Author: Eric Ries
Ideal for: Entrepreneurs, product managers, startup founders, and anyone interested in launching or growing a business efficiently.

• Minimum Viable Product (MVP):
  Launch the simplest version of your product to start learning immediately from real customers.

• Build-Measure-Learn Loop:
  The cycle of building an MVP, measuring how it performs, and learning what works — then repeating.

• Validated Learning:
  Make decisions based on real data from experiments instead of guesses or assumptions.

• Pivot or Persevere:
  Decide whether to change direction (pivot) or continue refining your idea based on customer feedback.

• Innovation Accounting:
  Track real progress using learning milestones and metrics rather than vanity numbers like downloads or followers.

• Continuous Deployment:
  Release product updates frequently to gather feedback faster and adapt quickly.

1. Start Small, Learn Fast

• The idea is to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) — a simple version of your product that allows you to test key assumptions with real customers.

• This helps you gather insights early, ensuring you’re not wasting time and resources on features customers don’t want.

2. Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop

• The core principle of the Lean Startup method is the Build-Measure-Learn cycle.

  • Build a prototype or MVP.

  • Measure how it performs with real customers.

  • Learn from the data to determine if you need to pivot (change direction) or persevere (keep going down the same path).

• The goal is to fail fast and learn quickly so you can refine your product or business idea before it’s too late.

3. Validated Learning

• Instead of traditional market research or business plans, Lean Startups focus on validated learning, which means testing assumptions through experiments and real customer feedback to understand if your ideas work in the real world.

4. Pivot or Persevere

• After gathering data, businesses must decide whether to pivot (make a significant change in strategy) or persevere (keep refining and improving based on feedback).

• Pivoting could mean changing product features, business model, or target audience. The key is to remain flexible and adapt based on insights.

5. Innovation Accounting

• To measure progress in a startup, traditional financial metrics may not work. Instead, innovation accounting helps you measure progress based on data-driven metrics like customer acquisition cost, retention rates, and the learning milestones you’ve achieved.

6. Continuous Deployment

• Lean Startups embrace continuous deployment, where new versions of the product are released frequently, even multiple times a day. This helps to get immediate feedback from customers and make rapid improvements.

7. Build a Sustainable Business

• The ultimate goal is to find a sustainable and scalable business model. This means understanding what customers truly need and building a product that solves their problems, all while being able to scale efficiently.

• Fail fast, learn quickly: The faster you test your assumptions, the more you can learn and iterate.

• Customer feedback over intuition: Always prioritize feedback from real customers over your personal opinions or assumptions.

• Iterate: Keep improving your product in small increments based on real-world data.