Lean Startup Launch

Looking for a streamlined start-up process?

The traditional way to start a business is to develop a solution to a problem, perform research and write analysis of the results and how your company will fill a gap or out compete others in your market. Then you complete a business plan, raise capital, and launch your business.

What if this model doesn’t work for you? Your idea isn’t fully developed, or your business idea is extremely simple. The Lean Start-up methodology might be right for you.

In the Lean Start-up method, the business plan is short, the product isn’t set in stone, and customer research is key. Rapid iteration of the product occurs, and contact with customers to gain feedback and ideas is necessary to facilitate that. This method is particularly well suited to tech companies, where the product can be changed and developed at a low cost.

Below, we have some resources that may be useful to explore. Even if you decide the Lean Start-up method is not right for your business, you may find that some of the innovation tools inspire your creativity.

Navigation:

Resources To Get You Started 

Books to Get You Started 

 

Business Model Canvas 

The business model canvas is essentially a one-page business planning method that ensures that the start-up founders have considered factors that will affect their business success.

To learn about the Business Model Canvas and how to apply it to your business, watch this series of six short videos from Strategyzer:

And this one from Alexander Osterwalder, the creator of the method:

To begin creating your own Business Model Canvas, check out these tools:

Customer Development 

Customer development is one of the key elements of the Lean Launch. By working directly with potential customers to find out what they like in your product, what they don’t need, and what other problems they have that you may be able to solve, you can iterate your product multiple times. This is done by interviewing your potential customers and bringing your findings back to your team. Steve Blank is well known for his customer development methods.

This definition page about customer development from Agile Alliance may be helpful in clarifying the concept and purpose:

In the link below, there is a series of videos featuring Steve talking about how customer development should be done:

These blog posts provide tips and trick for customer development, as well as more information about the process:

White Space Mapping 

White space mapping is the process of businesses examining their environment with the purpose of finding new market opportunities. It is a useful exercise for companies looking to maneuver and grow in a crowded market.

Here are some articles about the concept and benefits of white space mapping:

The Petal Diagram 

The petal diagram can be sketched up in a few minutes, and offers a unique look at how your company creates a new market. It is best suited for companies that are not looking to enter saturated markets.

These two articles provide information about its use and examples:

For more innovative tools to analyse your business or business idea, check out our Evaluating Your Business Idea page.

Additional References