The lean startup
,Inhoudsopgave
Vision............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Start......................................................................................................................................................................3
Define...................................................................................................................................................................4
Learn.....................................................................................................................................................................4
Experiment...........................................................................................................................................................5
Steer.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Leap......................................................................................................................................................................6
Test.......................................................................................................................................................................8
Measure...............................................................................................................................................................9
Pivot (or persevere)............................................................................................................................................12
Accelerate................................................................................................................................................... 15
Batch..................................................................................................................................................................15
Grow...................................................................................................................................................................17
Adapt..................................................................................................................................................................20
Innovate.............................................................................................................................................................22
2
, Vision
Start
Many entrepreneurs take a “just do it” attitude, avoiding all forms of management, process, and
discipline. This approach leads to chaos more often than it does to success.
When people are used to evaluating their productivity locally, they feel that a good day is one in
which they did their job well all day.
The goal of a startup is to figure out the right thing to build—the thing customers want and will pay
for—as quickly as possible.
Engine of growth
Henry Ford spent his days and nights tinkering in his garage with the precise mechanics of getting the
engine cylinders to move. Each tiny explosion within the cylinder provides the motive force to turn
the wheels but also drives the ignition of the next explosion. Unless the timing of this feedback loop
is managed precisely, the engine will sputter and break down.
The second important feedback loop in an automobile is between the driver and the steering wheel.
This feedback is so immediate and automatic that we often don’t think about it, but it is the steering
that differentiates driving from most other forms of transportation. If you have a daily commute, you
probably know the route so well that your hands seem to steer you there on their own accord. We
can practically drive the route in our sleep. Yet if I asked you to close your eyes and write down
exactly how to get your office—not the steer directions but every action you need to take, every
push of hand on wheel and foot on pedals—you’d find it impossible.
By contrast, a rocket ship requires just this kind of in-advance calibration. It must be launched with
the most precise instructions on what to do: every thrust, every firing of a booster, and every change
in direction. The tiniest error at the point of launch could yield catastrophic results thousands of
miles later.
Unfortunately, too many business startup business plans look more like they are planning to launch a
rocket ship than drive a car. They prescribe the steps to take and the results to expect excruciating
detail, and as in planning to launch a rocket, they are set up in such a way that even tiny errors in
assumptions can lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Startups have a destination in mind: creating a thriving and world-changing business. I call that a
startups vision. To achieve that vision, startups employ a strategy, which includes a business model, a
product road map, a point of view about partners and competitors, and ideas about who the
customer will be. The product is the end result of this strategy.
Products change constantly through the process of optimization, what I call turning the engine. Less
frequently, the strategy may have to change (called a pivot). However, the overarching vision rarely
changes. Entrepreneurs are committed to seeing the startup trough that destination. Every setback is
an opportunity for learning how to get where they want to go.
3
,Inhoudsopgave
Vision............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Start......................................................................................................................................................................3
Define...................................................................................................................................................................4
Learn.....................................................................................................................................................................4
Experiment...........................................................................................................................................................5
Steer.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Leap......................................................................................................................................................................6
Test.......................................................................................................................................................................8
Measure...............................................................................................................................................................9
Pivot (or persevere)............................................................................................................................................12
Accelerate................................................................................................................................................... 15
Batch..................................................................................................................................................................15
Grow...................................................................................................................................................................17
Adapt..................................................................................................................................................................20
Innovate.............................................................................................................................................................22
2
, Vision
Start
Many entrepreneurs take a “just do it” attitude, avoiding all forms of management, process, and
discipline. This approach leads to chaos more often than it does to success.
When people are used to evaluating their productivity locally, they feel that a good day is one in
which they did their job well all day.
The goal of a startup is to figure out the right thing to build—the thing customers want and will pay
for—as quickly as possible.
Engine of growth
Henry Ford spent his days and nights tinkering in his garage with the precise mechanics of getting the
engine cylinders to move. Each tiny explosion within the cylinder provides the motive force to turn
the wheels but also drives the ignition of the next explosion. Unless the timing of this feedback loop
is managed precisely, the engine will sputter and break down.
The second important feedback loop in an automobile is between the driver and the steering wheel.
This feedback is so immediate and automatic that we often don’t think about it, but it is the steering
that differentiates driving from most other forms of transportation. If you have a daily commute, you
probably know the route so well that your hands seem to steer you there on their own accord. We
can practically drive the route in our sleep. Yet if I asked you to close your eyes and write down
exactly how to get your office—not the steer directions but every action you need to take, every
push of hand on wheel and foot on pedals—you’d find it impossible.
By contrast, a rocket ship requires just this kind of in-advance calibration. It must be launched with
the most precise instructions on what to do: every thrust, every firing of a booster, and every change
in direction. The tiniest error at the point of launch could yield catastrophic results thousands of
miles later.
Unfortunately, too many business startup business plans look more like they are planning to launch a
rocket ship than drive a car. They prescribe the steps to take and the results to expect excruciating
detail, and as in planning to launch a rocket, they are set up in such a way that even tiny errors in
assumptions can lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Startups have a destination in mind: creating a thriving and world-changing business. I call that a
startups vision. To achieve that vision, startups employ a strategy, which includes a business model, a
product road map, a point of view about partners and competitors, and ideas about who the
customer will be. The product is the end result of this strategy.
Products change constantly through the process of optimization, what I call turning the engine. Less
frequently, the strategy may have to change (called a pivot). However, the overarching vision rarely
changes. Entrepreneurs are committed to seeing the startup trough that destination. Every setback is
an opportunity for learning how to get where they want to go.
3
