Lean Startup

The Lean Startup is a method for developing new products and businesses under extreme uncertainty by treating a startup as a series of testable experiments rather than a fixed plan.

The idea

• The Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop turns ideas into a minimum viable product (MVP), measures how customers actually behave, and learns from the result
• Validated learning measures progress by what you have proven about customers, not by features shipped
• Pivot or persevere means each loop ends with a decision to keep the current strategy or change course
• Innovation accounting tracks metrics that are actionable and honest, not vanity metrics that always trend up

When to use it

• Launching a new product or feature under high uncertainty
• Entering an unfamiliar market or customer segment
• Testing a business model assumption before committing significant resources

How to apply it

1. State the riskiest assumption underlying the idea
2. Build the smallest MVP that actually tests that assumption
3. Measure real customer behavior, not opinions or intentions
4. Decide explicitly whether to pivot or persevere
5. Repeat the loop, shortening cycle time each round

Watch out for

• Building an MVP so minimal it fails to test the real assumption
• Optimizing for vanity metrics instead of actionable ones
• Using “lean” as an excuse to avoid ever committing to a real bet

Related models

• Agile. Shares the iterative, feedback-driven cadence.
• Design Sprint. A compressed method for testing ideas before building.
• ICE Framework. One way to prioritize which experiments to run first.
• Feedback Loop. The Build-Measure-Learn cycle is a structured feedback loop for validating business hypotheses.

Sources

Eric Ries, “The Lean Startup” (2011).