The Lean Start up Summarized
The Lean Startup
Author Eric Ries introduces a methodology for developing businesses and products that aim to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable.
This is achieved through a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning.
Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Launch with a simple version of your product that allows you to start the learning process as quickly as possible.
Validated Learning
Validate your business ideas through scientific experimentation and iterative product releases. Adjust your product based on feedback rather than waiting to develop a complete product.
Build-Measure-Learn Loop
The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful startup processes should be geared to accelerate through this feedback loop.
Innovation Accounting
Develop a new kind of accounting specific for startups—to measure progress, set up milestones, and prioritize work. This is crucial to understanding how entrepreneurial ventures are progressing.
Pivot or Persevere
Based on the feedback from their MVPs, startups decide whether to pivot (make a fundamental change to the product) or persevere (keep improving on the current course).
Lean Thinking
Apply lean manufacturing principles to the startup process. This means eliminating wasteful practices and focusing on adding value to the product from the customer's perspective.
Continuous Deployment
Use rapid cycles of product releases to speed up learning and adaptation. This involves frequent revisions based on customer feedback and behavioral metrics.
Split Testing
Test different product variations with segments of your market to see what works best. This scientific approach to market research helps ensure your business decisions are data-driven.
Actionable Metrics versus Vanity Metrics
Focus on metrics that can guide decision-making (actionable metrics) rather than numbers that look good on paper but don’t inform strategy (vanity metrics).
Build a Sustainable Business
The ultimate goal is to learn what customers really want and will pay for, rather than what you think they should want, thereby creating a sustainable business model that can thrive and grow.