every startup is a grand experiment that attempts to answer a question. The question is not “Can this product be built?” Instead, the questions are “Should this product be built?” and “Can we build a sustainable business around this set of products and services?” Why should I run startup experiments? An idea pioneered by HBS Entrepreneur-in-Residence Eric Ries, lean start-up thinking entails launching as quickly as possible with a “minimum viable product,” a bare-bones creation that includes just enough features to allow for useful feedback from early adopters. The company then releases a quick succession of product upgrades, forming hypotheses and conducting experiments with each new version along the way. This experiment is more than just theoretical inquiry; it is a first product. How do I run meaningful startup experiments? “A true experiment follows the scientific method. It begins with a clear hypothesis that makes predications about what is supposed to happen. It then tests those predictions empirically. The goal of every startup experiment is to discover how to build a sustainable business around that vision,” Eric Ries clarifies. Ash Maury‘s article, How to Identify a Lean Startup, gives these rules for running experiments.
- Build a Lean Canvas
- Start with what matters
- Also tackle the risky parts early
- Formulate falsifiable hypotheses
- Build an accessible dashboard
- Make the results audible to anyone on the team
- Run board meetings in a lesson learned format
- The Lean Startup Methodology
- Learning What Works-slideshow on Startup Experiments
- Lean Startup Strategy Not Just for Startups-Great example of how Intuit uses experiments
- Running Startup Experiments by Bhaskar Thakur
- Startups: Let’s Do More Experiments
- Designing Lean Startup Experiments
- Lean Startup: from Principle to a Real Method
- How to Test Your Minimum Viable Product by Steve Blank
- How to Identify a Lean Startup by Ash Maury
- Design of Experiments for Startups Video by Ash Maury
- Don’t Launch a Company, Launch an Experiment
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