Lean Startup is a field-tested philosophy that provides you with a toolset to minimize failure and increase your chances of success. But what is Lean Startup, or more importantly, how do I implement Lean principles into my own company?
Drawn from Eric Ries’ bestseller, this short introduction shows you how I drive successful ventures. I have been building startups for the past 7 years and have refined a practical approach to building “lean startups.” This is a science for transforming an idea to a functioning new business with minimal risk, wastage and learning.
Learn why hundreds of companies, from financial services companies like Moven to social companies like Instagram to large corporations such as Intuit, Investec and News Corp are using this revolutionary technique.
You will learn:
• Practical knowledge in developing new products using lean startup methods
• Learn the science of validated learning
• Approaches to unlocking new innovative ideas
• Methods that can you apply to your business or organisation
7. P I V O T
O R
P E R S E V E R E
T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N S U C C E S S A N D FA I L U R E I S Y O U R A B I L I T Y
T O B U I L D R A P I D LY M E A S U R E , L E A R N A N D A D A P T
9. Y O U R S K I L L S
N O N -
E X I ST E
N T
1 2 3 4
AV E R A
G E
6 7 8 9
I ’ M A
RO C K S
TA R
B U S I N E S S M O D E L I N G
P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
C U S TO M E R D I S C OV E RY &
D E V E L O P M E N T
M I N I M U M V I A B L E
E X P E R I M E N T S
P RO D U C T / M A R K E T F I T
P I VOT V S P E R S E V E R E
P I T C H I N G
10. W H O A R E Y O U ?
W H AT A R E
. . . Y O U R PA S S I O N S ?
. . . Y O U R
E X P E C TAT I O N S ?
11. W H O A R E Y O U ?
A verb that starts with the
same letter as your first name
I am passionate about
solving...
!
!
What do I want to get out of
today?
Spontaneous Scott
Educating, growing
and mentoring
tomorrow’s
entrepreneurs
Enable
entrepreneurs to fail
fast, and succeed
12. O B J E C T I V E S
accept fail = lesson
understand what is Lean
what are the tools
explore customer
discovery
designing experiments
making decisions
17. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result &
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety & time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
& Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer & Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
18. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result &
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety & time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
& Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer & Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
19. B U S I N E S S D E S I G N
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M S O L U T I O N
20. S E A R C H & E X E C U T E
C U S T O M E R
D I S C O V E RY
C U S T O M E R
VA L I D AT I O N
C U S T O M E R
C R E AT I O N
C O M PA N Y
B U I L D I N G
21. “If you don’t talk to your customers, how
will you know how to talk to your
customers?”
- Will Evans
22. P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
personas are fictional
characters created to represent
the different user types within a
targeted demographic, attitude
and/or behaviour set that might
use a site, brand or product in a
similar way.
C U S T O M E R
24. Persona Development
Project Name: Persona #:Your Name:
Facts
Factual information
about your target customer.
Pain
State the problem you believe
your target customers have,
that your solution solves for.
Goals
What goals are they trying to accomplish
through the behavior, that your solution will do better?
Behavior
Existing behavior they exhibit now,
because they don’t have your solution.
37 years of age, married(7 years).
Two kids (3 & 5)
Employed by Coca-Cola to manage regional
marketing
Tech savvy, loves his Gadgets. Always keen to
learn more
Reads The Economist Online
Enjoys the outdoors with his kids
Regular traveller in the region, both work
and personal
Greg
Has been reading video blog tips in the hope of creating is own travel video
blog
Purchased a pirated copy of Final Cut Pro to explore, but quickly purchased
a license
Always has his video camera out when traveling, both on work travels and
personal travel
Purchased the domain www.gregsworld.com
Has tried Vimeo, Wordpress and TypePad in attempts to create a blog
Greg is a bit of a perfectionist, so he has tried multiple video blog solutions
But hasn’t found any that allow him to express himself in the way he wants.
He finds each tool hard to earn, and really isn’t sure if he is getting the best out
of each tool
He has tried reading through forums, but finds it difficult reading a tutorial and
applying it to his material
!
Greg loves to travel, he loves to explore new places, culture, people and
food
Greg would love to share his experiences with friends, family and colleagues
!
!
25. C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M ( S O L U T I O N )
H Y P O T H E S I S
Who
specifically
has this
problem?
How do you
intent to solve
this problem?
What problem
are you trying
to solve?
C U S T O M E R P R O B L E M S O L U T I O N
26. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result &
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety & time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
& Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer & Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
27. scottebales.com
List core assumptions about
the problem. For example, list
why it’s a problem. If you think
tourists have a problem finding
local places to visit, is it
because they don’t speak the
language? Because other
websites lead them to tourist
traps? Or everything’s too
expensive? Depending on the
Does
44. scottebales.com
Test your riskiest
assumption. For example, you
might riskily assume that
people want create video
travel journals. So “get out of
the building,” hit the streets,
and start offering free
workshops. Do people get
excited about your creative
process, or even want to
R I S K I E S T A S S U M P T I O N
45. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
46. M I N I M U M V I A B L E P R O D U C T
Customer Discovery/Development
Pitch
Concierge
experiment
E X P L O R A T I O N
P I T C H
C O N C I E R G E
47. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
48. C U S T O M E R VA L I D AT I O N
C U S T O M E R
D I S C O V E RY
P I T C H C O N C I E R G E
investigating their
problems to
understand past
behaviour
attempts to sell to a
customer in exchange
for currency: time,
money or work
deliver the product
as a service to see is
delivery matches
expectations
50. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
52. W H AT D O T H E
N U M B E R S S AY ?
O N E A C T I O N A B L E M E T R I C
T H AT T I E S S P E C I F I C
R E P E ATA B L E A C T I O N S T O
O B S E R V E D R E S U LT S
53. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
Customer Problem
Assumptions
MVP
Validated Learning
Customer Discovery
Pivot or Persevere
Brainstorming
Solution
55. scottebales.com
A pivot is a structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental
hypothesis about the product, business model and engine of growth
!
Zoom-in
A single feature
becomes the
whole product
Customer
need
Repositioning, or a
completely new
product
!
Zoom-out
The whole product
becomes a single
feature
Customer
segment
Good product,
bad customer
segment
!
Platform
Change from an
application to a
platform, or vice
versa
P I V O T S
59. scottebales.com
Progress in manufacturing is measured by the
production of high quality goods. The unit of progress
for Lean Startups is a rigorous method for
demonstrating progress when one is embedded in the
soil of extreme uncertainty. Once entrepreneurs
embrace validated learning, the development process
can shrink substantially. When you focus on figuring the
right thing to build, the thing customers want and will
pay for-you need not spend months waiting for a product
VA L I D AT E D L E A R N I N G
60. scottebales.com
ExperimentsStart here. Brainstorm with stickies, pull it over to the right to start your experiment.
Customer
Problem
Solution
Result
Decision
Learning
Riskiest
Assumption
Success
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
To form a Customer/Problem Hypothesis:
I believe my customer has a
problem achieving this goal.
To form your Assumptions:
hypothesis to be
true, assumption needs to
be true.
Determine how you will test it:
The least expensive way to
test my assumption is...
Who is your customer? Time Limit: 5 Min People
buying
Vespas on
Craigslist
People with
commute
NYC
Relying on
products
that use
oil
Understanding
safety time
saving of
Vespa
People with
commute
NYC
Vespa too
expensive
for identity
risk
Vespa One-
Pager +
Trial
Rent Vespa
Return It
If Not Fit
No friends
Vespa
Pay
$250/month
INTERVIEW:
8/10 don’t
have friend
with Vespa
SELL:
15 email
addresses
in 2 hours
Care about
environment
INTERVIEW:
5/20 buying
Vespa bc
environment
important
0/20
PIVOT!
5/10
PIVOT!
50+ in 2 hours
PERSEVERE!
- Skinny Tie!
- Buying for
lifestyle
- “I’m not a
scooter
person”
- Lifestyle is
a risk
- People typing
in ALL CAPS
- Jumping out
of seat to try
What is the problem? Phrase it from your customer’s perspective. Time Limit: 5 Min
Time Limit: 5 Min
List the assumptions that must hold true, for your hypothesis to be true. Time Limit: 10 Min
Need help? Use these sentences to help construct your experiment.
To form a Problem/Solution Hypothesis:
I believe this solution will result
in .
To identify your Riskiest Assumption:
The assumption with the least
amount of data, and core to the
viability of my hypothesis is...
Determine what success looks like:
I will run experiment with # of
customers and expect a strong
signal from # of customers.
GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!
61. H O M E W O R K
D E V E L O P 2 C U S T O M E R P E R S O N A S
T H E N I N T E R V I E W T W O O F E A C H
62. Y O U R G O A L
C O N T I N U O U S
V A L I D AT E D
L E A R N I N G
66. S U C C E S S
Y O U T O O C A N O W N T H I S FA C E O F A C C O M P L I S H M E N T
67. Y O U R S K I L L S
N O N -
E X I ST E
N T
1 2 3 4
AV E R A
G E
6 7 8 9
I ’ M A
RO C K S
TA R
B U S I N E S S M O D E L I N G
P E R S O N A D E V E L O P M E N T
C U S T O M E R D I S C O V E RY
D E V E L O P M E N T
M I N I M U M V I A B L E
E X P E R I M E N T S
P R O D U C T / M A R K E T F I T
P I V O T V S P E R S E V E R E
P I T C H I N G
68. y o u r g u i d e t o m o b i l e s u c c e s s
T H E F U T U R E I S M O B I L E
b i t . l y / m o b i l e re a d y b o o k