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NUKE BASICSWHAT & WHYFOUNDER COMMENTS
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Ignite x NUKENUKE is core and non-negotiable in our Ignite investment criteria. NUKE keeps us relentlessly obsessed with customer impact as our #1 priority.

If we cannot a) grasp or b) beleive in your NUKE, we are not going to invest. The fastest way to ensure that we don't invest is to not be clear or committed to your NUKE. 		🤔 We leave it to your better judgement if and where in this tab you'd like to leave comments...
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Pronounced "nuke"Nuke, as in nuclear. As in let's go nuclear, as in nuclear option, as in nuclear friggin bomb.

As in: in startup life (and pretty much any atomic unit of any kind of business) NUKE is our greatest weapon.
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Merriam WebsterNUKE is your Narrowest Viable Use Case that allows you to address the most critical and recurring pains of your most important customer segment at this point in time.
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NUKE 10XRAISED TO THE NUKE POWERFOUNDER COMMENTS
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NUKE 10X ("ten ex")
in English		A laser-focused NUKE allows us to be masters of our NUKE universe by a) delivering a NUKE solution that is 2-10X superior for customers (product-market fit); b) thus growing our cult of customers who love us (product-market love, because heeey we're 2-10X better); and c) accelerating channel/customer acquisition (product-channel fit, i.e., channels love us because we're 2-10X superior vs anything they've seen).
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Masters of None>8 of 10 founders we meet can't articulate their NUKE and behave the opposite way. >8 of 10 is about the same number of founders who fail.

Anti-NUKE founders try to do too much for too many people-- thereby yielding mediocre outcomes (in a noisy sea overcrowded with mediocrity).
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NUKE 10X
in Math		NUKE
= 10X Focus
= 10X Customer Impact
= 10X Customer Love
= 10X Channel/Customer Acquisition
= 10X Veloctiy/Efficiency
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NUKE 10X
in Physics		It's hard to be 10X superior if we're trying to do too many things on too many fronts at the same time (the opposite of NUKE).

As a startup with very limited resources, it's near impossible to be 2-10X better if we're not NUKE (focused) enough.
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HOW TO NUKENUKE BEST PRACTICESFOUNDER COMMENTS
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NUKE Dont'sDon't start by reinventing the use case. Don't reinvent or "improve" existing customer journey/flows/behavior without first examining the current customer journey/flows/behaviors.

Much harder to invent new customer behavior. 9 times out of 10, it's much wiser to 10x improve current behavior, rather than invent a completely new one.
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NUKE Do's


Jumpstart the NUKE		Once we've zeroed in on our NUKE, best to start with the use case as it currently is, not as we want or envision it to be.

Literally start by mapping (we like to sketch using our Apple Pencil) the existing customer journey/flows/behaviors of the current use case.
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NUKE COREEncircle it: in our NUKE map-- where is the biggest fail/s that creates the biggest pains? Where is our NUKE 80/20-- the 20% of fails that account for 80% of NUKE fail/attrition/fallout?

How can we deliver a solution that is 2-10X better for that 80/20 NUKE CORE (gap)?
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BE NUKESTNUKE AVENGERSFOUNDER COMMENTS
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Probably the single most important point re NUKEThe most atomic unit of any/all business is: the individual (employee).

If we want the highest performing teams, products, models, etc-- then each and every employee must be clear and committed to their NUKE CORE.

Every employee has a NUKE CORE because every employee has a customer and that customer has unique use cases with unique gaps and pain points.
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ADVANCED NUKENUKE ELITE PRACTICESFOUNDER COMMENTS
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NUKE Relativity⚠️ It's critical that our NUKE be important to our customer.

Envision two circles: the bigger circle is our customer's entire life, while the smaller circle rates how important our NUKE is in the overall scheme of our customer's life.

Because many times, our greatest competition is not another competitor-- but the customer's priority/urgency list given so many things else going on in their life!
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Please rate how important your NUKE is in the overall life of your customer.
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⚠️ Is there anything you can do to increase the importance of your NUKE to your customer? Anything in terms of solutions architecture (features, functions, etc.) or how you frame/position your solution, or who you address the solution to-- anything so that the customer genuinely feels your NUKE is of bigger importance in their life?
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NUKE Impact,
not Efficacy		Many (especially founders proud of their solution) will insist "But, our solution works great, the best since sliced bread!!!".

Yes, but the customer is after Impact (high relevance), not just Efficacy. We want a NUKE solution that works (Efficacy), but far more important is that we're addressing a pain point or need that's of relatively high importance (impact) to our customer.
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NUKE Johari⚠️ Careful with your NUKE CORE. This is where too many "obviuous solutions" completely fail-- when it's "obvious that we are needed and obvious that we will succeed.

Because perception is reality and we often misplace where our customer's perception is (mistaking it for our own perception)!
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 See 4-Quadrant Johari Window below.

Q1 likely crowded with competitors-- because it's obvious.

Q2 most challenging-- you'd have to educate the blind.

Q3 most promising-- when customers are very aware of their pain but feel like no one gets it. That's where you come in and make them feel like "I know your pain..."
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Be real which window
your NUKE is at
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NUKE TAM SAM SOM⚠️ Pls read this writeup about Market Sizing. In the dashboards we will ask you to draft a 4-Circles diagram showing your TAM SAM SOM NOW.

"NOW" is the NUKE we are focused on winning now, so as to create that beach head into our SOM. It's our current strategic focus and execution.
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NUKE NOW
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NUKE COMPETITIONThis is always a test of logic and insights. What are the top 3 barriers to your customers adopting your NUKE solution?

These barriers may be competition, or they can be behavioral substitutes, or simply doing nothing.

Let's focus solely on barriers relating specifically to a) your current NOW (NUKE to win now) and b) your path from NOW to SOM.

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Size matters but clarity and force of insight matter more by farWe're not at all impressed by sheer market size so much as...

a) the uniqueness/power of your insight (about NOW and how it flows into SOM, and SOM into SAM);

b) your strength of logic and focus in execution (from NOW to SOM);

c) from there it's easier to envision how you will create pathways into broader SAM/TAM.

If you can do NOW-to-SOM-to-SAM well and show relevant SAMs within a massive TAM, then you have a winner!
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2 sides of the
same NUKE		When we have a double/multi-sided platform (e.g., marketplace), then we need 2 distinct NUKEs-- because the use case, journey, behaviors and gaps will be different for the buy/demand-side vs sell/supply-side customers.

So 2 distinct NUKEs that will need to intersect in our platform.
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Pre-Seed, to Series A,
to IPO



Everyone NUKES every step of the way		NUKE isn't just for starting up.

NUKE is critical to staying customer-focused, keeping everything in our buinsess customer-driven (i.e., relevant).

Everything based on NUKE-- from product roadmap, to customer acquisition and channels,

When we're focused on our NUKE, we're always focused on narrowing our efforts down to solving the most important pain of our most important customers.

When we're at our best, NUKE is happening at the level of every employee and team-- everyone is focused on winning their own NUKE.
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KINDER NUKELET'S BREAK IT DOWNFOUNDER COMMENTS
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Kindergarten NUKENUKE is your Narrowest Viable Use Case that allows you to address the most critical and recurring pains of your most important customer segment at this point in time.
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Narrowest Viable means:

As specific (narrow) a use case and user as you can define, while still including a large enough (viable) target audience
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That allows you means:

You (not Elon Musk, not Jeff Bezon, not God, not anyone else).

Your NUKE needs to be something you (and your team) can be great at solving given your stregths, capabilities, resources, constraints, limitiations and overall realities of your team.
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To address the most critical and recurring pains of your most important customer segment means:

Your team can put together a solution that would be very important to your most important customers.
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At this point in time means:

Right now, for the immediate 3-6 months. It means your NUKE changes. Why would your NUKE change? Because after 3 or 6 months, you should have conquered that NUKE and are ready to move onto your next NUKE. Or maybe after 3 weeks you figured you got the wrong NUKE. Maybe there's a narrower one, or a more viable one, or maybe you got the wrong customer segment, etc.