Interactive graph
Lean Startup
Table of Contents
Ship a rough test and learn rather than polish a product nobody wanted.
Key Concept
- Build the smallest test, measure, learn - do not scale before validation.
- Level 1: Try the smallest version first, see what happens, then improve - do not build the huge version before you know anyone wants it.
- Level 2: Ship a tiny version, watch what users do, learn, then grow - not the full build before anyone wants it, like tasting soup before cooking the pot.
- Level 3: Big builds before demand burn cash and morale - small tests produce learning loops cheap enough to repeat when the first guess is wrong.
- Level 4: Ship the smallest test, measure response, learn, then scale - never the full product on gut alone.
- Level 5: Practice Small Experiments keeps trials small; Ship It pushes the test out before perfection hoarding wins.
- I would rather ship a rough test and learn than polish a product nobody wanted.
- Measure what happened, then fix the template - not the pitch deck.
- The waitlist number matters less than whether those people would actually pay today.
Examples
- Ten parents signed a waitlist before we booked the full tournament venue - smallest test, measure interest, learn before scaling.
- We almost rewrote the whole menu after one good weekend - ten lunch specials sold first and two items flopped.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | Finish Strong | when the opposite frame fits better |
| extends | Measure Then Iterate | Build-measure-learn is the product lane of the same loop |
| extends | Minimum Viable Product | MVP is the smallest test the loop names |
| extends | Practice Small Experiments | Smallest test before you scale |
| extends | Selling Static Sites | Pilot client site before scaling the freelance offer |
