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: turn ideas into a minimum viable product (MVP), measure how customers actually behave, and learn from the result
- Validated learning: progress is measured by what you have proven about customers, not by features shipped
- Pivot or persevere: each loop ends with a decision to keep the current strategy or change course
- Innovation accounting: track 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
- State the riskiest assumption underlying the idea
- Build the smallest MVP that actually tests that assumption
- Measure real customer behavior, not opinions or intentions
- Decide explicitly: pivot or persevere
- 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
Sources
Eric Ries, “The Lean Startup” (2011).