Framework
Lean Startup
Build-Measure-Learn loops that shorten the cost of being wrong.
Summary
Lean Startup is a methodology for building products under extreme uncertainty. It treats every assumption as a hypothesis to test, and uses tight Build-Measure-Learn loops to discover what customers actually want.
History
Coined by Eric Ries in 2011, Lean Startup combined Steve Blank's customer development with agile software practices and lean manufacturing principles from Toyota.
How it works
- Articulate the riskiest assumption in your business idea.
- Design the smallest experiment that could disprove it.
- Build a minimum viable product to run that experiment.
- Measure with actionable metrics, not vanity numbers.
- Learn, and decide to persevere or pivot.
Advantages
- Reduces wasted work
- Forces customer contact
- Surfaces bad ideas early
Limitations
- Can fetishize speed
- Hard for capital-intensive products
- Easy to mistake for an excuse to ship bad work
Examples
- - Dropbox validating demand with a video MVP
- - Zappos selling shoes from local stores before holding inventory
Implementation guide
- - Write hypotheses in a shared doc
- - Run one experiment per week
- - Keep a decision log with persevere or pivot calls
Lean Startup - FAQ
- Is Lean Startup only for software?
- No. The mindset adapts to hardware, services, and even nonprofit work.
Related frameworks
SWOT Analysis
Map Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats on one page.
Business Model Canvas
A 9-block visual model for how a business creates and captures value.
Blue Ocean Strategy
Compete in uncontested market space instead of fighting in red oceans.
Design Thinking
Human-centered problem solving across Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.