8 Takeaways from the Lean Startup Conference 2018 and 1 Broken Promise
I have been reading a lot about lean concepts, especially through The Lean Startup book. The concepts are simple to understand, very lean indeed. However, to see it in practice is a whole different story since it requires a shift in mindset, commitment to learning and continuous adaptability to change.
When I was getting ready to watch the Lean Startup Conference 2018 through Livestream for the first time I thought it would be a regular talk & listen conference. But the opening remarks from Eric Ries made it clear that it would be a transforming experience, since the goal is to bring in real entrepreneurs, not necessarily professional speakers, to show real world experiences, the good and especially the bad ones. The conference followed the emphasis of the lean concept on learning, both through success and failure.
So for those of you who have not attended conference, in Las Vegas or through Livestream, following are my key takeaways from these 3-day immersion in the Lean world. For those of you who have watched, feel free to add your thoughts!
#1 YOU WON’T KNOW IF A CRAZY IDEA WORKS UNTIL YOU TRY IT
In Eric’s first appearance at this year’s conference he explained how he came up with the lean concept. When he first proposed his idea he would have never thought it would turn into such a well-known practice, with so many adepts. Especially because in the beginning many people thought it was a crazy idea and that it would not work. Due to his persistence with the lean concept and through actual application, he was able to show that the crazy idea actually works. So being open minded and willing to try new ideas enables a welcoming environment for learning and success.
#2 APPLY LEAN BEYOND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
During the Fireside Chat between Eric Ries and Tony Hsieh, from Zappos, they emphasized that lean concepts can and should be applied in all aspects of a company, not just for product development. Every organization has processes that can be improved through innovative ideas. The lean mindset allows for experimentation and deep learning in shorter cycle times. Tony mentioned that at Zappos they are changing their structure from hierarchical to a network format, giving more flexibility and less bureaucracy, this change has not been easy but it is an attempt to improve the company performance and, of course, learning.
#3 ITERATE, ITERATE, ITERATE
Did I mention iterate? Throughout the whole conference most of the speakers underlined the need to iterate since it is the best way to learn fast (not necessarily fail fast) and continuously.
#4 ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON PRODUCT/MARKET FIT
Monitoring the moment when reaching the product/market fit is crucial for the success of a startup endeavor. According to Wikipedia, product market fit is the degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand. So knowing when that moment is approaching will help you balance your budget before and after reaching the product/market fit. This will ensure that you don’t spend the money too soon and also that you are ready to scale when the product reaches a high volume demand. David Binetti, creator of the Innovation Options Framework, suggested in his talk the use of the Bass Diffusion Model to calculate the WOM/PROM score (WPS) which will indicate when product/market fit is approaching. More detail in his Medium story.
#5 CHANGE THE MINDSET TO MAKE REAL IMPACT
The application of lean practices for social good has been a challenge. Ann Mei Chang, former USAID Chief Innovation Officer, explained that usually donors want to know exactly what the funds will be used for, how and when, giving no margin for experimentation. However, to generate real social impact, lean practices allow for innovative solutions during the course of a program through continuous learning. The long cycle time in this sector was also brought up by Sasha Dichter, from Acumen, who presented the concept of lean data as a way to get meaningful, quick and less expensive feedback from customers/communities to evaluate the real situation and actual impacts.
#6 HAVING A GREAT IDEA IS JUST A GREAT IDEA
Most successful companies are not successful because of their original idea but because of their ability to learn along the way. Tony Hsieh, from Zappos, gave the example of Amazon which started as an online bookstore and today it is much more than that. So having a great idea is a great start but actually iterating over it, validating solutions that actually solve problems, is a whole different story. The learning process along the way is much more important for the future of a startup than just a great idea.
#7 BRING YOUR CUSTOMER ALONG YOUR JOURNEY
What would you have done differently? This was the question asked to Kathryn Minshew, founder and CEO of The Muse. She explained that the company started with a career advice blog, very simple at first but they already knew that they wanted to become a career-development platform. Later on, when they became career platform and job discovery tool, customers were puzzled: is it a blog or a job posting site? The direction was not clear to the users. So Kathryn realized that making this vision of the future clear from the start could have helped customers notice the change when it scaled and would also make them feel part of the growth process.
#8 CHANGE IS COOL BUT IT JUST DOESN’T WORK FOR ME
So we’ve talked about experimentation, transformation, iteration and changes. All seems great, it worked for a lot of companies that presented at the conference. “But it is not going to work for me” — that’s what was in a lot of people’s mind. Aaron Dignan, from The Ready, closed his talk saying that everyone is capable of making changes. He gave an example of the new high jump technique used in City of Mexico Olympics of 1968 by Dick Fosbury. At first it was rejected by most athletes but then, slowly, they started trying it out and it became the technique widely used today. This example, together with Eric and Tony’s discussion on corporate culture, shows that change is possible everywhere and by everyone. Having a lean culture in place will create an environment for experimentation and learning where change is possible all the time.
FINALLY, BREAKING A PROMISE
These were my takeaways and I hope it will be useful for all of us moving forward in this new mindset. The Lean practice is such a paradigm shift that I am experimenting writing my first story and in turn breaking a promise:
What happens in Vegas, does not necessarily stay in Vegas!
Through your reactions and comments to this story I will be able to learn if it was indeed a good idea. Regardless of the result I am looking forward to continue iterating!
