A Research Focused Approach to Customer Discovery

Head injuries in football and bicycling highlight the severe disconnect between impact scenarios, injury biomechanics, standards and solutions for personal protective equipment. They also demonstrate the broader need for better methods in product development. This need is further illustrated in entrepreneurship, as the failure rate for product development is anywhere between 30 to 75%. To improve performance and reduce the failure rates of start-ups, new venture teams and nationally funded programs such as I-Corps adopted product development methods such as Lean Canvas and Customer Discovery. However, there are still challenges with these methodologies. Other than “listen,” there is limited training for developing questions and conducting interviews. As a result, shortcomings in both the personal protective equipment industry and product development in entrepreneurship demonstrate the need to understand the foundational elements of each, in a way that is grounded in research. The purpose of this case study is to address those shortcomings, identify areas for innovation and improve safety for athletes. The case study is grounded in qualitative research methods and is executed by implementing Customer Discovery. The application of the methodologies is expected to create a product development framework for entrepreneurs, implementing it with individuals that use bicycle helmets and bike industry personnel.