“Lean Startup Machine (LSM) is an excellent excercise in learning how to validate ideas quickly and figure out which of your assumptions are wrong.” (Jameson Detweiler, Co-Founder & CEO LaunchRock) There is actually not much more to say about the Lean Startup Machine event which I attended last week-end (Aug 9-11, 2013) in Munich. Besides: I hated it, I loved it, it had an unsustainable speed, it was exhausting, it was intense, I learnt a lot, I definitely got out of the building, I am very happy I could attend it and, yes, I definitely recommend attending a Lean Startup Machine when there’s one near you.
Made it stick:
Don’t ask “Can I build the product.” but rather “Should I built it.”
If you are familiar with the Lean Startup books, you know this already. Still people think and talk very quickly about a solution before validating their assumptions about the problem. LSM forces you to start with the problem, validate it and only then start to think about a solution. Which helps is the following:
Don’t think “Minimal Viable Product”, but rather “Minimal Viable Experiment”.
If you start with a product already in mind, you are more likely to restrict yourself. If you think in experiments you are and think more likely open. LSM teaches you hurtfully that most (of your) product ideas will turn out not to be working. But you learn that fast, as:
Nobody can predict the future.
True. I knew that before, but forgot. So do a lot of people: they are trying nevertheless, like to draw a plan, spend a lot of money and find out much later.
The same is true about LSM: I expected more fun, took it too easy, hated the mentors who kicked our a****, then tried harder, was still frustrated, but felt really happy in the end. And also on the following day.
This was the output of the team I was working with at the end of LSM Munich:
- A simple landing page with a possibility to select emails of interested persons
- At least 20 face to face interviews, including a simple Concierge MVP approach
- Facebook Page, Twitter Account to drive traffic to the landing page
- A reasonable insight that the idea could work and how we can move on
- Several empty bottles of beer and pizza boxes (Thx for the catering again!)
Related articles in the WWW:
- Lean Startups moves into mainstream, but the concept often is misunderstood
- 16 insights from mentoring at Lean Startup Machine Munich
- What makes a Good Failure
- Lean Startup Machine Munich – Spiel, Satz, SIEG! (in German)
#lsm team 3 speakerapp for ppl who have to speak english but are afraid #leanstartup pic.twitter.com/ojXz9dOOoh
— Christian Kählig (@ideasenabled) August 11, 2013