Running Lean
Read in 14 min.
Listen in 17 min.
Learn the key ideas of the book by Ash Maurya

Running Lean

The Lean Startup process to solidify new business ideas

Running Lean is a practical manual that teaches us a method for the analysis of new ideas and the development of successful products. Ash Maurya provides a step-by-step explanation of the Lean Startup concept, a process which is based on speed, learning and focus, while keeping in mind that time is one of our most precious and limited resources. For a startup to be able to produce a product that satisfies market demands, it needs to start with a problem, identify its potential customers, define a solution, and then carry out both qualitative and quantitative testing. We should not expect to have a perfect plan from the outset, customer feedback and continuous improvement will enable us to get there by learning as we go.

Running Lean
Read in 14 min.
Listen in 17 min.
IDEA CHIAVE 1/13

Putting an idea to the test using a rigorous and disciplined method

Each and every one of us has ideas, often when we least expect them. The Lean Startup method helps us to sustain these ideas with facts, rather than with hope: we must try to put our ideas to the test, because, as they are, they simply might not work. A startup does not need to have a perfect plan as soon as it is launched, but it must implement a systematic procedure that allows it, through practicing and fine tuning, to move from an initial (imperfect) plan to a final one (that works) without exhausting all the available resources along the way. To achieve this, we need to build a continuous feedback system with our client, in order to create a final product that people want to buy.

The lean method has three characteristics: speed, learning and focus. We can put an idea to the test by analysing customer behaviour, while also testing the product’s validity and the market, using a carefully defined procedure.

The starting point must be to find a problem that deserves to be solved, and to find our first customers. To begin to outline our business idea it is essential that we have an agile business plan that can be modified as we go and one that allows us to easily identify any risks and critical issues.

  

The key ideas of "Running Lean"

01.
Putting an idea to the test using a rigorous and disciplined method
02.
Showing the essence of our business on one page with Lean Canvas
03.
Identify the risks for our product, clients and market
04.
Get ready to experiment with a solution team and a problem team
05.
Talking to people to keep learning
06.
Testing the problem by interviewing potential clients
07.
Test the solution with a demo version of the product
08.
The launch phase of a startup is a learning curve
09.
Testing our MVP (minimum viable product) on potential clients
10.
Getting continuous feedback from our first users offering them excellent customer service
11.
Keeping the promise we made in our value proposition and obtaining traction
12.
Quotes
13.
Take-home message
 
 
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