Your editor just came across a powerful lean startup tool developed by Google Ventures (GV) which gets entrepreneurs to a quick outcome. Using an intense five days of focus (above) the hypotheses can reach “go” or “no go” in one week. Working together in a “sprint”, a team can shortcut the debate cycle and compress months of time into a single week. One can fast-forward into the future to see your finished product and customer reactions, before making any expensive commitments. It is true compressed lean startup, and inside of a larger course on entrepreneurship has its clear purpose. Here’s a 4-minute video about the concept:
I am enthusiastic about the process, and see it making students and entrepreneurs more successful by getting to customer development quicker. Fail fast, fail often.
Understand – The sprint starts by expanding our understanding of this space by learning the design philosophy of this new form factor. This philosophy provides the foundation upon which participants will build their ideas and prototypes.