Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything

In past few years, a new methodology for launching companies, called the lean start-up, has begun to replace old regimen. Traditionally, a venture's founders would write a business plan, complete with a five-year forecast, use it to raise money, and then go into stealth mode to develop their offerings, all without getting much feedback from people they intended to sell to. Lean start-ups, in contrast, begin by searching for a business model. They test, revise, and discard hypotheses, continually gathering customer feedback and rapidly iterating on and reengineering their products. This strategy greatly reduces chances that start-ups will spend a lot of time and money launching products that no one actually…