Written by Eric Ries
Focus the whole team on finding a sustainable business model. The faster the model is found, the likelier the start-up is to succeed. Learn through a scientific approach, constantly validating your findings. Validate your hypotheses by speaking with real customers. Move from believing to knowing by testing the value and growth hypotheses of your product. Test the demand of your product by building a minimal viable product. Establishing the build-measure-learn cycle as fast as possible will get you to your sustainable business model quickly. Split-test all your features to distinguish what would be valuable to your customers and what would be a waste of time. Pick an engine of growth (sticky, viral, or paid) and focus. You must examine the right metric, not superficial metrics that don’t help you towards your goal. Traditional strategies cannot manage start-ups because start-ups lack a history. The main goal for a start-up is to find and build a sustainable business model. Value hypothesis assumes early adopters will accept a product. Growth hypothesis assumes a product will appeal to a larger group of people later.