The Agile Startup: Quick and Dirty Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know

The Entrepreneurial Method

There’s only one thing you can be certain of in a startup—nothing is certain. You don’t know the right answer, and neither does anyone else. To be successful, you must become a scientist and look at your startup as a science experiment. The process of turning your uncertainties (assumptions) into certainties (facts) is remarkably similar to the scientific method. Startups are all about trial and error, and experimentation. Once your experiments are underway, stay open-minded, expect change, and react based on your findings.

There are five steps to the Entrepreneurial Method:

1. Question. Define the problem—what pain are you trying to solve?

2. Observe. Gather information and resources. Most of your time should be spent talking to industry veterans and potential customers.

3. Hypothesize. Make hypotheses about your assumptions on the problem, solution, market, channels, and everything in-between.

4. Experiment. Test your hypotheses to turn your assumptions into facts as quickly as possible.

5. Analyze. React to the outcomes of your experiments. If you got positive signals, keep moving forward. Test new assumptions or launch the company. If not, reconsider your assumption or abandon the project.

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