- Well, it works. Yes, startups are risky. Per Eric Ries: A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty. So it should be no surprise that the majority of startups fail. What is the best outcome under those circumstances? To optimize the path to finding product-market fit, and if its not going to happen – then minimize the cost of finding that out. Lean startup has proven its efficacy at doing just that.
- It is a much needed concept. In product development circles, lean startup makes all of the pieces of the puzzle connect. Managing stakeholders, pivoting direction, questions about how much to invest and in what, answering the why questions – all of these have been treated as unrelated, thorny issues in a business. When I first read about The Lean Startup, it was like a light bulb went off. It captured so much of my own best practices at Informulate, and also added some critical pieces I was looking for. I know a lot of product development folks feel the same: it fills a clear need.
- Lean startup is holistic. One of the criticisms of Lean Startup is that it is not bringing anything new to the table other than a buzzword. I disagree – though the Scientific method, Lean philosophy, Agile, Customer Development concepts, analytics driven decision-making etc. existed before, The Lean Startup concepts brings unrelated disciplines together into a cohesive package that is greater than the sum of its parts. Plus: evangelists of existing methodologies can easily identify with The Lean Startup and this accelerates its adoption curve.
- Startup founders are the new rock stars of today. Young people today are looking to emulate famous entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page who built massive fortunes starting from their dorm rooms. This romance is powerful and bears witness to the explosion of startup related meetups, contests, hackathons, etc. that fuel this fire. There is a huge demand to enter entrepreneurship, and any methodology that can quicken the maturation of newbie entrepreneurs will have a readymade following. This the cultural milieu into which The Lean Startup was born.
- The pace of disruption is exponential. Innovation continues to accelerate at a rapid pace. Every year a multitude of new businesses and products come to market and are quickly adopted. Data is much more accessible, barriers to entry have dropped, million+ networks are established routinely… In such a fast paced environment, there is high uncertainty. Traditional businesses that have existed for decades or centuries are being shunted aside. Every business needs to behave as a startup. Again, a perfect environment for The Lean Startup to take root.
- Lean startup methodologies are largely sector-agnostic It can be effectively applied by any enterprise, non-profit, or government agency. Previous methodologies never really grew the sector whence it was spawned but the Lean Startup has quickly grown beyond its inception in software based startups. There are many ways to learn too. Keep reading this blog, attend a conference, join a linkedIn or meetup group or take a class.
- Globalization is now unstoppable Startup culture is being exported all over the world, and along with it Lean Startup principles are being studied and applied everywhere too.
- There is a lot of capital available to chase ideas. This is a time of Quantitative Easing and large corporate cash reserves – Major companies, venture capitalists, angel investors, foundation funding, startup incubators, crowdfunding, etc. show that there is a lot of money chasing the next big thing/s. A high supply of entrepreneurs coupled with lots of funding means that this is probably the best time in history for startups.
Lean startup is perfectly placed at the knee of the adoption curve, and has already had some big successes under its belt. The next couple of years will likely see it becoming the de facto approach to product development. So, are you in?
