Session 3: September 29, 2008

The New Era of Lean Startups

Quote of the Day

"$500,000 is the new $5 Million." ~ Mike Maples, Jr.

Summary

The advent of open source software, broadband penetration, globalization, and online marketing and communications have changed the rules for building successful start-ups.  A new approach to company building, called the “lean start-up”, is designed from the ground-up to turn these new realities into competitive weapons.
We will explore the implications of the lean start-up approach across all aspects of company building, including strategy definition, product development, market development, and financing.  We will also offer explore the lean start-up model in a broader context and show how lean start-ups could change business practices in the information age in the same way that lean manufacturing impacted production-driven business practices in the manufacturing age.

Required Readings (Policy on Required Readings)

• “Mastering Emergent Strategies” reading (HBS online Course Reader)
• The 4 Steps to the Epiphany, Chapters 1 and 2
• Video:  Discover the Business Before You Scale the Business
• Video:  The Overfunded Start-Up?

Study Questions (Policy on Study Questions)

• What is the difference between deliberate strategy and emergent strategy?
• What is the difference between product development and customer development?
• Why do you think the term “launch” may be a misnomer when describing a lean start-up?