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Welcome to our new Leadership Team member

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Please welcome our newest member of the Leadership Team – Valeria Trussi

I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I was born and lived until 2016. Then I moved to Dusseldorf with my husband, a 1-year-old daughter, and 7-months pregnant. It was indeed a quite interesting adventure, a radical change of life. I was suddenly not working anymore, and was going to give birth in Germany! It was an intense start and our first time as Expats. 

My background is really diverse, I graduated as a graphic designer, and specialized in Marketing. I got an Executive MBA and was also a Marketing teacher at Universidad de Palermo in Argentina. I am very passionate about Marketing, Digital business, and Branding. I got a certificate in Digital Business from Columba University, and a certificate in Business Sustainability Management from Cambridge University, a topic I am really interested in. I worked in advertising agencies, had my own marketing and communication agency for 7 years, and managed marketing and product development teams in multinational companies as well. 

After three wonderful years in Dusseldorf, I’ve been lucky to be close to my little kids, and enjoy every piece of their growth milestones. Living abroad makes you rethink your life, your expectations, and your dreams. It’s a twist in your life that really not many people have the privilege to experience. Now my kids are in kindergarten and my own time is back!. 

I was given the chance to join this wonderful network where I felt part of it from the very first day. I strongly believe in the richness of shared experiences under a multicultural environment, and the power of collaboration between women. This is why I joined the International Woman in Business Düsseldorf, and embraced the great opportunity to become an active member and help grow this wonderful Network. 

What is the Lean Canvas Business Model?

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The Lean Canvas Business Model is a tool that guides you in an easy and intuitive way to write the first version of your business plan. It is very useful to summarise your assumptions, track your development and present your ideas when creating a venture. It is easy to change and adapt to the market circumstances or the development phase of the company.

This model was developed by Ash Maurya and it aggregates the concepts explained in two books: Business Model Generation (Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur) and the Lean Startup (Eric Ries). The result is a new canvas where the building blocks differ from the Business Model Canvas. The focus is on the customers’ problem and the solution that we want to give.

What are the concepts included in these canvas?

Like the Business Model Generation Canvas, this new canvas has 9 main building blocks. As Ash Maurya sais in this article, there is no write way to start filling up the canvas, but here we are proposing one.

  • Lean Canvas Business Model Template
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Why innovators and early adopters matter when you start a business?

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What are Innovators and Early adopters?

These concepts were introduced in the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory, developed by E.M. Rogers in 1962. This theory explains how an idea or a product spreads in the long term and the different phases before becoming Mass Market.

Think about the first iPhone. The people that waited in line for hours the day it was released are the Innovators, the ones that both it on the following weeks the Early Adopters. These people wanted the latest technology, the “cool” and they weren’t afraid of risks and the high prices. These people are eager about the “new” the “unknown” they don’t care about the risk. They want to feel different.

Why is it important to know this when you start a business or want to spread an idea?

When people start a business they trust their product or service and believe that it is the best in the market in their category (why else should you start a business for). They want to advertise it everywhere, get the biggest billboard, etc. They want to get to the majority of the people but the majority is not buying new ideas.

If your want your product to spread you gave to focus your marketing and sales effort in the minority, in the innovators and early adopters. In those that are willing to take risk to have the latest, the newest an the most innovative.

Focusing on this type of people has many advantages:

  • you are able to test your product or idea with people that like trying new things.
  • you get feedback in early stages of your product development when you have time to change and improve things.
  • you learn about how people use your products.
  • you don’t spend a lot of money in marketing and sales campaigns that are inefficient if people don’t trust you.

Innovators and Early Adopters who like your product will be your best sales people. They will talk to their friends about this “new thing” they tried because they like to be seen as leaders. Their opinions will give you the trust that you need to start attracting more people with your products.

Finding the Innovators and the Early Adopters must be the first step of your journey.

Photo credit: Jack Moreh