5min
Module 1: The Lean Startup Mindset
Module 2: Defining Your Vision
Module 3: The Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop
Module 4: The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Module 5: Validating with Customers
Module 6: Pivoting or Persevering
3/23 Lessons
Content
To succeed as a startup, you must first understand what a startup truly is and how its mission differs from a large, established corporation. Eric Ries, the creator of the Lean Startup, defines a startup as "a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty." This definition is key, as it highlights the central challenge that makes the Lean approach so vital.
1. Search vs. Execution: The Core Difference
The most important distinction lies in a company's fundamental goal.
Large Corporations are built for execution. They have a proven, repeatable business model. Their goal is to efficiently operate and scale this model by producing a known product for a known customer base. They execute on a plan that has a high degree of certainty.
Startups, on the other hand, are in a state of search. Their mission is to find a business model that is repeatable and scalable. They have a product idea, but they are searching for the right customers, the right features, and the right way to deliver value. They operate under a high degree of uncertainty.
*This distinction explains why a traditional business plan, which is built for execution, is often a poor fit for a startup. You can’t execute on a plan for a business model that you haven’t found yet.
2. Risk, Resources, and Learning
Because of this difference, startups and corporations operate with completely different constraints and mindsets.
Resources
Risk
Goal
Metric for Success
Startup
Scarcity (limited time, money, and people)
Extreme uncertainty; high risk of failure
To find a viable business model
Validated Learning (what did we learn?)
Large Corporation
Abundance (large budgets, full teams, established infrastructure)
Focus on minimizing risk; low tolerance for failure
To execute and scale an existing model
Revenue, profit, market share
*This table highlights why a startup's focus must be on learning as quickly as possible. The goal is to reduce uncertainty by turning your riskiest assumptions into validated facts.