25 Need-to-Know MBA Models

Chapter 18

The lean startup

The lean startup is a new way of conceiving and developing a business venture. If the traditional approach was to define a business plan, seek funding and then execute the plan, the lean startup works the opposite way – it emphasises early experimentation and rapid customer feedback, and it uses minimal amounts of capital until a business idea is proven. Lean startup thinking has become the dominant way of thinking about entrepreneurship, especially in the technology sector, over the last decade.

When to use it

• To help you launch a new business successfully.
• As a way to think systematically about the early stages of new business development.
• To challenge the traditional top-down approach to business planning in ...