You should only build products your customer wants to buy. So what strategies do the best companies use to make sure they do that consistently?

I know that sounds really obvious but startups forget all the time. There’s so much to do you just get turned around. In class we talk a lot about customer discovery and we introduce the concept of user experience design because these are the best tools we have to navigate this chicken and egg problem. Real companies use these tools. In this episode you’ll hear Matt MacQueen talk about how Coursera, Uber, and AirBNB create great products by staying committed to this process that anyone can do. As Matt’s stories illustrate, great user story mapping and design sprints are an essential step in launching your new venture.

Matt MacQueen and I recorded these stories at the ITHAKA Headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI

Matt was the first Director of Product Design at Coursera. He held similar roles at Google, Motorola, and was a member of the Kleiner Perkins Design Advisory Council. Today he is the VP of Product Design and Customer Experience at ITHAKA. You can see Matt and other contemporary design leaders discuss the role of design in tech in, “Design Disruptors“, a documentary film by InVision.

Matt is a legit leader in this space, which makes his stories really powerful. Not only does what he’s talking work for companies like Coursera and Uber, but it’s also very doable for your startup.

Here’s the book Matt recommends for learning about design sprints:

Read “Sprint” by Jake Knapp.

“Whether you’re a designer or just a smart businessperson or creative person, it’s a really great book and it is literally THE guidebook that is I think now our industry standard for design sprints .”

– Matt MacQueen