Lean Startup Chapter 5: Taking the leap

Takeaways from Chapter 5 - Leap

• The overarching importance of “getting out of the building”
• Assumptions vs. Hypotheses. They need to be tested quantitatively
• Some assumptions don’t need to be tested because they are self-evident from existing experience. (‘We know that people are willing to listen to music over earphones in public places.’)
• Leap of faith hypothesss: the riskiest assumptions or hypotheses. If they are not true the startup may fail.
• Value hypothesis: “The customer derives value from xxx”
• Growth hypothesis: “Growth in use will occurr because of xxx”

Key Learning from Chapter 5: Getting out of the building

• Test your hypotheses by “getting out of the building”
• More generally:
  • By talking to potential customers
  • By finding evidence from research data
  • By looking at other products
  • By talking to an expert
• But not by talking amongst yourself
  • Don’t believe your intuition
  • Just because you once needed this product, or thought it would be cool, doesn’t mean much at all

But it’s hard

• Yes, and it’s one of the biggest learnings of this course
• Practice on easy subjects
• Look for relevant subjects (not your roommate or family member)
• They will always like what you are pitching
• Ask open questions
• Ask questions based on your hypotheses