help achieve this, he has mentored and taught for over 10 years at Harvard University, where he is an Entrepreneur in Residence, and created the Startup Secrets series.