February 21, 2025 • 11 mins
Want access to the book? go to PlatformGrowthBooks.com
Mastering Post-Launch Analysis: Lessons from Airbnb’s Success
In this episode of 'The Market. Your Message Show', host Jonathan Milligan delves into Chapter 17 of his book 'Validate Your Offer'. He highlights the importance of debriefing and analyzing key validation metrics to optimize business offers. Using the success story of Airbnb founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, Jonathan illustrates the power of customer feedback in refining business strategies. The episode provides actionable steps for gathering feedback, thoroughly debriefing, and making data-driven decisions to ensure long-term success and customer satisfaction. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own past projects to understand the value of post-launch analysis and set the foundation for future success.
00:00 Welcome to the Market Show
00:11 Introduction to 'Validate Your Offer'
00:30 Exclusive Audiobook Access
01:12 Chapter 17: Key Validation Metrics
01:18 The Airbnb Success Story
02:55 The Importance of Debriefing
03:19 The Power of Reflection
05:30 Three Pillars of Post-Launch Analysis
06:10 Steps for Effective Feedback and Debriefing
08:39 Today's Exercise: Reflecting on Past Experiences
10:59 Key Takeaways and Frameworks
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the market.
(00:01):
Your message show.
I'm your host, JonathanMilligan.
And we are going through thethird book in the series.
Validate your offer.
This is an important bookbecause a lot of people will
start their business online.
And then they're trying tofigure out how do I create
(00:21):
something that people will wantand how do I do it without
wasting time?
And that's what this third bookin my book series is all about.
Now as a thank you for being aloyal podcast listener, I am
making the audio book availableone chapter at a time every
single week.
And as you're listening to this,we are currently going through
(00:43):
that.
Validate your offer.
Now, if you ever want the audiobook or you want the book or the
workbook, you can go to platformgrowth, books.com again, it's
platform, growth books.com, andyou could order one of those.
And of course, listen, as you gothrough the book or use the
workbook to implement what youhear.
(01:06):
In each episode.
So with that being said, let'sjump right in to today's
chapter.
Speaker 58 (01:12):
Chapter 17.
Pillar 4.
Debrief.
Your Key Validation Metrics.
Two young entrepreneurs, BrianChesky and Joe Gebbia, have just
launched a little startup calledAirbnb.
They're offering air mattressesin their apartment to help pay
the rent.
It's a novel idea, but bookingsare slow and they're struggling
to make ends meet.
(01:33):
Most people in their shoes wouldhave thrown in the towel,
chalking it up to a failedexperiment.
But not Brian and Joe, they knewthey were onto something, but
they needed to figure out whytheir offer wasn't quite hitting
the mark.
So they did something brilliant.
They started talking to theircustomers.
They reached out to every singleperson who had booked a stay
(01:54):
with them, asking for feedback.
Suggestions and insights.
They listen carefully, takingmeticulous notes and looking for
patterns.
And that's when they had theiraha moment.
Their customers love the idea ofstaying in a local's home, but
they wanted more than just anair mattress on the floor.
(02:14):
They wanted a clean, comfortablespace with amenities like fresh
towels and Wi Fi.
Armed with this invaluablefeedback, Brian and Joe went
back to the drawing board.
They upgraded their listings,they added more amenities, and
refined their offer.
They did this based on whattheir customers were telling
them.
And guess what?
Booking started to soar.
(02:34):
Fast forward a decade, andAirbnb is now a billion dollar
company that has revolutionizedthe travel industry.
But none of that would have beenpossible if Brian and Joe hadn't
taken the time to debrief,analyze their customer feedback,
and make pivotal changes totheir offer.
And that, my friend, is whatthis chapter is all about.
(02:55):
We're going to dive deep intothe art and science of
debriefing right So you canextract every ounce of insight
and value from your validationoffer.
Just like Brian and Joe, the keyto your success lies in
listening to your customers andusing their feedback to guide
your next moves.
So, buckle up, grab a notepad,and get ready to learn how to
debrief like a pro.
(03:16):
Trust me, it's going to be agame changer for your business.
Speaker 59 (03:19):
The power of reflection.
Let's be real.
Launching a validation offer isexciting, but it's also
exhausting.
You've put your heart and soulinto making the perfect offer.
You've reached out to potentialcustomers and managed all the
moving parts.
By the time it's all said anddone, it's tempting to just move
on to the next thing withoutlooking back.
(03:40):
But here's the thing.
If you don't take the time toproperly debrief and assess your
validation offer, you're leavinga goldmine of insights on the
table.
It's like running a marathon andnot bothering to check your time
or analyze your performance.
Sure, you finished the race, buthow do you know if you could
have done better?
When you fail to thoroughlydebrief, you limit your ability
(04:02):
to learn from the experience andmake necessary improvements.
You might have a vague sense ofwhat worked and what didn't.
But, without a process forgathering and analyzing
feedback, You're essentiallyflying blind.
Think about it this way.
Your validation offer is like ascience experiment.
You've got a hypothesis, youroffer, and you're testing it out
(04:23):
in the real world.
But, like a scientist, you can'tskip the debrief.
They wouldn't conduct anexperiment without documenting
their methods and results.
So, what's the solution?
It's simple.
You need to follow a cleardebriefing process.
This process will maximizeinsights and help you make data
driven decisions about youroffer and business model.
(04:45):
Ask the right questions.
Gather targeted feedback.
Analyze your results fairly.
This will unlock much knowledge.
It will guide your next steps.
Imagine being able to pinpointwhy some customers bought your
offer while others didn't.
Or finding a key feature thatcould make your offer great.
That's the power of a thoroughdebrief.
(05:06):
This is not just about pattingyourself on the back for
successes.
It's about diving into thedetails.
You should use that informationto keep improving your offer.
So if you're serious aboutturning your validation offer
into a success, don't make themistake of skipping the debrief,
embrace the power of reflection.
Follow a clear process.
Watch as your insights guide youto a winning offer in a thriving
(05:29):
business.
The three pillars of post launchanalysis, feedback, debrief, and
decision making.
Speaker 60 (05:35):
Congratulations.
You've taken the leap andlaunched your validation offer.
You've put your idea out thereinto the world, and now it's
time to sit back and relax,right?
Not quite.
In fact, this is where the realwork begins.
It's time to roll up yoursleeves and dive into the
crucial process of post launchanalysis.
This is where you'll gather theinsights and data that will
(05:56):
guide your next steps andultimately determine the success
of your offer.
So what does this process looklike?
your It all boils down to threekey principles, feedback,
debriefing, and decision making.
Step one, gather feedback.
First, let's talk aboutfeedback.
After your launch, it'sessential to reach out to both
(06:17):
your buyers and non buyers togather their thoughts and
opinions.
Why?
Because this is your chance toget an inside look at what's
working and what's not.
Your buyers can tell you whatthey loved about your offer,
what convinced them to make apurchase, and what they think
could be improved.
Your non buyers, however, cangive valuable insights.
(06:38):
They can say what held themback, what didn't resonate, and
what might have changed theirmind.
Step 2.
Do a proper debrief, butgathering feedback is just the
first step.
Next it's time for the debrief.
This is where you'll take a stepback and objectively assess your
validation offers performance.
(06:58):
It's about looking at the data,analyzing the feedback and
identifying patterns and trends.
A proper debrief.
Isn't just a quick glance atyour sales numbers.
It's a deep dive into the nittygritty details of your launch.
It's about asking toughquestions, confronting what
didn't work and celebrating whatdid.
Step three.
Decide your next best move.
(07:20):
And finally, armed with theinsights from your feedback and
debrief, it's time to make yournext move.
This is where you'll take allthat data and transform it into
action.
You might refine your offerbased on customer suggestions or
pivot to a new approach based onnon buyer objections.
Or scale up based on strong,positive feedback.
(07:41):
The key is to let your insightsguide your decision making
process and trust in the powerof data driven action.
Now, I know what you might bethinking.
This all sounds great, but howdo I actually do it?
Don't worry.
In the coming chapters, we'lldive into the specifics of each
of these steps.
We'll show you how to gatherfeedback, then how to conduct a
(08:03):
thorough debrief.
Finally, how to make decisionsbased on your findings.
But for now, I want you toembrace the power of reflection.
Understand that the work doesn'tend with your launch.
In fact, That's just thebeginning.
By committing to feedback,debriefing, and decision making,
you're setting yourself up forlong term success.
You're not just launching anoffer.
(08:24):
You're building a foundation fora thriving, customer centric
business.
So get ready to dive in, getcurious, and most importantly,
take action based on yourinsights.
Your Validation Offers successstory starts now.
Today's exercise, Reflection onPast Experiences.
Before we dive into the nittygritty of gathering feedback,
(08:46):
Debriefing and making datadriven decisions.
Let's take a moment to reflecton our own experiences.
This exercise will help youunderstand the value of a
thorough post launch analysisand set the stage for the
strategies you'll learn in thecoming chapters.
Step one, think back to aproject offer or initiative you
(09:07):
launched in the past, whether inyour personal or professional
life.
Step two, write down a briefdescription of the project.
including its goals andoutcomes.
Step three, reflect on thefollowing questions.
Did you actively seek feedbackfrom your target audience or
customers after the launch?
If not, why?
(09:27):
Did you set aside time for astructured debrief to analyze
the project's performance?
If yes, what insights did yougain?
If not, what held you back?
Looking back, what decisions didyou make based on the project's
outcome?
Were these decisions data drivenor based on intuition?
Step four.
(09:47):
Now consider how a more thoroughpost launch analysis process,
including feedback and feedback,Debriefing and data driven
decision making could haveimproved the project's outcome
or your next steps.
Step five, write down at leastone key takeaway or lesson
learned from this reflectionexercise that you can apply to
your current or future projects.
(10:09):
By completing this exercise,You'll start to recognize
patterns in your own experiencesand understand how a structured
post launch analysis process canlead to better outcomes and more
informed decision making.
This is the first step inembracing the power of
reflection and setting yourselfup for success in your future
projects.
(10:31):
In the coming chapters, we'llbuild on this foundation and
explore each step of the postlaunch analysis process in
detail.
You'll learn practicalstrategies for gathering
valuable feedback and Conductinga thorough debrief and making
data driven decisions that willtake your projects and offers to
the next level.
So take a moment to completethis reflection exercise and get
(10:54):
ready to dive into the world ofpost launch analysis.
Your future success storiesstart here.
Key takeaways.
You need a structured debriefingprocess.
It is key for getting the mostvalue and learning from your
validation offer.
The business validation decisiontree.
And the four magic debriefquestions provide powerful
frameworks for gathering andanalyzing customer feedback.
(11:17):
Your debrief findings will guideyour next moves.
They will help you make informeddecisions.
You can use them to refine,pivot, scale, or leverage your
offer for ongoing success.
Hello and welcome to the market.
(00:01):
Your message show.
I'm your host, JonathanMilligan.
And we are going through thethird book in the series.
Validate your offer.
This is an important bookbecause a lot of people will
start their business online.
And then they're trying tofigure out how do I create
(00:21):
something that people will wantand how do I do it without
wasting time?
And that's what this third bookin my book series is all about.
Now as a thank you for being aloyal podcast listener, I am
making the audio book availableone chapter at a time every
single week.
And as you're listening to this,we are currently going through
(00:43):
that.
Validate your offer.
Now, if you ever want the audiobook or you want the book or the
workbook, you can go to platformgrowth, books.com again, it's
platform, growth books.com, andyou could order one of those.
And of course, listen, as you gothrough the book or use the
workbook to implement what youhear.
(01:06):
In each episode.
So with that being said, let'sjump right in to today's
chapter.
Speaker 58 (01:12):
Chapter 17.
Pillar 4.
Debrief.
Your Key Validation Metrics.
Two young entrepreneurs, BrianChesky and Joe Gebbia, have just
launched a little startup calledAirbnb.
They're offering air mattressesin their apartment to help pay
the rent.
It's a novel idea, but bookingsare slow and they're struggling
to make ends meet.
(01:33):
Most people in their shoes wouldhave thrown in the towel,
chalking it up to a failedexperiment.
But not Brian and Joe, they knewthey were onto something, but
they needed to figure out whytheir offer wasn't quite hitting
the mark.
So they did something brilliant.
They started talking to theircustomers.
They reached out to every singleperson who had booked a stay
(01:54):
with them, asking for feedback.
Suggestions and insights.
They listen carefully, takingmeticulous notes and looking for
patterns.
And that's when they had theiraha moment.
Their customers love the idea ofstaying in a local's home, but
they wanted more than just anair mattress on the floor.
(02:14):
They wanted a clean, comfortablespace with amenities like fresh
towels and Wi Fi.
Armed with this invaluablefeedback, Brian and Joe went
back to the drawing board.
They upgraded their listings,they added more amenities, and
refined their offer.
They did this based on whattheir customers were telling
them.
And guess what?
Booking started to soar.
(02:34):
Fast forward a decade, andAirbnb is now a billion dollar
company that has revolutionizedthe travel industry.
But none of that would have beenpossible if Brian and Joe hadn't
taken the time to debrief,analyze their customer feedback,
and make pivotal changes totheir offer.
And that, my friend, is whatthis chapter is all about.
(02:55):
We're going to dive deep intothe art and science of
debriefing right So you canextract every ounce of insight
and value from your validationoffer.
Just like Brian and Joe, the keyto your success lies in
listening to your customers andusing their feedback to guide
your next moves.
So, buckle up, grab a notepad,and get ready to learn how to
debrief like a pro.
(03:16):
Trust me, it's going to be agame changer for your business.
Speaker 59 (03:19):
The power of reflection.
Let's be real.
Launching a validation offer isexciting, but it's also
exhausting.
You've put your heart and soulinto making the perfect offer.
You've reached out to potentialcustomers and managed all the
moving parts.
By the time it's all said anddone, it's tempting to just move
on to the next thing withoutlooking back.
(03:40):
But here's the thing.
If you don't take the time toproperly debrief and assess your
validation offer, you're leavinga goldmine of insights on the
table.
It's like running a marathon andnot bothering to check your time
or analyze your performance.
Sure, you finished the race, buthow do you know if you could
have done better?
When you fail to thoroughlydebrief, you limit your ability
(04:02):
to learn from the experience andmake necessary improvements.
You might have a vague sense ofwhat worked and what didn't.
But, without a process forgathering and analyzing
feedback, You're essentiallyflying blind.
Think about it this way.
Your validation offer is like ascience experiment.
You've got a hypothesis, youroffer, and you're testing it out
(04:23):
in the real world.
But, like a scientist, you can'tskip the debrief.
They wouldn't conduct anexperiment without documenting
their methods and results.
So, what's the solution?
It's simple.
You need to follow a cleardebriefing process.
This process will maximizeinsights and help you make data
driven decisions about youroffer and business model.
(04:45):
Ask the right questions.
Gather targeted feedback.
Analyze your results fairly.
This will unlock much knowledge.
It will guide your next steps.
Imagine being able to pinpointwhy some customers bought your
offer while others didn't.
Or finding a key feature thatcould make your offer great.
That's the power of a thoroughdebrief.
(05:06):
This is not just about pattingyourself on the back for
successes.
It's about diving into thedetails.
You should use that informationto keep improving your offer.
So if you're serious aboutturning your validation offer
into a success, don't make themistake of skipping the debrief,
embrace the power of reflection.
Follow a clear process.
Watch as your insights guide youto a winning offer in a thriving
(05:29):
business.
The three pillars of post launchanalysis, feedback, debrief, and
decision making.
Speaker 60 (05:35):
Congratulations.
You've taken the leap andlaunched your validation offer.
You've put your idea out thereinto the world, and now it's
time to sit back and relax,right?
Not quite.
In fact, this is where the realwork begins.
It's time to roll up yoursleeves and dive into the
crucial process of post launchanalysis.
This is where you'll gather theinsights and data that will
(05:56):
guide your next steps andultimately determine the success
of your offer.
So what does this process looklike?
your It all boils down to threekey principles, feedback,
debriefing, and decision making.
Step one, gather feedback.
First, let's talk aboutfeedback.
After your launch, it'sessential to reach out to both
(06:17):
your buyers and non buyers togather their thoughts and
opinions.
Why?
Because this is your chance toget an inside look at what's
working and what's not.
Your buyers can tell you whatthey loved about your offer,
what convinced them to make apurchase, and what they think
could be improved.
Your non buyers, however, cangive valuable insights.
(06:38):
They can say what held themback, what didn't resonate, and
what might have changed theirmind.
Step 2.
Do a proper debrief, butgathering feedback is just the
first step.
Next it's time for the debrief.
This is where you'll take a stepback and objectively assess your
validation offers performance.
(06:58):
It's about looking at the data,analyzing the feedback and
identifying patterns and trends.
A proper debrief.
Isn't just a quick glance atyour sales numbers.
It's a deep dive into the nittygritty details of your launch.
It's about asking toughquestions, confronting what
didn't work and celebrating whatdid.
Step three.
Decide your next best move.
(07:20):
And finally, armed with theinsights from your feedback and
debrief, it's time to make yournext move.
This is where you'll take allthat data and transform it into
action.
You might refine your offerbased on customer suggestions or
pivot to a new approach based onnon buyer objections.
Or scale up based on strong,positive feedback.
(07:41):
The key is to let your insightsguide your decision making
process and trust in the powerof data driven action.
Now, I know what you might bethinking.
This all sounds great, but howdo I actually do it?
Don't worry.
In the coming chapters, we'lldive into the specifics of each
of these steps.
We'll show you how to gatherfeedback, then how to conduct a
(08:03):
thorough debrief.
Finally, how to make decisionsbased on your findings.
But for now, I want you toembrace the power of reflection.
Understand that the work doesn'tend with your launch.
In fact, That's just thebeginning.
By committing to feedback,debriefing, and decision making,
you're setting yourself up forlong term success.
You're not just launching anoffer.
(08:24):
You're building a foundation fora thriving, customer centric
business.
So get ready to dive in, getcurious, and most importantly,
take action based on yourinsights.
Your Validation Offers successstory starts now.
Today's exercise, Reflection onPast Experiences.
Before we dive into the nittygritty of gathering feedback,
(08:46):
Debriefing and making datadriven decisions.
Let's take a moment to reflecton our own experiences.
This exercise will help youunderstand the value of a
thorough post launch analysisand set the stage for the
strategies you'll learn in thecoming chapters.
Step one, think back to aproject offer or initiative you
(09:07):
launched in the past, whether inyour personal or professional
life.
Step two, write down a briefdescription of the project.
including its goals andoutcomes.
Step three, reflect on thefollowing questions.
Did you actively seek feedbackfrom your target audience or
customers after the launch?
If not, why?
(09:27):
Did you set aside time for astructured debrief to analyze
the project's performance?
If yes, what insights did yougain?
If not, what held you back?
Looking back, what decisions didyou make based on the project's
outcome?
Were these decisions data drivenor based on intuition?
Step four.
(09:47):
Now consider how a more thoroughpost launch analysis process,
including feedback and feedback,Debriefing and data driven
decision making could haveimproved the project's outcome
or your next steps.
Step five, write down at leastone key takeaway or lesson
learned from this reflectionexercise that you can apply to
your current or future projects.
(10:09):
By completing this exercise,You'll start to recognize
patterns in your own experiencesand understand how a structured
post launch analysis process canlead to better outcomes and more
informed decision making.
This is the first step inembracing the power of
reflection and setting yourselfup for success in your future
projects.
(10:31):
In the coming chapters, we'llbuild on this foundation and
explore each step of the postlaunch analysis process in
detail.
You'll learn practicalstrategies for gathering
valuable feedback and Conductinga thorough debrief and making
data driven decisions that willtake your projects and offers to
the next level.
So take a moment to completethis reflection exercise and get
(10:54):
ready to dive into the world ofpost launch analysis.
Your future success storiesstart here.
Key takeaways.
You need a structured debriefingprocess.
It is key for getting the mostvalue and learning from your
validation offer.
The business validation decisiontree.
And the four magic debriefquestions provide powerful
frameworks for gathering andanalyzing customer feedback.
(11:17):
Your debrief findings will guideyour next moves.
They will help you make informeddecisions.
You can use them to refine,pivot, scale, or leverage your
offer for ongoing success.
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