How can small businesses use Lean Startup to reduce risk and increase success?

Identify areas where customers experience frustration or confusion. This analysis can reveal specific problems that might not be immediately apparent.

Success starts by figuring out what problems people have or what they really want. Once you know your target audience and understand their struggles or desires, you can create solutions that meet their needs. It's about connecting with what people truly care about and tailoring your approach to make a positive impact.

The first step is to clearly define the issue that needs to be solved. Understanding your target clients and the precise pain issues they confront is required. It's not only about what you believe the issue is, but also about what your prospective consumers are going through. For example, if you're developing a meal delivery app, your issue may be that customers want a more convenient method to obtain good food delivered to their homes. If you only focus on what you believe the issue is you are heading down the wrong path.

Analyze competitors who offer similar solutions or address the same problem. Understanding their approach and identifying what they may lack can help refine your solution.

Imagine you are creating an app to help busy folks manage time better. Your app simplifies tasks, tracks time, and sets personalized goals. It's like a friendly productivity assistant in your pocket, making work easier. Tools like Lean Canvas help plan its features, making sure it suits users needs.

After you've identified the issue(s), you'll need to identify your solution. This should be a brief description of how your product or service addresses the specified issue. Using the food delivery app as an example, your solution might be an easy-to-use app that links customers with a variety of local eateries that provide quick and dependable delivery.

Use tools like online surveys, direct interviews, or feedback forms embedded in the MVP itself. This real-time feedback is crucial for identifying what works, what doesn't, and what can be improved.

MVP is like meeting a new friend named Alex. They're not flawless, but it helps you see how well you get along. It's like a first impression to figure out what works and what can be better. Using tools is like giving a brief introduction to Alex, seeing how everyone reacts, and making improvements along the way.

The MVP is your product's most basic version that nonetheless addresses the issue. It should include the bare minimum of functionalities to be deployed and begin learning from real-world user interactions. An MVP for a meal delivery app might have basic features such as restaurant listings, menu items, an ordering mechanism, and a payment gateway.

Once your MVP is complete, it is time to put it to the test in the real world. This entails putting your product into the hands of real people and seeing how they interact with it. The purpose is to test your assumptions about the issue and your proposed solution. For example, you may keep track of how many orders are placed using the app, how long delivery take, and how satisfied customers are. Remember, almost no business plan will totally survive the first interactions with customers, so pivot! This is your chance to really learn what the problem/solution is. It might not be quite what you thought, or what you thought at all!

Learning from feedback is essential to better understand what works, what doesn't, and why. It's important to scrutinize the collected data wisely to work on it more effectively.

It's not about justifying your choices but understanding what works and what doesn't, and most importantly, why. It is like reviewing a movie, you want to know what scenes resonate and what falls flat. Tools like Build-Measure-Learn-Loop, The Pivot, Preview Framework, or Validation Board help organize your insights and guide your next moves based on what you've discovered during testing. It's like turning feedback into a roadmap for improvement.

El mejor feedback es del cliente que invierte dinero que le ha costado ganar en un producto/servicio que has creado. Si ese cliente está o no contento te lo va a decir. El feedback de familia y amigos no debe tenerse en cuenta. Ellos no quieren decirte la verdad para no hacerte da?o. Es clave crear un MPV y salir al mercado para recibir feedback de clientes reales que no te conoces de nada.

Iterate on your solution based on the input. This includes improving changes, adding functionality, and, if required, pivoting your strategy. The idea is to be adaptable and receptive to what you've discovered.

I have always used a Lean Startup methodology when developing my businesses. From my experience, it takes many iterations of the process, numerous MVPs and plenty of failures along the way - the key to success is to fail, learn, adapt and keep pushing, most will give up, and a few will keep going forward and win overall. Looking back, it took several years for my businesses to reach market fit and then scale - but the journey and learning process is the best bit! Having used the lean startup method many times certainly gives you an advantage for the next startup idea, having learnt much from previous startup ventures you can keep putting this knowledge into practice, speeding up the chance of success, market fit and scale!

Lean Startup isn't just a process; it's a mindset. Embrace failure as a learning tool, not a sign to pack up and go home. Think of it as collecting scars in a battle – each one tells a story and makes you stronger. Also, keep an eye on your burn rate. It's easy to get caught up in the cycle of build-test-learn and forget about the cash flow. Lean means efficient, not just fast.