Question 1.
When starting a business one would presume that its success is based on how good it’s run or the business being in the right place at the right time. I have however learned that this is not true; startup success can only be achieved by following the proper process in which one should be ready to learn. In the very beginning of any business, it is much more important to run experiments on the customer rather than seek to cater for their sudden desires for they can easily change their minds. Based on the reading the most fundamental activity of starting a business is turning ideas into products, measuring customer response to the products and learning the way forward and not focusing on making profits right away as I previously thought to be true.
Question 2.
Entrepreneurship is management and discipline. While starting a business it is important to be aware of the presence of extreme uncertainty hence one should be able to make testable decisions. It came as a surprise that one does not need an excruciating plan while starting a business and it is okay to make errors. It is not necessarily launching a rocket ship it should be just as simple as driving a car and this way one will avoid catastrophic outcomes. A business plan should not be so committed, it should be simple and manageable in such a way that when customers fail to materialize it can adapt in time. As a result instead of using the complex business plan that was in place, I will make some constant adjustments in a build, measure and learn feedback loop. This way learning how to build a sustainable business will be an easier task.
Question 3
Based on the reading I gained a few ideas for action. Innovation is the key to success in any business. It is clear that Lean thinking defines value as providing benefit to the customer, and anything else is a waste, it is thus crucial to prioritize one’s efforts. The only way one can learn is through failure and to reach a frequent vision experiments and testing is required. To win one has to learn faster than anyone else.
