{"id":801,"date":"2013-05-30T14:21:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T14:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/?p=801"},"modified":"2021-03-26T12:35:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T12:35:43","slug":"lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products – What does it all mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The<\/a>
Image taken by flickr.com\/betsyweber\/<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you are relatively new to ‘startup land’ <\/em>you’ll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you’ll hear over and over are Lean Startups <\/em>or Lean Methodology <\/em>and Minimum Viable Product <\/em>or simply MVP <\/em>– and for good reason. <\/em>If you are building a startup, paying attention to these two terms and abiding by them is almost mandatory if you want to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all started with the book shown in the image<\/a> and is an essential read for any budding entrepreneur, but assuming you haven’t the time to do that right now, I’m going to explain the two most important aspects of what can quickly be learned from this book. But before that…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How it used to work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-Internet, and more recently pre-SaaS, the path to building and launching a product used to follow a fairly well defined path. This can be approximated to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. You have an idea<\/li>
  2. You carry out a lot of expensive market research to test the validity of that idea<\/li>
  3. You specify the product<\/li>
  4. You build the product (or commission others to do it for you)<\/li>
  5. You market and distribute the product<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The real problem with this approach is that it is extremely costly and time-consuming, and until you proceed beyond stage 5, you cannot be certain that people really want what you have. Even with extensive market research, there usually exists a gap between what people say they want\/do, and what they actually want\/do. If this gap is a large one, you have a very expensive<\/em> problem on your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How it works now<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For online solutions, the Internet now enables us to rapidly build simple prototypes, release them to the demanding public, and see if they love it or loathe it. This is fantastic as you can quickly obtain real feedback about your product, what works and what doesn’t, make changes and repeat. It is this approach that leads us to Lean Startups and MVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Lean Startup & the MVP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Essentially you need to understand that your idea will rely on a number of key assumptions. If these assumptions are wrong then you run the risk of failure with your product. With this in mind, the initial step is one of minimisation. Ask yourself the question “What is the least amount of work I have to do to test whether my assumptions are correct?”<\/em>. Step 2 becomes self-apparent, carry out that work and test those assumptions. Only once those assumptions are proved should you move to the next step, if the assumptions fail, go back to the drawing-board, adjust, tweak or pivot, until you find out what strikes a chord with your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So back to the definition. The Lean Startup <\/em>is the business that carries out these activities in order to build a product that people want, through many stages of small iterations. The Minimum Viable Product<\/em> is the absolute minimum of solutions you can deliver that provides value to your customers and helps you to test your assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At this point, it’s important to understand that an MVP isn’t necessarily a piece of software. Writing bespoke software is very time-consuming and requires software developers (which if stories are to be believed are quite hard to come by at the moment). It’s very easy to think that software is required to test your assumptions on the world. It’s at this stage where creative thinking can really pay for itself. Think long and hard about what the easiest, cheapest and quickest ways of testing your assumptions are. Also remember that what people say and what people do are rarely the same thing, so while it is okay to ask people their opinion, do not rely on it. A negative can be used to disprove your assumptions, but a positive cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To summarise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I wouldn’t be doing Eric Ries justice by claiming that this is all you need to know from his book, but it is these two principles that will ensure that you set off in the right direction and don’t waste valuable resources (time \/ money \/ people) on building something that nobody wants or needs. It’s all about remembering your core offering and thinking “Does it really need this feature?” <\/em>rather than “Wouldn’t it be cool if it did this?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I hope this has helped you understand lean startups and minimum viable products, and why it’s what we are all talking about at the moment. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences, do get in touch or leave a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you are relatively new to ‘startup land’ you’ll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you’ll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP – and for good reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[112,113,127,133,155,195],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-2","tag-lean-methodology","tag-lean-startup","tag-minimum-viable-product","tag-mvp","tag-product-design","tag-startup"],"yoast_head":"\nLean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Flinca Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Wattis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@flincauk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@flincauk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Wattis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philip Wattis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/387cd5483031c1f896258d25b3a51cdd\"},\"headline\":\"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products – What does it all mean?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":788,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"lean methodology\",\"lean startup\",\"minimum viable product\",\"mvp\",\"product design\",\"startup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Image taken by flickr.com\\\/betsyweber\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products – What does it all mean?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Flinca Blog\",\"description\":\"A Brummie Talks Tech Startups\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Flinca Ltd\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/fstar-e1616687729648.jpg?fit=64%2C64&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/fstar-e1616687729648.jpg?fit=64%2C64&ssl=1\",\"width\":64,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Flinca Ltd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/flincauk\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/387cd5483031c1f896258d25b3a51cdd\",\"name\":\"Philip Wattis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Philip Wattis\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.flinca.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/philw123\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog","description":"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog","og_description":"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/","og_site_name":"Flinca Blog","article_published_time":"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Wattis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@flincauk","twitter_site":"@flincauk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Wattis","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/"},"author":{"name":"Philip Wattis","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/387cd5483031c1f896258d25b3a51cdd"},"headline":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products – What does it all mean?","datePublished":"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/"},"wordCount":788,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","keywords":["lean methodology","lean startup","minimum viable product","mvp","product design","startup"],"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/","url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/","name":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products - What does it all mean? - Flinca Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","datePublished":"2013-05-30T14:21:14+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-26T12:35:43+00:00","description":"If you are relatively new to 'startup land' you'll likely be hearing many terms that sound alien to you. Two you'll hear over and over are Lean Startups or Lean Methodology and Minimum Viable Product or simply MVP - and for good reason.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"Image taken by flickr.com\/betsyweber\/"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/lean-startups-minimum-viable-products-what-does-it-all-mean\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lean Startups & Minimum Viable Products – What does it all mean?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/","name":"Flinca Blog","description":"A Brummie Talks Tech Startups","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Flinca Ltd","url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/fstar-e1616687729648.jpg?fit=64%2C64&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/fstar-e1616687729648.jpg?fit=64%2C64&ssl=1","width":64,"height":64,"caption":"Flinca Ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/flincauk"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/387cd5483031c1f896258d25b3a51cdd","name":"Philip Wattis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8bc056e5ab24cce1e197c038e341d25732daad60ea22b4c1359d4983a309e8bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Philip Wattis"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/author\/philw123\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lean_startup.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1020,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/the-lean-startup-myth\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":0},"title":"The Lean Startup Myth","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"19 April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lean Startup is a legendary book in technology startup circles and not without good reason. The methods discussed by its author, Eric Ries have created a blueprint that many budding entrepreneurs make avid use of in their quest for success. Indeed, many refer to it as THE Startup Bible.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Strategy"","block_context":{"text":"Strategy","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/business-2\/strategy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lean Startup - Eric Ries","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TheLeanStartup.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TheLeanStartup.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TheLeanStartup.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TheLeanStartup.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1049,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/starting-without-a-cto-the-no-code-mvp\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":1},"title":"Starting without a CTO – The no-code MVP","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"4 May 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've ever had a smart tech idea and the only thing holding you back was a failure to find someone who shared your vision and build the product, then you are not alone.","rel":"","context":"In "Strategy"","block_context":{"text":"Strategy","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/business-2\/strategy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Do you need any code?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lines_of_code.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lines_of_code.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lines_of_code.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lines_of_code.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1087,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/5-reasons-to-avoid-outsourcing-your-product-development\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":2},"title":"5 reasons to avoid outsourcing your product development","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"5 July 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A familiar problem that I frequently encounter when engaging with very early stage startups is the lack of a product, and a lack of a technical co-founder who can also build that product.","rel":"","context":"In "Strategy"","block_context":{"text":"Strategy","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/business-2\/strategy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I'm not just a programmer - I am a machine!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lego_programmer.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lego_programmer.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lego_programmer.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lego_programmer.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lego_programmer.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1122,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-a-technology-strategy\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":3},"title":"The importance of a Technology Strategy","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"10 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The importance of having a Technology Strategy for your startup cannot be underestimated. To choose wrongly could prove to be an enormously costly mistake that only becomes apparent many months later. Before a line of code is written, having the right Technology Strategy in place will save you time and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Strategy"","block_context":{"text":"Strategy","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/business-2\/strategy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Choosing the right Technology Strategy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/technology_strategy.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/technology_strategy.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/technology_strategy.jpg?fit=600%2C399&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1225,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/7-reasons-your-startup-cannot-secure-a-cto\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":4},"title":"7 reasons your startup cannot secure a CTO","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"22 March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There are two questions I am asked by new startup founders far more frequently than anything else. The first is 'How can I raise funds to finance my product build?' and the second, 'Where can I find a CTO to help build my product?'","rel":"","context":"In "Cofounders"","block_context":{"text":"Cofounders","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/cofounders\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Searching the Galaxy for a CTO","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cto_search.jpg?fit=1200%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cto_search.jpg?fit=1200%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cto_search.jpg?fit=1200%2C601&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cto_search.jpg?fit=1200%2C601&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/cto_search.jpg?fit=1200%2C601&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":946,"url":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/why-stealth-mode-will-hurt-your-startup\/","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":5},"title":"Why ‘stealth mode’ will hurt your startup","author":"Philip Wattis","date":"16 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On my travels I talk with many startups and occasionally come across a few that are so protective of what they are doing, they are unwilling to even tell you about it - other than how great it will be and how it will change the world! This is often\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Strategy"","block_context":{"text":"Strategy","link":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/category\/business-2\/strategy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image taken by flickr.com\/photos\/jeriaska\/","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stealth_mode.jpg?fit=600%2C414&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stealth_mode.jpg?fit=600%2C414&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/stealth_mode.jpg?fit=600%2C414&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1301,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions\/1301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flinca.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}