As a company follows the Customer Development process the importance of Market Type grows in each step. During the first step, Customer Discovery, all startups, regardless of Market Type, leave the building and talk to customers. In Customer Validation, the differences between type of startup emerge as sales and positioning strategies diverge rapidly. By Customer Creation, the third step, the difference between startup Market Types is acute as customer acquisition and sales strategy differ dramatically between the types ofmarkets. It is in Customer Creation that startups who do not understand Market Type spend themselves out of business. The speed with which a company moves through the Customer Development process also depends on Market Type. Even if you quit your old job on Friday and on Monday joined a startup in an existing market producing the same but better product, you still need to answer these questions. This process ought to be a snap, and can be accomplished in a matter of weeks or months. In contrast, a company creating a new market has an open-ended set of questions. Completing the Customer Development processes may take a year or two or even longer. "What kind of startup are we?" ![[Pasted image 20240610091957.png]] [[Steven Gary Blank - The Four Steps to the Epiphany Success|The Four Steps to the Epiphany Success]]