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Product Breakthrough Services

We help you validate your product idea before you build it

INNOVATE SMARTER

The fast track to product-market fit

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Have you ever spent months building a working version of your product – only to find out that it WASN’T what people wanted?

As entrepreneurs & startup coaches, we’ve learned this painful (and expensive) lesson ourselves — multiple times.

And we decided to do something about it. 

We created the Product Breakthrough Method to help you visualize & validate your product ideas quickly – without needing to build code or invest in high-fidelity designs.

It’s based on our experience working on the design teams of some the biggest hits of the digital era, like The Sims, Netflix, Tetris, Replika, and Ebay.

If you want to save time, stretch your runway, & build a high-retention product FASTER – using techniques from hit games — you’re in the right place .

WHO IT’S FOR

Trusted by startups, game studios & leading brands

The Product Breakthrough Method uses techniques from the games industry, where the pace of innovation is relentless.

This method works across sectors including beauty, education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, technology & transportation.

Product teams at Disney, Netflix, Tesla, Google, MTV, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, the New York Times, & dozens of startups have brought their ideas to life faster with the Product Breakthrough Method. 

When implemented skillfully, the Product Breakthrough Method consistently delivers actionable market insights & meaningful product breakthroughs.

And guess what? The same methods that make games engaging can make your product irresistible & tip the scales towards success. Check out some of our Product Breakthrough success stories.

Working with Amy Jo is like having a world-class product designer in your pocket

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Eugenia Kuyda

CEO, Replika.ai

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PRODUCTS

Shiseido

After an rocky launch, we helped the team fix retention, refine customer targeting & increase online sales. 

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GAMES

Covet Fashion

We helped Crowdstar design and create a hit mobile game that’s still going strong after 10+ years.

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Replika

We helped AI chatbot Replika find their core audience, and boost long-term retention.

How can we help your team make product breakthroughs? 

Amy Jo’s program & insights gave me practical, tangible design skills.

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Gina Bianchini

CEO, Mighty Networks

Amy Jo’s MVP methodology is fantastic. The results you’ll see are a no-brainer

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Ofer Leidner

President, Twill / Happify

Amy Jo has a refined, effective process for bringing new ideas to life

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Blair Ethington

VP @ eBay

HOW IT WORKS

From research to testing in 4 connected sprints

After coaching dozens of startups, we’ve learned that fastest way to  find product/market fit is to validate your end-to-end Journey with high-need customers. To do this, you’ll:

  • identify & recruit your ideal high-need customers
  • design a compelling customer journey & habit loop
  • prototype your ideas with no-code end-to-end Storyboards
  • test your ideas with ideal customers using those storyboards

But let’s face it – most founders don’t have the research, design & testing resources needed to accomplish this.

Our Product Breakthrough Method solves this problem, & puts the power of great product design into your hands.

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DISCOVERY SPRINT

Who are my ideal customers & what do they need?

You need to find out whether there’s a real market for your product idea, and which customer needs or pain points you should address.

We’ll help you find high-need customers & understand what they need.

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DESIGN SPRINT

How will my product fit into my customer’s life?

To maximize adoption, find out how your product will fit into people’s lives, & get clear on what it’s going to help them achieve.

We’ll help you design a compelling habit loop & customer journey.

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STORYBOARDING SPRINT

How can I prototype my ideas without building?

To prototype your ideas, start by visualizing the key elements of your product experience that keep customers engaged over time.

We’ll help you prototype & visualize your 30-day customer experience

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VALIDATION SPRINT

How can I test my idea before building it?

Once you’ve prototyped your ideas, you can run concept tests with ideal customers & find out whether you’re on the right path.

We’ll help you set up and run insightful tests with the right people.

We’ve helped dozens of teams answer these questions. How can we help you? 

This program made me a better, more strategic product maker

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Ian Brand

Product Innovation @ General Motors

This program got everyone on the same page, testing our assumptions

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Allison Kelsey

Director of Product @ Geocaching

This program had invaluable impact on my product thinking – AND my product

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Chris Swain

Professor @ USC Iovine and Young Academy

WHAT YOU GET

Everything you need to make product breakthroughs

All of our Product Breakthrough Services, include step-by step Templates, Gen-AI Plaform, Expert Coaching, and professional Creative Services.

Step-by-step TEMPLATES minimize guesswork

We’ve developed a set of powerful templates that minimize guesswork, and help you know exactly what to do every step of the way. 

We have dozens of templates covering every aspect of discovery, design and testing, including:

  • Write your elevator pitch
  • Describe the four stages of your customer journey
  • Create & run a high-learning playtest
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Proprietary GEN-AI PLATFORM does the heavy lifting for you

When you’re building a new product, speed counts.

That’s why we developed the JourneyMaker, our AI-powered platform that automates many of the most difficult and time-consuming steps in early product research and development. JourneyMaker helps you:

  • Write targeted customer surveys
  • Extract patterns from customer interview transcripts
  • Generate customer journey storyboards with GenAI
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Hands-on EXPERT COACHING gives you guidance & support

Receive expert feedback & guidance with your project from Amy Jo Kim as well as from other project teams during a 12-week program.

We’ll guide you through the end-to-end process & teach you how to implement the Product Breakthrough Method.

You and your team will gain the confidence & skills to execute the steps & make major progress in a few weeks.

Breakthrough Coaching Sprint

  • Gain product/market insights that cut product development costs
  • Perform months worth of work in just weeks
  • Meaningfully boost your chances of success

Professional CREATIVE SERVICES make us part of your team

For companies and teams that value more direct involvement from us, we also provide the Product Breakthrough Method as a bespoke service.

During 12 weeks, Amy Jo Kim and her team will work hand in hand with your team on your product.

We’re available to your team at every step, helping you get the most out of the Product Breakthrough Method.

Breakthrough Creative Services

  • Execute the steps from the Product Breakthrough Method with the experts right by your side
  • Exclusive focus and attention from Amy Jo Kim and her team on your product and project
  • Significantly boost your chances of success

How can we help you make your next product breakthrough?

Want to use Jobs-To-Be-Done to build the right product? You’re in good hands with Amy Jo

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Bob Moesta

Founder, ReWired Group

You’ve got to find your own window of opportunity. Game Thinking is your instruction manual.

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Garry Tan

CEO, Ycombinator

Game Thinking is WAY better than gamification. The more I learned, the more in love I fell with it

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Jared Spool

Founder, Makers of Awesomeness

WORK WITH US

Which level of service is right for you?

Our Product Breakthrough Method delivers product/market insights that save you money & boost your chances of success. We offer three levels of service:.

Product Breakthrough BOOTCAMP — for beginners who want to start using the method

Product Breakthrough SPRINT — for teams that want one-on-one coaching as they do the work

Product Breakthrough SERVICES — the full package for teams that want to move fast & have us do the heavy lifting

3-DAY EXECUTIVE WORKSHOP

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Learn the Product Breakthrough Method & apply it to your own project.

Who It’s For

Founders & leaders who want to learn the Product Breakthrough Method

Duration

3 days

Timing

2X yearly (Q2 & Q4)

What you get

  • Access to our Starter Templates
  • 3 LIVE workshop sessions
  • 20 short instructional videos
  • 25-page workbook
  • 1 month access to our GenAI tool to help you move aster

8-WEEK IMPLEMENTATION SPRINT

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Apply the Product Breakthrough Method to your project, with coaching & support.

Who It’s For

Teams & leaders who want to implement the Product Breakthrough Method.

Duration

8 weeks

Timing

1X yearly (next session Q4 2024)

What you get

  • Access to our Advanced Templates
  • 40 short videos + 50-page workbook
  • 2 months access to our GenAI tool
  • Private Team Kickoff session
  • Private team coaching sessions + Private Peer Group for extra support

LET US DO THE WORK

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We’ll work with your team & implement the  Product Breakthrough Method for you.

Who It’s For

Startups, studios &  brands who want to leverage expertise & see results quickly.

Duration

Varies by project (4-12 weeks)

Timing

Continuous -– contact us for availability

What you get

  • Private meetings (as needed)
  • Private team workshops (as needed)
  • Unlimited access to our templates
  • Unlimited access to our GenAI tool
  • We perform all of the operational work on your behalf, under your direction

Game Thinking gave me techniques to accelerate my research. Brilliant!

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Amanda Taylor

Head of Insights @ (stealth)

Game Thinking gets FAR better results for our clients than Gamification

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Jaxton Cheah

Gamification Coach

Game Thinking saved us from struggling through Customer Discovery on our own

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Cara Meverden

Podcasts @ Apple

Who we are

Pleased to meet you 👋🏽

Amy Jo Kim

Amy Jo Kim

Game designer & startup coach

I’ve helped hundreds of product leaders bring ideas to life – co-designed Rock Band, The Sims, eBay, Covet Fashion, & Happify –  run & sold a venture-funded startup.

Now I help innovative teams & leaders find product/market fit faster & delight customers with high-retention products & games.

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Scott Kim

Educational game designer

I’m a game designer specializing in puzzles & education games. I created the puzzle modes on Tetris & Bejeweled as well as helped to create adaptive math game Mastering Math for education giant ABCmouse.com.

I’d love to help you build more entertaining & effective product & games.

Frequently Asked Questions

My team needs to find product/market fit, can this help? 

YES! It’s perfect for teams who want to iterate faster & ship the right product to the right people.  To learn more, get in touch

When do meetings happen?

We host weekly AMAs with hot-seat coaching & peer feedback Tue @ 9am PT. VIP level includes private coaching & services. 

I’m a solopreneur – is this for me? 

If you’re a funded solopreneur & work with freelancers, it might be a fit. Contact us to learn more 

What is the time commitment?

We offer 3 levels of support. Your time commitment depends on your support level.  Contact us to learn more 



Ready for your breakthrough?

We want you to succeed. We’re ready to help you create the right product for the right people in the quickest way possible.

Book a call & let’s explore how we can support your team(s) with our Product Breakthrough Services

Not ready to chat yet? Send us a message – we’d love to hear from you.

Enquire about our Product Breakthrough Services

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The path to success

How we deliver product breakthroughs

You don’t have to create working software or high-fidelity designs to get reliable customer feedback.

There’s a different… and better way.

Our Product Breakthrough Method delivers actionable customer insights about your product in weeks with minimal sunk cost in code or design

We help you move faster with a proven framework, proprietary GenAi platform, expert coaching, and professional creative services.

If you’re ready to accelerate – we’re excited to get you results 🚀

Keep reading to find out more…

Let’s make it work for you

Talk to us about your ideas and product.

We’ll help you get things done faster.

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Phase 1: Superfan Discovery   

Phase 1: Superfan Discovery   

Clarify your strategy & find the right  beachhead niche

  • Pitch Maker: define who you’re serving & what they need to make progress
  • Niche Finder: discover the key traits of a high-need beachhead niche
  • Screener Builder: draft your 6-question Screener Survey
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Phase 2: Sticky Habit Design 

Phase 2: Sticky Habit Design 

Build Long-Term Engagement From the Ground Up

  • Habit Synthesizer:  identify relevant Habit Stories among your Superfans
  • Loop Builder:  design a sticky Habit Loop around an existing anchor habit
  • Journey Crafter:  describe your customer’s goals during 4 Journey Stages
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Phase 3: End-to-End Storyboards

Phase 3: End-to-End Storyboards

Visualize Your End-to-End Customer Journey with No-code Storyboards

  • Beat Shaper:  identify the key Story Beats in your end-to-end journey
  • Persona Creator:  define how your customer will engage with your product over time  – specifying location, access device, time of day, anchor habits, & intent.
  • Storyboard Builder: visualize key “beats” in a 30-day customer experience
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Phase 4: Concept Validation

Phase 4: Concept Validation

Test Your End-to-End Journey with validated Superfans

  • Playtest Planner: create & run high-learning concept tests
  • Insight Clipper: collect video clips illustrating your key insights & findings
  • Brief Builder:  summarize what you learned & next steps to share with your team & stakeholders – including video highlights from customer play-tests.