INTRO TO THE LEAN STARTUPLUNCH & LEA(R)N - DEC 2015

WHY DO I CARE?

IM A 3X WANT-TREPRENEUR.

2007: Online Social Language Learning! #fail

2008-2010: Emotive Social Profiles! #fail!

2012-?: Dance Online! (fail date TBD)

FOX INTERACTIVE MEDIA - 2006

QUIT GOOD JOB, 9 MONTHS SPAM & RICE, $$$$ FAMILY LOAN THAT IM STILL PAYING BACK

2 YEARS DEV OUTSIDE DAY JOB, ALMOST LOST FUTURE WIFE

3 MONTHS DEV, $$ AD SPEND

LEARNED SOME THINGS!

WHAT HAPPENED?

REDUCED WASTE & EMPHASIZED LEARNING

I READ THIS BOOK

5 PRINCIPLESWHAT IS THE LEAN STARTUP?

PRINCIPLE #1: ENTREPRENEURS ARE EVERYWHERE.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #1: ENTREPRENEURS ARE EVERYWHERE.

A STARTUP: A HUMAN INSTITUTION DESIGNED TO CREATE NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES UNDER CONDITIONS OF EXTREME UNCERTAINTY.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #1: ENTREPRENEURS ARE EVERYWHERE.

I THINK WERE A STARTUP.

Me

LEAN PRINCIPLE #1: ENTREPRENEURS ARE EVERYWHERE.

PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

A STARTUP IS AN INSTITUTION, NOT JUST A PRODUCT, AND SO IT REQUIRES A NEW KIND OF MANAGEMENT SPECIFICALLY GEARED TO ITS CONTEXT OF EXTREME UNCERTAINTY.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

BECAUSE STARTUPS OFTEN ACCIDENTALLY BUILD SOMETHING NOBODY WANTS, IT DOESNT MATTER MUCH IF THEY DO IT ON TIME AND ON BUDGET.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

THE GOAL OF A STARTUP IS TO FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT THING TO BUILD THE THING CUSTOMERS WANT AND WILL PAY (OR SIT THROUGH ADS) FOR AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

GIVEN OUR COMPETITIVE MARKET AND LEAN TEAM, I FEEL THE IDEAS WE IMPLEMENT SHOULD BE MANAGED LIKE STARTUPS TO ACHIEVE MEASURABLE RESULTS AS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE.

LEAN PRINCIPLE #2: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT.

PRINCIPLE #3: VALIDATED LEARNING.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #3: VALIDATED LEARNING.

STARTUPS EXIST TO LEARN HOW TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #3: VALIDATED LEARNING.

THIS LEARNING CAN BE VALIDATED SCIENTIFICALLY BY RUNNING FREQUENT EXPERIMENTS THAT ALLOW ENTREPRENEURS TO TEST EACH ELEMENT OF THEIR VISION.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #3: VALIDATED LEARNING.

PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

THE FUNDAMENTAL ACTIVITY OF A STARTUP IS TO TURN IDEAS INTO PRODUCTS, MEASURE HOW CUSTOMERS RESPOND, AND THEN LEARN WHETHER TO PIVOT OR PERSEVERE.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

ALL SUCCESSFUL STARTUP PROCESSES SHOULD BE GEARED TO ACCELERATE THAT FEEDBACK LOOP.

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

THE LEAN WAY TO BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN

Take your great idea (Vision) and identify its Leap-of-Faith assumptions. Identify the riskiest assumption.

Devise the smallest thing you can build in order to test that assumption (MVP).

Release MVP and measure user engagement.

Learn from the data whether your assumption was validated.

If so, great! Build and test the next assumption of your Vision.

If not, decide whether to change your idea/strategy (pivot) or persevere.

THE LEAN STARTUP METHOD BUILDS CAPITAL-EFFICIENT COMPANIES BECAUSE IT ALLOWS STARTUPS TO RECOGNIZE ITS TIME TO PIVOT SOONER, CREATING LESS WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

Eric Ries

WHAT IDEAS CAN YOU THINK OF THAT COULD BE APPROACHED IN A LEAN WAY?

LEAN PRINCIPLE #4: BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN.

PRINCIPLE #5: INNOVATION ACCOUNTING.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #5: INNOVATION ACCOUNTING.

TO IMPROVE ENTREPRENEURIAL OUTCOMES AND HOLD INNOVATORS ACCOUNTABLE, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE BORING STUFF: HOW TO MEASURE PROGRESS, HOW TO SET UP MILESTONES, AND HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK.

Eric Ries

LEAN PRINCIPLE #5: INNOVATION ACCOUNTING.

LEAN PRINCIPLE #5: INNOVATION ACCOUNTING.

ACCOUNT FOR INNOVATION WITH 3 LEARNING MILESTONES

Learning Milestone #1: Choose your Engine of Growth and baseline its key metrics.

Sticky Growth Engine: Growth = (User Acq Rate >> Churn Rate)

Viral Growth Engine: Growth = (Viral Coefficient > 1.0)

Paid Growth Engine: Growth = (Rev per User >> User Acq Cost)

Learning Milestone #2: Tune your engine with MVPs that actually drive its metrics.

Learning Milestone #3: Over time, see if your numbers are trending towards Growth If not, decide whether to Pivot or Persevere!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?THANKS FOR LISTENING!