Danny Nathan - Lean Customer Development, Innovating & Building the Right Products

In this engaging episode, host Matt sits down with Danny Nathan, the forward-thinking founder of Apollo 21. They delve into the world of product development, customer-centric innovation, and the significance of lean customer development. Danny shares his professional journey from the realm of traditional advertising to becoming a key player in the innovation sector, emphasizing the importance of building products that solve genuine customer problems.

Danny discusses the methodology behind Apollo 21’s success, highlighting the principle of “Crawl Walk Run” in product development. This approach emphasizes starting small, validating ideas through customer feedback, and gradually scaling to meet larger business goals. He also touches on how innovation shouldn’t just be about creating new things but also understanding and embedding meaningful changes within an organization’s culture and operations.

Key Takeaways:

1. Lean Customer Development: Begin the product development process by talking to customers to understand their pain points before building anything.
2. Crawl Walk Run: Start with the smallest thing that can be built to create value, then iterate and expand based on customer feedback.
3. Relentless Collaboration: Build strong trust-based relationships with clients to ensure successful partnerships and product outcomes.
4. Expect Clients to Outgrow You: Develop a mindset that allows clients to eventually internalize operations, fostering long-term trust and collaboration.
5. Focus on Solving Real Problems: Ensure that any product or innovation effort is centered around addressing genuine customer needs.