We have a pretty good idea about what the minimum viable product (MVP) will do—ask where you are going, calculate a bike-safe route, give turn-by-turn directions and re-direct you when you’re lost. In the MVP itself, there are very big challenges. However, the trick is creating value beyond the basic product. Following are a few thoughts to get us started.

What if there were two buttons—I want to get lost or I don’t want to get lost. We should address the needs of the rider. And ask is it for exploration or transportation?

We can consider way-finding and how one moves from place to place. How can we build and ecosystem around biking as a mode of transportation? People move in the city based on going from one place to another. (For example, I’m at home and I’m going to my favorite pizza shop). They use tools like Yelp and Google Places to find where to go. They are also using apps like Foursquare and Gowalla to broadcast or track the places frequent. Can our application interact with these existing pieces of the ecosystem?

Sources for inspiration: Flight tracker and TripIt.

Follow-up notes from September 19, 2011 meeting with Frank Chimero at SVA