I was invited to be a mentor for Lean Startup Machine Austin this past April and I have to say that it was fantastic.
The A/B test crap is just that.. crap.
Where Lean does make sense is applying the scientific method to the startup process. If you can identify your assumptions, figure out a way to test them, and then adjust accordingly, that is a fantastic thing. Every assumption is a risk, this is just a process for addressing/mitigating them to determine which are "good enough."
That said, every time I hear the word "pivot," I want to hit someone. It's been so misused and abused that it's lost most of the meaning. :(
Can you please help me understand the real meaning of "pivot". As you said nowadays everybody is using that term for very different things. What does pivoting mean, why people are misusing it, any case studies that i can read? Thanks!
Colloquial use: "We were working on an enterprise database solution, then pivoted to a social network for toddlers."
Intended use: "We were working on a time tracking application for freelance designers, and pivoted to making it for lawyers instead."
There are lots of kinds of pivots (customer segment, platform, channel, value capture, engine of growth etc) - in essence, it's about taking what you've learned so far, and using that knowledge to tweak your approach to solving the problem you're working on.
Eric Ries' 'The Lean Startup' is the canonical reference for this stuff.
Comments
I was invited to be a mentor for Lean Startup Machine Austin this past April and I have to say that it was fantastic.
The A/B test crap is just that.. crap.
Where Lean does make sense is applying the scientific method to the startup process. If you can identify your assumptions, figure out a way to test them, and then adjust accordingly, that is a fantastic thing. Every assumption is a risk, this is just a process for addressing/mitigating them to determine which are "good enough."
That said, every time I hear the word "pivot," I want to hit someone. It's been so misused and abused that it's lost most of the meaning. :(
Can you please help me understand the real meaning of "pivot". As you said nowadays everybody is using that term for very different things. What does pivoting mean, why people are misusing it, any case studies that i can read? Thanks!
Colloquial use: "We were working on an enterprise database solution, then pivoted to a social network for toddlers."
Intended use: "We were working on a time tracking application for freelance designers, and pivoted to making it for lawyers instead."
There are lots of kinds of pivots (customer segment, platform, channel, value capture, engine of growth etc) - in essence, it's about taking what you've learned so far, and using that knowledge to tweak your approach to solving the problem you're working on.
Eric Ries' 'The Lean Startup' is the canonical reference for this stuff.