Scientific Entrepreneurship

I'm an engineer in training. The philosophy of the book on the lean startup sounds quite familiar with how we conduct scientific experiments. The author, Eric Ries, is an engineer in training, too. I think he probably found inspiration from his engineering background, too.

To conduct an scientific experiment, we need to measure and control parameters, and then we can analyze and make improvements. That's exactly the same principles in startups. Eric coined a new expression for it, innovation accounting. Entrepreneurs need to find an effective way to measure the business impact of innovations. Paying attention to the gross number of customers alone is not enough, since it does not provide insights into the reasons behind the dynamics of the customer number.

The second thing about scientific experimentation is start simple. Science usually starts with simple models and ends up with complex inferences. This principle applies to startups. Eric suggests minimal viable product (MVP). To be serious, I find the MVP is hard to define in reality. Since when we are really starting a company, we don't really know what is necessary and what is redundant, and thus unable to really define a MVP. However, the idea Eric is trying to convince the reader is push the product to the market fast. Early stage adopters usually provide essential feedback for the entrepreneurs, which saves entrepreneurs a lot of energy.

Associated with the idea of the MVP is start with small batches rather than large-scale manufacture. This actually reminds me of the 3D printing, which is revolutionizing the manufacture industry. Currently, 3D printing is best in making prototypes and suitable in making small batches. 3D printing technology provides the technical support for the lean entrepreneurs. The conclusion here is that the landscape of technology is changing, and the culture of entrepreneurship is changing, too.