Lean Startup

Migrating your mentality from solution to a customer-problem centric view.

When entrepreneurs get a big idea, what is most visible and therefore gains the most attention is the proposed solution. But instead of focusing on what will be built or how it will arrive onto the customer, energy should be channeled towards finding evidence of a monetizable problem, and understanding the root problem that triggered the need in the first place. Only then begin formulating or proposing any solutions.

What an MVP actually is and how to leverage its power.

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a buzzword that we all have heard is the first thing you must get to on a new project. Except MVP is not what most people think it is. In this article Ash Maurya explains what it actually is through the use of a fictitious scenario, to help the reader visualize exactly why it is so talked about. It is a very easy read, with situational writing that helps you empathize with the problem to understand the value of an MVP.

A Minimum Viable Product is the smallest thing you can build that delivers customer value (as a bonus capturing some of that value back).

Ash Maurya explores several definitions of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with their pros and cons and also coins a meaning to the term that he claims captures the value of the product developed back. If your intent is to know more about an MVP and its key benefits.

The Lean Startup mentality is at odds with institutionalized corporate culture.

Armed with a decade of research from Steve Blank as to how the startup mindset has been unable to penetrate traditional corporate culture and organizational structures, Pete Behrens explains how companies resist the Lean Startup mindset just as the body resists a virus, with institutionalized defense systems to prevent the spread of the contagion - further reinforced by top-down, or "outside-in" instead of "inside-out" efforts.

Guessing our way to product via MVPs and A/B testing is poor CX/UX, and not customer-centric. Drop 2011’s ideas on startups & products.