I gave a Lean Startup presentation at Kellogg Entrepreneurship Conference on Wed May 25, 2011. It's an intro presentation so if you know lean well already, it's all review.
4. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Who am I?
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
5. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Board Member oneforty
Who am I?
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
6. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Mentor at Techstars
Board Member oneforty
Who am I?
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
7. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Mentor at Techstars
Board Member oneforty
Who am I?
One of the first Boston Chicken Franchisees
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
8. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Mentor at Techstars
Board Member oneforty
Who am I?
One of the first Boston Chicken Franchisees
Product Management at a series of startups
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
9. Founder of Blueleaf.com
Mentor at Techstars
Board Member oneforty
Who am I?
One of the first Boston Chicken Franchisees
Product Management at a series of startups
Investment Banker for Tech Cos
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
18. What is a startup?
• A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or
service under conditions of extreme uncertainty
• Nothing to do with size of the company, sector of the economy or
industry
40. Steve Blank Hypotheses
• Entrepreneurs and Investors are generally executing on guesses
• Startups aren’t small versions of large organizations
• They are about learning/discovery, not execution
• Need to surface hypotheses/assumptions and test against facts
• However, the Facts Live Outside of the Building
47. Eric Ries Extended Model
• Steve realized the Problem was unknown,
• Eric’s Insights
• Given that the Solution is also unknown
• Agile development needed to match Customer development speed
51. John Boyd’s Insight
OODA Loop IDEAS
• Observe, Orient, Decide, Act LEARN BUILD
DATA
CODE
MEASURE
52. John Boyd’s Insight
OODA Loop IDEAS
• Observe, Orient, Decide, Act LEARN BUILD
• Depends on accurate external data DATA
CODE
MEASURE
53. John Boyd’s Insight
OODA Loop IDEAS
• Observe, Orient, Decide, Act LEARN BUILD
• Depends on accurate external data DATA
CODE
MEASURE
• Speed through the loop beats
quality of iteration
59. Changes scope of
development efforts
• Huge feature lists don’t make sense
60. Changes scope of
development efforts
• Huge feature lists don’t make sense
61. Changes scope of
development efforts
• Huge feature lists don’t make sense
• Actual working product may not make sense
62. Changes scope of
development efforts
• Huge feature lists don’t make sense
• Actual working product may not make sense
63. Changes scope of
development efforts
• Huge feature lists don’t make sense
• Actual working product may not make sense
• Create the smallest amount of “product” necessary to learn
65. Product / Market Fit
“Do whatever is required to get to product/market fit. Including:
changing out people,
rewriting your product,
moving into a different market,
telling customers no when you don’t want to,
telling customers yes when you don’t want to,
raising that fourth round of highly dilutive venture capital
—whatever is required.”
— Marc Andreessen
http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/the-pmarca-gu-2.html
67. The Pivot
http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/06/pivot-dont-jump-to-new-vision.html
68. The Pivot
• What do successful startups have in common?
• They started out as digital cash for PDAs, but evolved into online
payments for eBay.
• They started building BASIC interpreters, but evolved into the world's
largest operating systems monopoly.
• They were shocked to discover their online games company was actually
a photo-sharing site.
http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/06/pivot-dont-jump-to-new-vision.html
69. The Pivot
• What do successful startups have in common?
• They started out as digital cash for PDAs, but evolved into online
payments for eBay.
• They started building BASIC interpreters, but evolved into the world's
largest operating systems monopoly.
• They were shocked to discover their online games company was actually
a photo-sharing site.
http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/06/pivot-dont-jump-to-new-vision.html
70. The Pivot
• What do successful startups have in common?
• They started out as digital cash for PDAs, but evolved into online
payments for eBay.
• They started building BASIC interpreters, but evolved into the world's
largest operating systems monopoly.
• They were shocked to discover their online games company was actually
a photo-sharing site.
• Pivot: change directions but stay grounded in what we’ve learned.
http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/2009/06/pivot-dont-jump-to-new-vision.html
71. The Pivot
PIVOTCARTOON_http-//www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2010/04/26/cartoons_20100419#slide=2
74. On Pivots
• Pivots are restatements of your business model; not synonymous with
product change
@dbinetti
75. On Pivots
• Pivots are restatements of your business model; not synonymous with
product change
@dbinetti
76. On Pivots
• Pivots are restatements of your business model; not synonymous with
product change
• Pivots are a consequence of learning about your business, not just your
product
@dbinetti
77. On Pivots
• Pivots are restatements of your business model; not synonymous with
product change
• Pivots are a consequence of learning about your business, not just your
product
@dbinetti
78. On Pivots
• Pivots are restatements of your business model; not synonymous with
product change
• Pivots are a consequence of learning about your business, not just your
product
• Pivots are vision-driven, not testing driven
@dbinetti
82. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
83. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
84. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
85. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
86. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
• Optimize Total Time through the loop
87. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
• Optimize Total Time through the loop
88. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
• Optimize Total Time through the loop
• Traditional management tools are not built for extreme uncertainty
89. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
• Optimize Total Time through the loop
• Traditional management tools are not built for extreme uncertainty
90. Leading & Managing Lean
• People don’t rally around experiments - “It’s the vision stupid”
• Everything starts with vision then rigorously test against actual results
• Optimize Total Time through the loop
• Traditional management tools are not built for extreme uncertainty
• Iteration speed is governed by speed of learning not “building”
98. Innovation accounting
• Establish the Baseline
• Build the minimum viable product
• Measure how customers behave right now
• Tune the Engine
• Experiment to move metrics from baseline to ideal
99. Innovation accounting
• Establish the Baseline
• Build the minimum viable product
• Measure how customers behave right now
• Tune the Engine
• Experiment to move metrics from baseline to ideal
100. Innovation accounting
• Establish the Baseline
• Build the minimum viable product
• Measure how customers behave right now
• Tune the Engine
• Experiment to move metrics from baseline to ideal
• Pivot or persevere
• When experiments reach diminishing returns some distance from goal
110. Minimum Viable Product
• Minimum set of features needed to learn from earlyvangelists - visionary
early customers
• Avoid building products that nobody wants
• Max learning per $
• Probably much more minimum than you think
111. Minimum Viable Product
• Visionary customers can “fill in the gaps” on missing features, if the
product solves a real problem
• Allows us to achieve a big vision in small increments without going in
circles
• Requires a commitment to iteration
• MVP is only for BIG VISION products; unnecessary for minimal products
115. Minimum Viable Product
• Smoke testing with landing pages, adwords
• SEM on $5 per day
• In-product split testing
116. Minimum Viable Product
• Smoke testing with landing pages, adwords
• SEM on $5 per day
• In-product split testing
• Paper prototypes
117. Minimum Viable Product
• Smoke testing with landing pages, adwords
• SEM on $5 per day
• In-product split testing
• Paper prototypes
• Keynote products
118. Minimum Viable Product
• Smoke testing with landing pages, adwords
• SEM on $5 per day
• In-product split testing
• Paper prototypes
• Keynote products
• Concierge tests
119. Minimum Viable Product
• Smoke testing with landing pages, adwords
• SEM on $5 per day
• In-product split testing
• Paper prototypes
• Keynote products
• Concierge tests
• Cohort and Engagement
121. MVP Fears
• False negative: “customers would have liked the full product but the MVP
sucks, so we abandoned the vision
122. MVP Fears
• False negative: “customers would have liked the full product but the MVP
sucks, so we abandoned the vision
123. MVP Fears
• False negative: “customers would have liked the full product but the MVP
sucks, so we abandoned the vision
• Visionary complex “Customers don’t know what they want”
124. MVP Fears
• False negative: “customers would have liked the full product but the MVP
sucks, so we abandoned the vision
• Visionary complex “Customers don’t know what they want”
125. MVP Fears
• False negative: “customers would have liked the full product but the MVP
sucks, so we abandoned the vision
• Visionary complex “Customers don’t know what they want”
• Too busy to learn: “it would be faster to just built it right, all this measuring
distracts from delighting customers”
133. Lean Startup Principles
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship is management
• Validated Learning
• Build - Measure - Learn
• Speed through the loop beat quality
134. Lean Startup Principles
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship is management
• Validated Learning
• Build - Measure - Learn
• Speed through the loop beat quality
135. Lean Startup Principles
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship is management
• Validated Learning
• Build - Measure - Learn
• Speed through the loop beat quality
• Innovation Accounting
136. People and Resources
Text
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
137. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
Text
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
138. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
Text
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
139. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
Text
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
140. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
141. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
142. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
- The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
143. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
- The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development
• Meetup.com, local Lean Startup Circle Meetups - ~20,000 members globally
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
144. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
- The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development
• Meetup.com, local Lean Startup Circle Meetups - ~20,000 members globally
http://lean-startup.meetup.com/
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
145. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
- The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development
• Meetup.com, local Lean Startup Circle Meetups - ~20,000 members globally
http://lean-startup.meetup.com/
• Lean Startup Circle online - ~4,000 members with active discussions
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
146. People and Resources
• Steve Blank - www.steveblank.com, includes the Standford Lean Launchpad
- Book: 4 Steps to the Epiphany
• Eric Ries - www.startuplessonslearned.com
- Book: The Lean Startup Text
• Patrick Vlaskovits & Brant Cooper - Vlaskovits.com, market-by-numbers.com
- The Entrepreneurs Guide to Customer Development
• Meetup.com, local Lean Startup Circle Meetups - ~20,000 members globally
http://lean-startup.meetup.com/
• Lean Startup Circle online - ~4,000 members with active discussions
https://groups.google.com/group/lean-startup-circle
john@blueleaf.com - @johnprendergast - About.Me/JohnPrendergast
Editor's Notes
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In particular, eliminate work that doesn’t create value (for Customers)\n\nWhat is the greatest source of waste in a startup? Innovation process or product development?\n\nBuilding something no one wants\n
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Mention the religious wars on lean methodology\n\nThis is about the Meta principles, not a checklist or cookie cutter formula\n
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Ask audience about how many of them are or were entrepreneurs, created new products etc.\n
Ask audience for reasons\n
They had no interest, thought it sucked, it was too expensive etc. etc.\n
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Hold up Kellogg brochure\n
No. So, why is that?\n
The capacity for vision (cough) combined with our bias for action (cough) makes innovators prone to jumping over knowledge gaps and running through indifference without even noticing.\n\nThat gets us in a lot of trouble.\n
The capacity for vision (cough) combined with our bias for action (cough) makes innovators prone to jumping over knowledge gaps and running through indifference without even noticing.\n\nThat gets us in a lot of trouble.\n
A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty\n
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Tell John Boyd’s story of discovering patterns in aerial combat in Vietnam \n
Tell John Boyd’s story of discovering patterns in aerial combat in Vietnam \n
Tell John Boyd’s story of discovering patterns in aerial combat in Vietnam \n
Tell John Boyd’s story of discovering patterns in aerial combat in Vietnam \n
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What is Validated learning?\n
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The premise of the lean startup is simple: if we can reduce the time between these major iterations, we can increase the odds of success.\n
The premise of the lean startup is simple: if we can reduce the time between these major iterations, we can increase the odds of success.\n
The premise of the lean startup is simple: if we can reduce the time between these major iterations, we can increase the odds of success.\n
We knew these ideas were big when we saw this\n
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If we can reduce the time between pivots\n \n We can increase the odds of success\n \n Before we run out of money, support etc.\n \n Runway = # of iterations remaining\n
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Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n
Talk through stories and examples of using these tactics\n