The most successful startups rarely begin with perfect products, unlimited capital, or flawless business plans. Instead, they succeed by learning faster than competitors, validating assumptions with real customers, minimizing waste, adapting quickly to changing markets, and building scalable businesses through continuous experimentation. The Lean Startup methodology has transformed entrepreneurship by replacing guesswork with disciplined learning and strategic execution.
Building a Lean Startup is a practical, executive-oriented course designed to prepare Junior MBA students to launch and grow businesses using lean principles that reduce risk and maximize learning. Rather than emphasizing lengthy planning processes or theoretical entrepreneurship models, the course focuses on customer validation, iterative product development, experimentation, business model innovation, resource efficiency, and sustainable scaling.
Students will explore opportunity discovery, customer development, minimum viable products (MVPs), business model design, lean experimentation, product-market fit, growth systems, financial discipline, innovation management, artificial intelligence, and startup leadership. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on practical application, enabling future entrepreneurs and executives to build organizations that adapt continuously and create long-term value in uncertain environments.
Course Objectives
By the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:
• Understand the Lean Startup methodology as a framework for reducing entrepreneurial risk.
• Develop customer-centered business models based on validated market needs.
• Apply experimentation and rapid learning to business development.
• Design and evaluate minimum viable products that accelerate customer feedback.
• Understand the relationship between product-market fit and sustainable growth.
• Build financially disciplined organizations that maximize resource efficiency.
• Integrate customer feedback into continuous innovation processes.
• Develop scalable systems that support long-term organizational growth.
• Apply data-driven decision-making to startup leadership.
• Build adaptive organizations capable of thriving in rapidly changing markets.
