1 0   Steps to Launch
a Digital Startup
Using Design Sprints

1 0   Steps
to Launch
your Startup
with Design
Sprints

2. User-Profile-Based Hypotheses

You've chosen your idea.

The most dangerous next step? Designing the product for yourself.
You are not your user — you know too much, care too deeply, and can't see it through
a beginner's eyes.

The most dangerous next step?
Designing the product for yourself.
You are not your user — you know
too much, care too deeply, and can't
see it through a beginner's eyes.

To avoid this bias, you need a guide into your user's world: a persona.

Start with a hypothesis — a scientific assumption you'll
test later:

"We believe that [type of user] experiences [specific problem], and will use
[our solution] to achieve [desired outcome]."

"We believe that [type of user]
experiences [specific problem],
and willuse [our solution]
to achieve [desired outcome]."

Example (Crypto Exchange):

"We believe that young IT specialists and beginner investors feel anxious
and insecure using complex crypto exchanges, and that they'll use our
simple, guided interface to make their first trade without stress."

"We believe that young IT specialists
and beginner investors feel anxious
and insecure using complex crypto
exchanges, and that they'll use our
simple, guided interface to make
their first trade without stress."

3. The Persona Method

A persona is a fictional yet realistic profile of your ideal user.
It helps your whole team stay aligned around the same human being.
Create it collaboratively (for example, in Miro).

A persona is a fictional yet realistic
profile of your ideal user.
It helps your whole team stay
aligned around the same human
being. Create it collaboratively
(for example, in Miro).

Example Persona (Crypto Exchange):

Goals & Motivations:

• Wants to diversify his investment portfolio
• Has heard about Bitcoin's potential but doesn't know where to start
• Values time and simplicity

• Wants to diversify his investment
  portfolio
• Has heard about Bitcoin's
  potential but doesn't know
  where to start
• Values time and simplicity

Fears & Pains:

• Afraid of pressing the wrong button and losing money
• Doesn't understand 90% of exchange jargon (spread, margin, stop-loss)
• Distrusts unknown platforms

• Afraid of pressing the wrong
  button and losing money
• Doesn't understand 90%
  of exchange jargon (spread,
  margin, stop-loss)
• Distrusts unknown platforms

Once your persona feels complete, every design and product decision you make should align with this user's perspective.

Keep asking yourself: "Would this make sense to my user? Would they find it easy?"

This persona becomes your north star in the product-creation process.

4. The Empathy Map

This tool helps you gain a deeper understanding of your persona’s context, mindset, and motivations.

Divide your workspace into four quadrants and fill them out:

Sees:

What do they observe
in their environment?

Hears:

What influences or advice
do they hear from others?

Thinks & Feels:

What emotions, fears, and
desires drive their decisions?

Says & Does:

What actions or words reveal
their attitudes and behavior?

Example (Alex, Crypto Exchange):

Sees:

Tesla ads, Bitcoin price charts,
complex Binance dashboards.

Hears:

Friends saying, "Crypto is
a scam," or "You should've
bought earlier."

Thinks & Feels:

"I've missed the train." "This is
too complicated." "I want to try,
but it's scary."

Says & Does:

Googles "how to buy bitcoin
for beginners," reads articles,
installs apps, looks at interfaces
and deletes them.

Once complete, your idea is no longer abstract — it’s grounded in the real emotional
world of your user.

Every subsequent design or product decision should trace back to this understanding.

This empathy map is your compass in the storm of assumptions.

5. Ruthless Feature Cutting

This is one of the most powerful exercises in building an MVP. Gather your team and open a shared board (physical or digital, e.g. Miro).

Step 1: In a 10-minute brainstorm, list every possible feature your product could ever include — registration, analytics, achievements, chat support, leaderboards, marketplaces, etc. Don’t filter; just write.

Step 2: Take three colors (or tags) and sort all features into three categories:

Example (Crypto Exchange):

Your MVP = only red zone. Everything else is noise that slows learning and distracts from your hypothesis.

Once done, you’ll have a crystal-clear product core — a simple, testable
version ready for your sprint.

6. Sketching

Take an A4 sheet and divide it into eight rectangles.
Your task: in 8 minutes, sketch 8 variations of your best idea — one per rectangle.
Set a timer: 60 seconds per sketch.

This fast pace shuts off your inner critic and sparks creativity.
Don’t overthink — just draw. After eight minutes, everyone will have eight
mini-sketches.

Then, pick the strongest one or merge elements from several to form your
final detailed sketch.

Use another sheet and make sure it’s:

• Self-explanatory: anyone should understand it without explanation.
• Anonymous: don’t sign it; this ensures objective voting later.
• Detailed: include interface elements or device frames (smartphone, desktop, etc.).

Afterward, hold a blind vote, review the results, and let the Product Owner
make the final call.

7. Storyboarding

Your chosen sketch is static — but user experience is a story.

Your chosen sketch is static —
but user experience is a story.

Now, turn it into a storyboard: a sequence of 3–5 key screens that illustrate how users will interact with your prototype.

Now, turn it into a storyboard:
a sequence of 3–5 key screens that
illustrate how users will interact
with your prototype.

Use a large sheet (or Miro board). Draw rectangles representing each screen.

Use a large sheet (or Miro board).
Draw rectangles representing
each screen.

Your storyboard should show:

• Start: Where does the user begin?
• Actions: What key steps do they take? (e.g., tapping Buy)
• Reactions: What happens next? (confirmation screen, progress state, etc.)
• End: Where does the user finish? (e.g., “Purchase successful” screen)

This storyboard becomes both your prototyping blueprint and your
testing scenario.

8. Prototyping

Now transform your storyboard into a clickable, realistic prototype — convincing
enough that users believe it’s a real product.

Now transform your storyboard into
a clickable, realistic prototype —
convincing enough that users
believe it’s a real product.

You’re not building; you’re creating the illusion of functionality to test hypotheses.

You’re not building; you’re creating
the illusion of functionality to test
hypotheses.

Tool of choice: Figma — ideal for collaborative, cloud-based sprint work.

Tool of choice: Figma — ideal
for collaborative, cloud-based
sprint work.

Team roles:

• Makers (2–3): assemble screens in Figma. Usually designers, but can be anyone
  with visual sense.
• Stitcher (1): connects screens into an interactive flow.
• Writer (1): crafts on-screen text and labels.
• Asset Curator (1): collects icons, fonts, and visual materials.

• Makers (2–3): assemble screens in
  Figma. Usually designers, but can
  be anyone with visual sense.
• Stitcher (1): connects screens into
  an interactive flow.
• Writer (1): crafts on-screen text
  and labels.
• Asset Curator (1): collects icons,
  fonts, and visual materials.

Key rules:

• Work in parallel, following the storyboard.
• Don’t design a new system — use existing UI kits (Figma Community has free iOS,
  Android, and web libraries).
• Use realistic placeholders — names, numbers, prices.
• Prototype only what’s part of your test scenario.
• Link screens with simple transitions (e.g., Navigate To).
• Make all interactive areas clickable — if it doesn’t respond, users will assume
  it’s broken.

• Work in parallel, following
  the storyboard.
• Don’t design a new system — use
  existing UI kits (Figma Community
  has free iOS, Android, and web
  libraries).
• Use realistic placeholders —
  names, numbers, prices.
• Prototype only what’s part
  of your test scenario.
• Link screens with simple
  transitions (e.g., Navigate To).
• Make all interactive areas clickable
  — if it doesn’t respond, users will
  assume it’s broken.

Finally, test internally. Walk through the entire user path and fix any “dead ends” before testing externally.

9. User Testing

Now you switch hats — from creators to researchers.

Your goal isn’t to sell or defend your prototype, but to learn from real user behavior.

According to Jakob Nielsen, testing with just five participants usually uncovers 80–90% of major usability issues.

So aim for quality, not quantity.

Recruiting testers:

• Personal networks: Ask colleagues to recommend people who fit your persona —
  but avoid close friends (they’ll bias results).
• Communities: Reddit or Facebook groups in your niche. Offer small incentives
  (e.g., coffee gift card).
• Freelance platforms: Post a quick job on Upwork titled “Usability
  Test Participant.”

• Personal networks: Ask
  colleagues to recommend people
  who fit your persona — but avoid
  close friends (they’ll bias results).
• Communities: Reddit or Facebook
  groups in your niche. Offer small
  incentives (e.g., coffee gift card).
• Freelance platforms: Post a quick
  job on Upwork titled “Usability
  Test Participant.”

Each session should last 45–60 minutes and include:

1. Introduction (5 min)

• Explain that you’re testing the prototype, not the person.
• Ask for consent to record.
• Encourage them to think aloud — narrating thoughts gives invaluable insights.

• Explain that you’re testing
  the prototype, not the person.
• Ask for consent to record.
• Encourage them to think aloud —
  narrating thoughts gives
  invaluable insights.

2. Tasks (35–40 min)

Give realistic, goal-based tasks — not instructions.

Give realistic, goal-based tasks —
not instructions.

Instead of “Click Buy,” say “Imagine you want to purchase Bitcoin — show how
you’d do it.”

Instead of “Click Buy,” say “Imagine
you want to purchase Bitcoin —
show how you’d do it.”

Stay silent — don’t guide. Confusion moments are gold.

Stay silent — don’t guide. Confusion
moments are gold.

Example Tasks (Crypto Exchange):

• “You’ve just registered. Try buying $100 worth of Bitcoin.”
• “What do you think happens if you click this button?”
• “Where would you look for transaction fees?”

• “You’ve just registered. Try buying $100 worth of Bitcoin.”
• “What do you think happens if you click this button?”
• “Where would you look
  for transaction fees?”

3. Debrief (5–10 min)

Thank them and ask follow-ups:

• “What did you expect to happen here?”
• “What was the hardest part?”
• “What did you like most?”

Don’t justify or lead (“You liked the chart, right?”). Just listen.

After testing, gather your team.

Each member writes key observations on sticky notes — one per note
(“found button easily,” “got confused by wording,” “hesitated due to fees”).

Each member writes key
observations on sticky notes —
one per note (“found button easily,”
“got confused by wording,”
“hesitated due to fees”).

Group them by themes — “positives,” “navigation issues,” “unclear copy,”
“trust concerns.”

Patterns that repeat across three or more users are your core insights.

10. Prioritization

Now that you have insights, it’s time to decide what to fix first.
Use a simple but powerful tool — the Value vs. Effort Matrix.

Draw two axes:

• Vertical: user value (low → high)
• Horizontal: implementation effort (low → high)

• Vertical: user value (low → high)
• Horizontal: implementation
  effort (low → high)

Plot each finding on this grid.

Create a backlog from this matrix — a prioritised list of hypotheses, tasks,
and improvements.

The Product Owner should maintain and update it after every sprint, using both test
results and market feedback.

In doing this, you’re not just closing a sprint — you’re establishing a culture
of continuous improvement.

In doing this, you’re not just closing
a sprint — you’re establishing
a culture of continuous improvement.

Each cycle brings your product one step closer to meeting real market needs.

You turn uncertainty into a repeatable, data-driven process.

You turn uncertainty into
a repeatable, data-driven process.

Bonus #1 — The Landing Page

Your MVP might still be in development, but your landing page
should be live before launch.

Your MVP might still be
in development, but your landing
page should be live before launch.

It’s your testing ground for demand and your first audience touchpoint.

It’s your testing ground for demand
and your first audience touchpoint.

Key elements of an effective landing page:

• Hero Headline: Clearly communicate your core value. “The simplest crypto
  exchange for beginners.”
• Visuals: Screenshots or video of your MVP — show, don’t tell.
• Call to Action (CTA): “Get launch updates” or “Start now.”
• Email capture form: Build your early user list.
• User benefits: Focus on outcomes (“Instant transactions and an intuitive
  interface”), not tech jargon (“Built with React and WebSocket”).
• Social proof: Add early testimonials, even from test users.

• Hero Headline: Clearly
  communicate your core value.
  “The simplest crypto exchange
  for beginners.”
• Visuals: Screenshots or video
  of your MVP — show, don’t tell.
• Call to Action (CTA): “Get launch
  updates” or “Start now.”
• Email capture form: Build your
  early user list.
• User benefits: Focus on outcomes
  (“Instant transactions and an
  intuitive interface”), not tech
  jargon (“Built with React and
  WebSocket”).
• Social proof: Add early
  testimonials, even from test users.

Use no-code builders like Webflow or Wix to launch fast.

Bonus #2 — Pre-Launch Checklist

A week before launch, ensure that:

• The landing page works and collects user emails.
• MVP runs smoothly across major devices and browsers.
• Registration and login work flawlessly.
• Core user flow completes successfully.
• Analytics are properly set up.
• Basic error handling and uptime monitoring are in place.
• Communication plan with first users is ready.

• The landing page works
  and collects user emails.
• MVP runs smoothly across major
  devices and browsers.
• Registration and login work
  flawlessly.
• Core user flow completes
  successfully.
• Analytics are properly set up.
• Basic error handling and uptime
  monitoring are in place.
• Communication plan with first
  users is ready.

A successful launch is a result of preparation, not luck.

A successful launch is a result
of preparation, not luck.

By validating demand, collecting leads, and defining metrics early, you turn
your launch into a controlled experiment — one whose results you can
measure, learn from, and build upon.

By validating demand, collecting
leads, and defining metrics early,
you turn your launch into a
controlled experiment — one whose
results you can measure, learn from,
and build upon.