Title: Lean Startup Methodology — LearnCoachAssist

Q: What is the Lean Startup methodology?
A: A framework by Eric Ries for building businesses and products through validated learning, rapid experimentation, and iterative development to reduce waste and uncertainty.

Q: What book introduced the Lean Startup?
A: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, published in 2011, drawing on lean manufacturing, agile development, and customer development.

Q: What is an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?
A: The simplest version of a product that allows you to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.

Q: What is the purpose of an MVP?
A: To test a core hypothesis about your product with real customers as quickly and cheaply as possible — not to build a polished product.

Q: Name three types of MVPs.
A: 1. Landing page MVP (gauge interest) 2. Wizard of Oz MVP (manual backend) 3. Concierge MVP (manually serve each customer).

Q: What is a "Wizard of Oz" MVP?
A: An MVP where the product appears automated to the user but is actually operated manually behind the scenes — testing demand before building technology.

Q: What is a "Concierge" MVP?
A: An MVP where you personally deliver the service to each customer by hand — validating that people want the outcome before scaling.

Q: What is a landing page MVP?
A: A single webpage describing your product with a sign-up button or email capture — measuring interest before building anything.

Q: What is the Build-Measure-Learn loop?
A: The core feedback loop of the Lean Startup: Build an experiment (MVP) → Measure results with data → Learn whether to pivot or persevere.

Q: Which direction should you plan the Build-Measure-Learn loop?
A: Plan in reverse: start with what you want to learn, determine what to measure, then figure out what to build.

Q: What is validated learning?
A: The process of demonstrating empirically that a team has discovered valuable truths about present and future business prospects through experiments.

Q: What is a pivot in Lean Startup?
A: A structured course correction — changing one element of your business model (customer, problem, solution, channel, etc.) based on validated learning.

Q: What is "persevere" in the context of pivot or persevere?
A: Continuing on the current strategic path because experiments confirm your hypotheses are correct and your approach is working.

Q: Name five common types of pivots.
A: 1. Zoom-in pivot 2. Zoom-out pivot 3. Customer segment pivot 4. Customer need pivot 5. Channel pivot.

Q: What is a zoom-in pivot?
A: A pivot where a single feature of the product becomes the entire product — what was part of the offering is now the whole focus.

Q: What is a zoom-out pivot?
A: The opposite of zoom-in: the current entire product becomes just one feature of a larger product needed to solve the customer's problem.

Q: What is a customer segment pivot?
A: Keeping the product the same but targeting a different customer segment than originally intended — the product solves a real problem, just for different people.

Q: What is a channel pivot?
A: Changing the distribution or sales channel (e.g., from direct sales to self-serve, or from web to mobile) while keeping the product largely the same.

Q: What is a technology pivot?
A: Achieving the same solution using a different technology — often to improve performance, reduce cost, or reach a new platform.

Q: What is customer development?
A: A methodology by Steve Blank for testing business model hypotheses through direct customer engagement across four stages.

Q: What are the four stages of customer development?
A: 1. Customer Discovery 2. Customer Validation 3. Customer Creation 4. Company Building.

Q: What happens during Customer Discovery?
A: You test whether your problem and solution hypotheses are correct by talking to potential customers — "getting out of the building."

Q: What happens during Customer Validation?
A: You test whether you have a repeatable, scalable sales process — proving customers will actually pay for your solution.

Q: What happens during Customer Creation?
A: You drive end-user demand into the sales channel, scaling marketing and sales activities based on the validated model.

Q: What happens during Company Building?
A: The startup transitions from a learning organisation to a mission-focused company with formal departments and processes.

Q: What is the Business Model Canvas (BMC)?
A: A strategic tool by Alexander Osterwalder with 9 building blocks that describe how a company creates, delivers, and captures value.

Q: Name all nine blocks of the Business Model Canvas.
A: 1. Customer Segments 2. Value Propositions 3. Channels 4. Customer Relationships 5. Revenue Streams 6. Key Resources 7. Key Activities 8. Key Partnerships 9. Cost Structure.

Q: What is the Value Proposition Canvas?
A: A tool that zooms into two blocks of the BMC: Customer Profile (jobs, pains, gains) and Value Map (products, pain relievers, gain creators) to ensure fit.

Q: What are "customer jobs" in the Value Proposition Canvas?
A: The tasks, problems, or needs the customer is trying to address — functional, social, or emotional.

Q: What are "pains" in the Value Proposition Canvas?
A: Negative outcomes, risks, or obstacles the customer experiences when trying to get their jobs done.

Q: What are "gains" in the Value Proposition Canvas?
A: Positive outcomes or benefits the customer desires or would be surprised by — including functional, social, and emotional gains.

Q: What is product-market fit (PMF)?
A: The point where your product satisfies a strong market demand — customers are buying, using, and recommending it, and you can barely keep up.

Q: How did Marc Andreessen describe product-market fit?
A: "You can always feel when product/market fit isn't happening … and you can always feel it when it is happening." It's unmistakable when demand outstrips supply.

Q: What is the Sean Ellis PMF survey question?
A: "How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?" If >40% answer 'very disappointed', you likely have product-market fit.

Q: What are vanity metrics?
A: Metrics that look impressive but don't inform decisions — e.g., total registered users, page views, or downloads without engagement context.

Q: What are actionable metrics?
A: Metrics that demonstrate cause and effect and can inform business decisions — e.g., activation rate, retention rate, revenue per user.

Q: What is the "One Metric That Matters" (OMTM)?
A: Focusing on a single key metric at each stage of your startup that best measures progress toward your current goal.

Q: What is the pirate metrics framework (AARRR)?
A: Dave McClure's framework: Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral — tracking the full user lifecycle.

Q: What does "Acquisition" measure in AARRR?
A: How users find and arrive at your product — measured by traffic, sign-ups, or app installs by channel.

Q: What does "Activation" measure in AARRR?
A: Whether users have a great first experience — reaching the "aha moment" that demonstrates the product's value.

Q: What does "Retention" measure in AARRR?
A: Whether users come back and continue using the product over time — often the most critical metric for long-term success.

Q: What does "Revenue" measure in AARRR?
A: Whether users pay for the product — conversion from free to paid, average revenue per user (ARPU), and LTV.

Q: What does "Referral" measure in AARRR?
A: Whether users recommend the product to others — viral coefficient, NPS, and organic sharing rates.

Q: What is cohort analysis?
A: Tracking groups of users who share a common start date to understand how behaviour changes over time — essential for measuring true retention.

Q: What is the difference between monthly and weekly retention?
A: Weekly retention provides faster signals in early-stage products; monthly retention is standard for SaaS and gives a smoother long-term view.

Q: What is TAM (Total Addressable Market)?
A: The total revenue opportunity available if your product achieved 100% market share — the broadest measure of market size.

Q: What is SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)?
A: The portion of TAM that your product can realistically serve given your business model, geography, and capabilities.

Q: What is SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)?
A: The portion of SAM you can realistically capture in the near term — your achievable market share considering competition and constraints.

Q: How do you calculate TAM using a top-down approach?
A: Start with industry research data on total market size and narrow down based on your segment — e.g., "The global CRM market is $80B."

Q: How do you calculate TAM using a bottom-up approach?
A: Multiply your price × number of potential customers you can identify — more credible to investors because it's based on real data.

Q: What are the typical startup funding stages?
A: Pre-seed → Seed → Series A → Series B → Series C+ → IPO/Exit.

Q: What is pre-seed funding?
A: Very early capital (typically $50K–$500K) from founders, friends, family, or angel investors to develop an idea and build an initial MVP.

Q: What is seed funding?
A: Capital (typically $500K–$3M) to prove product-market fit, build the team, and get initial traction — often from angel investors or seed-stage VCs.

Q: What is Series A funding?
A: Typically $3M–$15M raised when a startup has demonstrated traction and PMF; used to optimise the product and scale the business model.

Q: What is the difference between Series B and Series C?
A: Series B scales proven models ($15M–$50M); Series C+ expands into new markets, acquisitions, or prepares for IPO ($50M+).

Q: What is a convertible note?
A: A short-term debt instrument that converts into equity at a later funding round, typically with a discount rate and/or valuation cap.

Q: What is a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)?
A: Created by Y Combinator, a simpler alternative to convertible notes — it grants the right to future equity without interest or maturity dates.

Q: What is a valuation cap in a SAFE or convertible note?
A: The maximum valuation at which the investor's money converts to equity, protecting early investors if the next round's valuation is very high.

Q: What is dilution in startup funding?
A: The reduction in existing shareholders' ownership percentage when new shares are issued in a funding round.

Q: What is a pitch deck?
A: A 10–20 slide presentation used to communicate a startup's vision, opportunity, product, traction, team, and fundraising ask to investors.

Q: What are the essential slides in a pitch deck?
A: 1. Problem 2. Solution 3. Market size 4. Product 5. Business model 6. Traction 7. Team 8. Competition 9. Financials 10. Ask.

Q: What makes the "Problem" slide effective?
A: It tells a relatable story that makes the audience feel the pain — ideally with data quantifying the problem's severity and scope.

Q: What makes the "Traction" slide compelling?
A: Showing a growth graph (revenue, users, engagement) trending up and to the right — demonstrating momentum and validation.

Q: What should the "Ask" slide include?
A: The amount you're raising, the key milestones the funds will achieve, and the expected runway — giving investors a clear picture of the opportunity.

Q: What is a cap table?
A: A capitalisation table — a spreadsheet showing equity ownership, dilution percentages, and the value of equity in each funding round.

Q: What is a term sheet?
A: A non-binding document outlining the key terms and conditions of an investment — including valuation, amount, board seats, and protective provisions.

Q: What is runway?
A: The number of months a startup can operate before running out of cash, calculated as: Cash on hand ÷ Monthly burn rate.

Q: What is burn rate?
A: The rate at which a startup spends money each month — calculated as total monthly expenses (gross) or expenses minus revenue (net burn).

Q: What is the "Lean Canvas" by Ash Maurya?
A: An adaptation of the Business Model Canvas optimised for startups, replacing Partners, Activities, Resources, and Relationships with Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, and Unfair Advantage.

Q: What are the 9 blocks of the Lean Canvas?
A: 1. Problem 2. Customer Segments 3. Unique Value Proposition 4. Solution 5. Channels 6. Revenue Streams 7. Cost Structure 8. Key Metrics 9. Unfair Advantage.

Q: What is an "Unfair Advantage" on the Lean Canvas?
A: Something that cannot be easily copied or bought by competitors — e.g., insider knowledge, proprietary technology, network effects, team expertise.

Q: What is the "innovation accounting" concept?
A: A method for measuring startup progress using actionable metrics, learning milestones, and validated experiments — replacing vanity metrics with real learning velocity.

Q: What are the three learning milestones of innovation accounting?
A: 1. Establish the baseline (current metrics) 2. Tune the engine (run experiments to improve metrics) 3. Pivot or persevere based on results.

Q: What is a growth hypothesis?
A: A testable assumption about how new customers will discover your product — testing whether your growth model actually works.

Q: What is a value hypothesis?
A: A testable assumption about whether your product delivers enough value that customers will use it and pay for it.

Q: What is the difference between sustaining and disruptive innovation?
A: Sustaining innovation improves existing products for current customers; disruptive innovation creates new markets or displaces incumbents with simpler, cheaper alternatives (Clayton Christensen).

Q: What is the "Crossing the Chasm" concept?
A: Geoffrey Moore's theory that there is a gap ("chasm") between early adopters and the early majority — startups must target a niche to cross it.

Q: What are the five customer segments in the technology adoption lifecycle?
A: 1. Innovators 2. Early Adopters 3. Early Majority 4. Late Majority 5. Laggards.

Q: Who are "early adopters" and why are they important for startups?
A: Visionary customers willing to take risks on unproven products. They provide critical feedback, case studies, and early revenue.

Q: What is the "Lean" in Lean Startup?
A: Borrowed from lean manufacturing (Toyota Production System) — the principle of eliminating waste (anything that doesn't create value for the customer).

Q: What is a split test (A/B test) in Lean Startup?
A: Running two versions of a feature simultaneously with different user groups to measure which performs better on a specific metric.

Q: What is a "smoke test"?
A: A test to gauge demand before building — e.g., a landing page with a "Buy Now" button that tracks clicks to validate willingness to pay.

Q: What is the "Engine of Growth" concept?
A: Eric Ries identifies three engines: Sticky (retention-driven), Viral (referral-driven), and Paid (advertising-driven) — each with its own key metrics.

Q: What is the Sticky Engine of Growth?
A: Growth driven by high customer retention — the key metric is churn rate, and growth occurs when new customer acquisition exceeds churn.

Q: What is the Viral Engine of Growth?
A: Growth driven by users inviting other users — the key metric is the viral coefficient (k). If k > 1, growth is exponential.

Q: What is the Paid Engine of Growth?
A: Growth driven by paying to acquire customers (ads, sales) — sustainable when Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) exceeds Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

Q: What is the LTV/CAC ratio and what's a healthy target?
A: Customer Lifetime Value ÷ Customer Acquisition Cost. A healthy ratio is 3:1 or higher — meaning each customer is worth 3× what it costs to acquire them.

Q: What is "premature scaling"?
A: Scaling the business (hiring, marketing spend) before achieving product-market fit — the #1 cause of startup failure according to Startup Genome.

Q: What are the signs of premature scaling?
A: 1. Spending heavily on marketing before retention is strong 2. Hiring ahead of revenue 3. Building features no one asked for 4. Low engagement despite high sign-ups.

Q: What is a "pivot table" in Lean Startup?
A: Not a spreadsheet tool — it's a record of each pivot a startup makes, documenting what was learned and why the direction changed.

Q: What is the role of the founder/CEO in Lean Startup?
A: To be the chief experimenter — running the learning loop, making pivot-or-persevere decisions, and ensuring the team stays focused on validated learning.

Q: What is a "minimum viable team"?
A: The smallest team needed to execute the Build-Measure-Learn loop effectively — typically a hacker (builder), hustler (seller), and designer.

Q: What qualities should co-founders have?
A: Complementary skills (technical + business), shared values, resilience, and the ability to have honest, difficult conversations.

Q: What is a vesting schedule?
A: A timeline over which founders or employees earn their equity — typically 4 years with a 1-year cliff, meaning 25% vests after year 1, then monthly.

Q: What is a one-year cliff in vesting?
A: If a co-founder or employee leaves before 12 months, they receive no equity — protecting the company from short-term departures.

Q: What is the "Jobs to Be Done" (JTBD) framework?
A: A theory by Clayton Christensen: customers don't buy products — they "hire" them to do a job. Understanding the job leads to better innovation.

Q: How does JTBD complement Lean Startup?
A: JTBD helps you identify the right problem to solve; Lean Startup helps you validate and iterate on the solution efficiently.

Q: What is a North Star Metric?
A: The single metric that best captures the core value your product delivers to customers — aligning the entire company around one goal.

Q: Give examples of North Star Metrics.
A: Airbnb: Nights booked · Slack: Daily active users sending messages · Shopify: Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).

Q: What is the "riskiest assumption test" (RAT)?
A: Identifying your startup's most dangerous assumption and designing an experiment to test it first — failing fast on the biggest risk.