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The A-Z’s of Leanfor Social Good
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org
We’ll start in a few minutes…
What we’re talking about today
• Lean Startup – what is it and why should I care?
• The basic principles of Lean Startup
• Defining three key Lean concepts + examples
• Ways to get started
#leanimpact@leahtn
You’ll get the deck
• We’ll send you the deck after the webinar
• Archived on NetImpact website
• You’ll get a copy of The Ultimate Dictionary of Lean for Social
Good
#leanimpact@leahtn
Who am I?
• I’m Leanne Pittsford or @lepitts, the co-
founder of Lean Impact, helping social
good organizations apply Lean Startup
principles
• I’m also the founder of Social Good Tech
Week & Lesbians Who Tech
• I’ve worked at tech startups and have
founded companies using Lean methods
• Fun fact: I run the blog “When You Work At
A Nonprofit”
#leanimpact@lepitts
Let’s get started…
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org
The A-Z’s of Leanfor Social Good
What do we mean by “Lean”?
The old definition:
Having no money
Doing more with less
#leanimpact@lepitts
What do we mean by “Lean”?
The new definition:
Lean organizations develop products, services and campaigns by
starting small, soliciting user feedback along the way, ensuring they
are continually developing something that users want,
and pivoting if necessary.
The overall goal is to reduce waste:
wasted time, wasted effort, and wasted money.
#leanimpact@lepitts
Where Lean came from
Eric Ries’ book The Lean Startup
#leanimpact@lepitts
But actually, that came from…
Lean manufacturing, from Toyota
#leanimpact@lepitts
The old way: startups
• Have an idea
• Start working on it, behind closed doors
• Take funding to build it
• Take 18-24 months to finish it
• Release it to the world
• Expect people to buy it
Idea Build Launch, Measure, Learn
@lepitts@leanimpact / #leanimpact
The old way: startups
• Have an idea
• Start working on it, behind closed doors
• Take funding to build it
• Take 18-24 months to finish it
• Release it to the world
• Expect people to buy it
Idea Build Launch, Measure, Learn
Dud(90% of the
time)
#leanimpact@lepitts
The old way: startups
• Have an idea
• Start working on it, behind closed doors
• Take funding to build it
• Take 18-24 months to finish it
• Release it to the world
• Expect people to buy it
Idea Build Launch, Measure, Learn
Dud(90% of the
time)
Customer feedback comes here
#leanimpact@lepitts
The old way: social good
• Have an idea for a program, service, campaign, etc.
• Put staff on it
• Take many months to finish it
• Release the pilot to the world
• Expect it to be successfulFeedback comes here
Idea Build Launch, Measure, Learn
??
#leanimpact@lepitts
The new way: startups
• Have an idea
• Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• Get it in the hands of customers
• Gather feedback
• Make refinements
• And on and on
User Feedback
Idea BuildMeasure, Learn
User Feedback
BuildMeasure, Learn
#leanimpact@lepitts
The new way: startups
• Have an idea
• Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• Get it in the hands of customers
• Gather feedback
• Make refinements
• And on and on
#leanimpact@lepitts
The new way: startups
• Have an idea
• Create a Minimum Viable Product
• Get it in the hands of customers
• Gather feedback
• Make refinements
• And on and on
Build
Measure
Learn
User Feedback
#leanimpact@lepitts
Basically…
Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that you can get
into the hands of customers quickly
BUILD
Use metrics see how customers use your MVP
MEASURE
Learn from these results. Either continue on the same
course, continue with some modifications, or pivot.
LEARN
#leanimpact@lepitts
Why should social good
organizations care?• Time and money are at a premium
• You can’t afford to waste months on something that may
or may not work
• You need to find out quickly if something is viable, so you
can either pursue it or ditch it
#leanimpact@lepitts
Defining Three Key Lean Concepts
Minimum Viable Product
Get Out Of The Building
Pivot
#leanimpact@lepitts
M is for…
Minimum Viable Product
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org
What is a Minimum Viable
Product?A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an early version of a
product or service, and contains only the bare minimum
features that allow it to be deployed to early users.
It means:
- Bare bones
- Not pretty
- Manual
#leanimpact@lepitts
Fasal
• SMS-based program designed to give farmers in India
current market prices, so they can sell their crops for a
profit
• Started with a Minimum Viable Product
#leanimpact@lepitts
Fasal
• Final product vision: SMS messages automatically sent
to users
• MVP version: One of the team members manually sent
SMS price alerts to early users
• Final product vision: Voice response technology would
send daily automated phone calls with price updates
• MVP version: One of the team members recorded the
“automated” voice
#leanimpact@lepitts
Fasal
• The Fasal team studied how early users used the service
• Only when they were sure that people would use the
service, did they invest in building out the full vision
#leanimpact@lepitts
Key Elements of an MVP• No cost / low cost
• Easy set-up and maintenance
• Measurable
#leanimpact@lepitts
Why create an MVP?It allows you to test your assumptions:
• See if there’s a need for it, before you invest in something
• Find out if it’s a viable idea worth your team’s time
• Eliminate wasted time
• Eliminate wasted money
• If people will use it, THEN start building it out
#leanimpact@lepitts
Gateway Green
• Gateway Green is a project in Portland, Oregon to turn a
stretch of unused land into a multi-use bike park.
#leanimpact@lepitts
Gateway Green
• The assumption: residents of Portland want a multi-use
outdoor space for recreation and preservation
• The MVP: an Indiegogo campaign, to see if there is public
support for the project
#leanimpact@lepitts
Gateway Green
• Metrics: funds raised + funders
• The result:
• $123,880 raised
• 723 funders
“This project will need millions of dollars to be fully
built out. While the crowdfunding campaign will
raise just a small chunk of that, backers see it more
as an opportunity to show the powers-that-be that
the public is behind this project and that it's worth
putting real money into.” – BikePortland.org
#leanimpact@lepitts
G is for…
Get Out Of The Building
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org
What is Getting Out of the
Building?Get Out of the Building refers to the idea that to create a
valuable product, service or campaign, you need to talk to
the people who will potentially use it.
#leanimpact@lepitts
Let’s talk about assumptionsWe base a lot of our work on assumptions
(it’s not just you, everyone does it)
A few assumptions:
• X group needs more information on Y (it’s an information problem)
• Our donors want to hear more about X issue (we know our donors)
• The best thing to help X group, is Y service (we know how to help
them)
#leanimpact@lepitts
“No facts exist inside the building.
Only opinions.”- Steve Blank, Author,
The Startup Owner’s Manual
#leanimpact@lepitts
Getting out of the building• Putting the product or service in front of the people who
will actually use it
• What happens when they use it
What it’s not:
• Online surveys
• Phone calls
• Polls
• “Would you use this?”
#leanimpact@lepitts
Why get out of the building?
By getting outside the building, you can get actual,
actionable feedback, and minimize the risk that a product,
service, campaign or program will fail by verifying your
theories with actual customers.
#leanimpact@lepitts
IDEO.org
• Creating a financial service program in Mexico
• Started with a Minimum Viable Product
#leanimpact@lepitts
IDEO.org
• Mocked up an ATM, using an iPad and plastic casing to
create a “working” prototype.
• Created a mockup “program” for the software using
Keynote presentation software.
• Created sample brochures, manual SMS alerts
#leanimpact@lepitts
IDEO.org
“Our concepts evolved a great deal by walking the Mexicans
we met with through our prototypes and hearing their
reactions. We were able to find out how quickly someone
understood the idea, whether a certain feature made sense,
and figure out which elements needed to change. “
- Patrice Martin, IDEO
#leanimpact@lepitts
The Conceptual Four Walls
It can also refer to looking beyond the conceptual “four
walls” of your industry to learn from other industries and
things they’re doing.
Ways to get outside the building:
• Read blogs about technology or innovation
• Read books about entrepreneurship
• Watch TED talks
• Go to a startup event or meetup
• Attend a Startup Weekend event
#leanimpact@lepitts
P is for…
Pivot
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org
What is Pivoting?
Pivot means significantly changing the direction of a product
or service strategy. Organizations will pivot when a current
idea is not working or not getting traction, or when the MVP
needs significant improvement.
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean Impact
• Circa January 2013
• Assumption: People will pay $20 for an online conference, to learn
about Lean Startup in the social good space
• Minimum Viable Product:
• Lining up a few speakers
• Basic website
• Eventbrite registration
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean Impact
• We sold 4 tickets
• Assumption: DISPROVED
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean Impact
• Getting Out of the Building:
• Reached out to potential attendees
• Google Hangout feedback sessions
• We learned that people needed an in-person experience
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean Impact
• We pivoted:
• Planned launch parties in New York, DC and San Francisco
• Each party had over 500 registrants and 300 people through
the door
• By creating an MVP , we saved money and had our answer in 60
days
• By Pivoting, we were able to create something that provided value
to our audience
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean Impact
#leanimpact@lepitts
Lean for Social Good Summits
#leanimpact@lepitts
Pivot // Social Good Tech Week
#leanimpact@lepitts
In Summary
• Using Lean principles:
• Is less risk than investing months on something
• Is easy to try, using the approach and tools here
• Gives you quick data so you know whether to move
forward
Most people are quick to stop you before you get started,
but hesitant to get in the way if you’re moving!
#leanimpact@lepitts
Resources & Programs
• Read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• Take a course
• Udemy – The Lean Startup Course
• Acumen Lean for Social Impact
• Adopt a testing mindset
#leanimpact@lepitts
Further Reading
• The Ultimate Dictionary of Lean for Social Good –
leanimpact.org
• What would The Lean Startup Look Like for Nonprofits?
By Sasha Dichter
• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• Don’t Overthink It by Leah Neaderthal
#leanimpact@lepitts
Thanks!
Leanne Pittsford
Co-Founder, Lean Impact
www.leanimpact.org
@lepitts
#leanimpact@lepitts
