WWOT: Anyone into the lean startup thing? (gear related or not)

[iodine74]

Obviously we've got some of the builders here, many of which would be considered startups.  Just curious about others.  I know we've got the gamit of folks on this board, lots of folks in or just out of school.

Just started working out our company's internal incubator a few weeks ago.  They've got me digging into Lean Startup, and doing Steve Blank's class on UDacity (great way to learn BTW).  Learning a ton, thinking how I can apply some of this personally (maybe related to gear world/maybe not).

[SynapticGroove]

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iodine74 wrote:

 

Obviously we've got some of the builders here, many of which would be considered startups.  Just curious about others.  I know we've got the gamit of folks on this board, lots of folks in or just out of school.

 

Just started working out our company's internal incubator a few weeks ago.  They've got me digging into Lean Startup, and doing Steve Blank's class on UDacity (great way to learn BTW).  Learning a ton, thinking how I can apply some of this personally (maybe related to gear world/maybe not).

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There's a great read on ? about how to create 'simple' products with 'small teams of smart people'.  It's an interesting read, especially for those that want to grow their own company.  While not specifically related to music gear, it does a great job of illustrating how Jobs & Wozniak transitioned from a garage into seed money into the innovation machine they are today.  Before starting our company, I worked for Apple as part of iOS development.  It was an experience!

Here's a link: Insanely Simple : Ken Segall

Per the music industry, the one thing I've discovered is that when you are starting out, building occupies maybe 15% of the time.  Marketing, dealer repping, trademarks, articles of organization, business accounts, etc...easily take up the other 85%.  Exponential growth is great but can ruin a startup by overextension, i.e. you ramp up for production and then get left holding the bag when a big retailer wants to move on to the next thing.  I've discussed this with many professional manufacturers and realized, early on and through their experience, that being 'small' is a good thing.  9 out of 10 businesses fail due to financial malfeasance, ignorance of running a business, growing too big way too fast, or a finicky market.

This is a topic that needs to be addressed on here and will provide insight for everyone building or thinking of building a company.

Thanks for starting it!

[macadood]

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SynapticGroove wrote:

 

Here's a link: 

Insanely Simple : Ken Segall

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Thanks Ken!