Overview of our programs

The Lean Start-up

GDC’s programs are based on the Lean Start-up framework that was originally developed by academics and entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs, when they embark on their start-up, are highly passionate about their idea and enthusiastic to get ahead (rightly so!) with it. They take a direct and “just do it” approach that, often, is short on disciplined processes. This leads to chaotic outcomes which are generally construed as the natural way that start-ups evolve before things can settle down. While there is some truth to this perception, a start-up does not have to pay a heavy price for this.

By using the Lean Start-up approach, entrepreneurs can create order by reducing chaos and uncertainty. Lean is not simply about spending less money, or about failing fast or failing cheap. Lean Start-up is about putting in place a robust process and a disciplined methodology around the development of an innovation in the form of a product/service that real customers actually want.

The Lean Start-up methodology has as a premise that every start-up is a grand experiment that attempts to answer a question. The question is not “Can this product be built?” Instead, the questions are “Should this product be built?” and “Can we build a sustainable business around this set of products and services?”

This approach is more than just theoretical inquiry; it is a first product that the start-up should build. If it is successful, it allows the start-up to get started down the path: enlisting early adopters, adding employees to each further experiment or iteration, and eventually starting to build a product. By the time that product is ready to be distributed widely, it will already have established customers. It will have solved real problems and offer detailed specifications for what needs to be built.

http://theleanstartup.com/principles