The Real Lean StartupDebunking the Myth

For LMU CS, March 29, 2012

What not to expect

● Easy● Fast● Impressive● Fun● Rewarding● Profitable...for a long while

What not to expect

● If you want to be rich work on Wall Street● "Your first idea is wrong, so, as quickly as

possible, implement a careful plan to learn which of your assumptions are flawed." - Rita McGrath

● "Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face." - Mike Tyson

What to expect

● Failure● Embarrassment● Rejection● No free time● No social life● No money● A lot of work

What to expect

● "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." - Thomas Alva Edison

● If you aren't sweating, you aren't innovating. ● False stories of easy success● Analogy: the movie montage

So

Do you still want to be an entrepreneur?

Why do it?

● One word: Passion

Still want to do it?

● Learn from others before you start● Network (this is how you find investors)● Get support from friends and relatives● Ideas are worthless. Execute.● Persevere but know when to give up...what?● Be bold. Be brave.● Be resourceful

Still want to do it?

The Customer Development Manifesto

Still want to do it?

● Get customer feedback every week if not everyday

● Scientific approach: If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist

● Schedule a pivot meeting● Stay light on your feet. Be ready to move at

any time.

Working with investors

● They look for○ Team○ Traction

● They want○ Obscene returns

● They don't want○ You

● Get a lawyer on your team for a percentage of the company to guide you through the deals

How to get help

● L.A. Meetup groups○ Lean LA○ 106 Miles SoCal○ Funders and Founders LA○ Startup Grind LA

● Coloft● Lean Startup Circle● Founder Dating. Announced today for Silicon

Beach!● Create a group of advisors by giving each of

them a piece of your company

How to get help

● L.A. incubators on Twitter○ OriginateLabs○ K5Launch○ UpStartLA○ Idealab○ StartEngineLA○ Muckerlab○ Amplifyla○ LaunchpadLA

How to get help

● People on Twitter○ Sean Ellis○ Eric Ries○ Brant Cooper○ Patrick Vlaskovits○ Steve Blank○ Andrew Chen

How to get help

● Blogs○ Venture Hacks○ Andrew Chen○ Steven Blank○ Startup Lessons Learned○ Lean Startup Machine○ Startup Marketing○ SoCal Tech News

How to get help

● Books○ The Lean Startup○ The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development○ The Startup Owner's Manual. Online course coming

soon (follow blog)○ The Innovator’s Solution

● Presentations○ Startup Metrics for Pirates

Remember

● The principles, the philosophies (Zen), not the set of steps to follow.

● Always, always, innovate

Remember

● "Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend" - Bruce Lee

Sources

● http://hbr.org/web/slideshows/the-masters-of-innovation/1-blank

● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VDNOIIrP_o

● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFUywM5pPLs

● http://steveblank.com/2012/03/29/nail-the-customer-development-manifesto/

● http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee