Adopt the lean startup methodology in four easy but breakthrough steps.

The Lean Startup methodology has transformed how we build new software products and create transformative new businesses.

In our Master Series on Lean Startup, we examined the work of Eric Ries and many others to understand better what Lean Startup is and how you can use it for your product or business.

In the show, we took inspiration from a breakdown of Eric Ries' experience at IMVU and how there is value in learning what customers want. We also get inspired by the folks at Development That Pays, who share the best MVPs of all time.

As we learn more about Lean, we go to the master, Eric Ries, who teaches us how to utilize a Lean methodology when building your product. Dan Martell then talks about his 'problem, pain, passion' framework that he uses to validate business ideas and how we should never build a business backwards.

Finally, we revisit Productivity Game, which guides us through building an MVP. And closing out the Master series episode, we have Eric Ries again, who reassures us that many startups have 'pivoted' their strategy and then gone on to become thriving companies.

A lean startup methodology is an approach to starting and running a new business that focuses on quickly identifying and testing assumptions about the business concept, product, and market.

Learning from real-world customer interactions and data is better than relying on assumptions and traditional business planning methods.

So let's look at how we can adopt the lean startup methodology in four easy but breakthrough steps.

1. Define the problem and solution: The first step is to identify a problem that the startup's product or service can solve. This step involves understanding the customer's needs and pain points and defining the product's or service's unique value proposition.
2. Build a minimum viable product (MVP): The MVP is a prototype of the product or service that includes only the core features needed to test the assumptions about the product and market. This step allows the startup to get feedback from potential customers and make iterative improvements based on that feedback.
3. Test and learn: The lean startup methodology p emphasizes the importance of continuous testing and learning. This step involves conducting small-scale experiments (such as A/B testing or customer surveys) to gather data and validate assumptions about the product, market, and business model.
4. Pivot or persevere: Based on the data and feedback gathered from testing, the startup can decide whether to pivot (make significant changes to the product or business model) or persevere (continue down the current path).‌‌

Using the lean startup methodology, a startup can save time and resources by focusing on the most critical aspects of the business and gathering real-world data to inform decision-making.