4. What is "Lean"?
● Takes its name from "Lean Manufacturing"
● Toyota Production System (TPS)
● Preserving value with less work
● Value is defined as any action or process
that a customer would be willing to pay for
5. What's a "Startup"?
A human institution designed to create new
products and services under conditions of
extreme uncertainty.
6. The five principles:
1. Entrepreneurs are everywhere
2. Entrepreneurship is management
3. Validated learning
4. Innovation accounting
5. Build-Measure-Learn
8. Entrepreneurship is management
● A startup is an institution, not just a product
● Requires management
● A new kind of management specifically
geared to its context of extreme uncertainty
9. Validated learning
● Startups exist not to make stuff, make
money, or serve customers
● They exist to learn how to build a
sustainable business
● This learning can be validated
scientifically, by running experiments that
allow us to test each element of our vision
10. Innovation accounting
● Improve entrepreneurial outcomes
● Hold entrepreneurs accountable
● Focus on the boring stuff:
○ How to measure progress
○ How to setup milestones
○ How to prioritize work
● This requires a new kind of accounting
specific to startups
11. Build-Measure-Learn
● The fundamental activity of a startup is to:
○ Turn ideas into products
○ Measure how customers respond
○ Learn whether to pivot or persevere
● All successful startup processes should be
geared to accelerate that feedback loop
17. Solution
If we could create a list of the best people for a
given profession...
● Employers could find the best people
● The best people could land jobs perfectly
matched to their skills
18. Smoke test
● What can we test before we build anything?
● What can we do before we have to build?
● How can we find out if anyone finds this list
valuable enough to pay for it?
25. Experiment #1: Learnings
● Recruiters didn't see the value in the list
● Felt that's what their job was
● "Why would we just pay for a list"
● Felt threatened
● (and so they should - after all - we are trying
to disrupt them!)
31. Experiment #2: Learnings
● Don't offer a flat list
● Offer a service where users create lists from
people in their own networks (Facebook and
LinkedIn)
● We'll be growing the network of GetListed
users without having to do the initial service
● Requires strong viral coefficient (V-Co) to
maintain sustainable growth
34. Experiment #3: Hypothesis
1. A user creates a list
2. Listees are notified via Facebook wall post
or LinkedIn message that they have been
added to a list
3. Listees sign up to GetListed and become
users
4. Rinse and Repeat
5. V-Co of 1+ will be achieved
35. Experiment #3: Method
Build and Measure the following:
1. Spread of the network
New members / lists created
2. Conversion
New members signed up / new members added
3. Cycle
Signups who created a list
4. Returning users
Existing signed in users / existing base users
41. Next steps...
Achieve a V-Co of 1+ by connecting via email and
experimenting with different messaging.
● Hey Bosco - Michael just joined GetListed - why not add
him to a list?
● Hey Bosco - Michael added you to X list - why not list
him back?
● Hey Bosco - Phil added Michael to X list - why don't you
list him?
