Building a Saas Prototype With No Money

About this video

Martell argues for using clickable prototypes before paying engineers to build, to avoid creating features nobody understands or wants. His example is a bookmarklet feature at Clarity.fm, a marketplace for getting advice over the phone, intended to make experts discoverable on other sites with a call button. He wireframed it in Keynote and showed it to five customers; all five, he says, gave the same feedback — they did not understand what a bookmarklet was or why they would use it, and the interface did not communicate its value. He was too close to the problem. He then lays out four strategies. First, understand the tools, tiered from low-end wireframing in Balsamiq and Keynote, to mid-tier Figma and UXPin, to high-end simulation tools such as Flinto and InVision — starting with Balsamiq for most people, and avoiding pixel-perfect designs that draw feedback on colours instead of flow. Second, outline outcomes using goal-driven design, designing each flow for one specific result. Third, sketch inputs, including blank-slate and data-entry screens, and remove friction in how data is collected or connected. Fourth, check reality with a customer advisory board of at least a dozen people who best represent your ideal customer profile, co-creating and testing assumptions with them rather than trying to sell the idea.

Key takeaways

• Prototype clickably before building — five Clarity.fm customers all failed to understand the bookmarklet concept, saving wasted development
• Match tool fidelity to the stage: Balsamiq or Keynote for wireframes, Figma or UXPin mid-tier, Flinto or InVision for high-end simulation
• Design each flow for one specific outcome using goal-driven design, rather than dumping everything onto a dashboard
• Sketch the inputs — blank-slate, onboarding and data-entry flows — not just the output reports and dashboards
• Check reality with a customer advisory board of at least a dozen ideal-profile customers, looking for assumptions you got wrong

Episode details: published July 4, 2022 · 13:59 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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