The Lean Startup methodology is a framework developed by Eric Ries for building businesses and products through validated learning, rapid experimentation, and iterative development. Its central goal is to reduce waste and uncertainty by replacing traditional business planning with a cycle of hypothesis testing. Ries introduced these ideas in his 2011 book The Lean Startup, drawing on three intellectual traditions: lean manufacturing (especially the Toyota Production System), agile software development, and Steve Blank's customer development methodology.
The "Lean" in Lean Startup borrows directly from lean manufacturing. The core principle is eliminating waste, meaning anything that does not create value for the customer. In a startup context, waste includes building features nobody wants, hiring ahead of revenue, and pursuing strategies without evidence. Combined with agile development's emphasis on short iteration cycles and customer development's focus on direct customer engagement, the Lean Startup offers a unified approach to launching new ventures under conditions of extreme uncertainty.
Lean thinking is complemented by two important concepts from Christensen and Moore. Clayton Christensen's distinction between sustaining and disruptive innovation reminds founders that improving an existing product for current customers is fundamentally different from creating a new market or displacing incumbents with simpler, cheaper alternatives. Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm" concept argues that there is a gap between visionary early adopters and the pragmatic early majority; startups must focus tightly on a niche to bridge it. The five segments of the technology adoption lifecycle, namely innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards, frame the journey a startup must take from visionaries to mainstream customers.