Earlyvangelist: Why Alpha Users Beat Beta for Customer Development
An earlyvangelist tolerates bugs and tells you what's broken. Learn why releasing to passionate alpha users beats months of building on assumptions.
Blog
206 articles on innovation, lean startup, and entrepreneurship
How to Test Your Business Model Before Beta — Even with $3.95
Break your business model into testable hypotheses and validate them early. Learn how one startup earned $3.95 in pre-beta revenue using lean principles.
Two Sided Marketplace Customer Development: Network Effects
Customer development for a two sided marketplace has no playbook yet. Learn to validate network effects by narrowing markets and bootstrapping data.
Why Shared Experiences Beat Shared Books for Team Alignment
True team alignment doesn't come from reading the same books. Learn how shared experiences help startup teams build less and create more value.
Wizard of Oz Prototype Example: Why Our 82.9% Survey Lied
Our survey showed 82.9% willingness, but zero users posted pitches. Here's how a Wizard of Oz prototype helped us test real behavior instead of opinions.
The Taxonomy of the Lean Startup Pivot: A Framework
A practical taxonomy of lean startup pivot types — product, use case, market, and zoom — to plan structured changes before your model fails.
Customer Development: Why Fight-or-Flight Shapes How You Build
Customer development means channeling fight instinct into engagement. Learn why the best founders run toward customers, not away from them.
How to Create a Prototype: 51 Revisions Without Code
Learn how Photoshop mockups and screen-share testing produced 51 design revisions in 18 days — no code required. A rapid prototyping approach for startups.
How to Do Customer Discovery: Practice Shutting Up and Listening
The hardest part of customer discovery is shutting up. Learn an unconventional way to build your listening muscle and stop biasing customer responses.
Evaluative Research: Why Talking to Customers Isn't Enough
Evaluative research means listening, not guiding. Learn the interview technique that revealed critical product gaps six reviewers missed.
Principles of Management: Controlled Burns and Firebreaks
Stop firefighting and fix root causes. Learn how controlled burns and firebreaks can improve hiring, product/market fit, and startup survival.
Innovation Investment: Why Bad Economies Are Prime Time for Startups
Recessions create ideal startup conditions—better co-founders, weaker competition, and forced focus. Learn why innovation investment thrives in downturns.