This document summarizes the author's lean startup journey in launching a business renting condo units. They invested in a few units but faced skepticism from investors about their big business plan. They realized they had no experience in real estate or design and faced many competitors. Following lean startup methodologies like Lean Canvas and Customer Development, they created an MVP marketplace and validated assumptions. They were able to rent 85% of rooms in the first month, generating cash flow and profits without real estate agents. The author and his friend were able to succeed with just two people and limited resources by applying lean startup principles.

1. My Lean Business Startup
The First Journey
In 2014

2. My Lean Business Startup Journey…
1 The Story
2 The Facts & The Problems
3 The Actions
4 The Results

3. The Story
PART ONE

4. My friend and I invested in a few condo units.
We came out with a business idea and we thought
we could convince other investors (i.e. the other
unit owners) with our BIG business plan.

5. This is my friend, Arthur,
and yes, he was so happy about our big business plan!

6. The Facts
&
The Problems
PART TWO

7. Our targeted investors and customers were
skeptical about our idea and proposal.
They wanted to see and feel the real unit before making
any further decision.
The Reality 1

8. We were surrounded by Competitors, i.e. 200+
over units from the same condominium.
And 1000+ over competitions from other near-by houses,
apartments, and hostels.
The Reality 2

9. Our units had to be ready in 3 months
otherwise we would Miss The Opportunity.
College students were our main targeted group and the
new semester & intake would be started in exactly 3
months’ time.
The Reality 3:

10. We have No Experience in either Interior
Design or Real Estate business.
We had limited budget and we had to do the interior
design by ourselves.
The Reality 4:

11. The Actions
PART
THREE

12. In order to quickly assess our ideas, I referred
to the “Running Lean” methodology.
I used Lean Canvas to prioritize the critical part of our
idea, and rolled out plans to test them accordingly.
The Attempts:
**Running Lean by Ash Maurya

13. Applied the concepts of Lean Customer
Development, I systematically seek insights
from our targeted customer segments .
Before conducting interviews and surveys, I have built a
network that reached out 200+ of my targeted customers.
The Attempts:
**Lean Customer Development by Cindy Alvarez

14. In order to test our assumptions about the
market and channel, I created an online 2
sided marketplace (MVP)
With the guidelines from Lean Analytics, I focused on the
metrics that had the highest impact to my goals.
The Attempts:
**Lean Analytics by Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz

15. The Results
PART FOUR

16. 85% of our rooms were rented out in the first
month.
We were able to generate cash flow within a month.
The Outcomes:

17. The highest rent of a room was RM 2000.
Our pivoted value proposition stood out while others
rented their units at RM2400 (whole unit) because of the
stiff competition.
The Outcomes:

18. No real estate agents or other 3rd
parties were
involved in sales & marketing.
Our earlier tested channels, including the online 2 sided
marketplace and social media, connected well with our
targeted customer groups.
The Outcomes:

19. Our units generated about RM2300 monthly
net profit per unit.
The full potential of a unit is to generate RM3500 monthly
net profit.
The Outcomes:

20. All the above mentioned activities
and planning were done by my
friend and I.
Yup, that’s right, just 2 persons with limited time
and resources.
Side Note