An introduction to using Lean Startup principles in your social good organization, presented by Lean Impact in partnership with Indiegogo, Change.org and Eventbrite.

1. Lean for
Social Good 101
We’ll start in a few minutes…
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org

2. What we’re talking about today
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Lean Startup – what is it and why should I care?
The basic principles of Lean Startup
How to test your idea, campaign, product or service, BEFORE
spending money
How you can get started using Lean, with Eventbrite and
Change.org and Indiegogo
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

3. You’ll get the deck
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We’ll send you the deck after the webinar
Also on Slideshare
You’ll get a copy of The Ultimate Dictionary of Lean for Social
Good
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

4. Who am I?
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I’m the co-founder of Lean Impact, helping
social good organizations apply Lean
Startup principles
I work with social good organizations
through my company, Start Somewhere
I’ve worked at tech startups and have
founded companies using Lean methods
Fun fact: I run the blog “When You Work At
A Nonprofit”
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

5. About our partners
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We’ve chosen these companies because:
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They were founded on Lean principles
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You already know them (probably)
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They enable you to get started with Lean
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

6. Lean for
Social Good 101
Let’s get started…
Lean Impact www.leanimpact.org

7. What do we mean by “Lean”?
The old definition:
Having no money
Doing more with less
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

8. What do we mean by “Lean”?
The new definition:
Lean organizations develop products, services and campaigns by
starting small, soliciting user feedback along the way, ensuring they
are continually developing something that users want,
and pivoting if necessary.
The overall goal is to reduce waste:
wasted time, wasted effort, and wasted money.
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

9. Where Lean came from
Eric Ries’ book The Lean Startup
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

10. But actually, that came from…
Lean manufacturing, from Toyota
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

11. The old way: startups
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Have an idea
Start working on it, behind closed doors
Take funding to build it
Take 18-24 months to finish it
Release it to the world
Expect people to buy it
Idea
Build
@leanimpact
Launch, Meas
ure, Learn
#leanimpact

12. The old way: startups
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have an idea
Start working on it, behind closed doors
Take funding to build it
Take 18-24 months to finish it
Release it to the world
Expect people to buy it
Idea
Build
@leanimpact
Launch,
Measure,
Learn
Dud
(90% of the
time)
#leanimpact

13. The old way: startups
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have an idea
Start working on it, behind closed doors
Take funding to build it
Take 18-24 months to finish it
Release it to the world
Expect people to buy it
Idea
Build
@leanimpact
Customer feedback
comes here
Launch,
Measure,
Learn
Dud
(90% of the
time)
#leanimpact

14. The old way: social good
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Have an idea for a program, service, campaign, etc.
Put staff on it
Take many months to finish it
Release the pilot to the world
Feedback comes here
Expect it to be successful
Idea
Build
@leanimpact
Launch,
Measure,
Learn
??
#leanimpact

15. The new way: startups
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Have an idea
Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Get it in the hands of customers
Gather feedback
Make refinements
And on and on
Idea
Build
Measure,
Learn
User Feedback
@leanimpact
Build
Measure,
Learn
User Feedback
#leanimpact

16. The new way: startups
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have an idea
Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Get it in the hands of customers
Gather feedback
Make refinements
And on and on
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

17. The new way: startups
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have an idea
Create a Minimum Viable Product
Get it in the hands of customers
Gather feedback
Build
Make refinements
And on and on
User
Feedback
Measure
Learn
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

18. Basically…
BUILD
Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that you can get
into the hands of customers quickly
MEASURE
Use metrics see how customers use your MVP
LEARN
Learn from these results. Either continue on the same
course, continue with some modifications, or pivot.
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

19. Why should social good
organizations care?
• Time and money are at a premium
• You can’t afford to waste months on something that may
or may not work
• You need to find out quickly if something is viable, so you
can either pursue it or ditch it
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

20. What is a Minimum Viable
Product?
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an early version of a
product or service, and contains only the bare minimum
features that allow it to be deployed to early users.
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

21. What type of feedback?
• “Get out of the building”
• Putting the product or service in front of the people who
will actually use it
• What happens when they use it
What it’s not:
• Online surveys
• Phone calls
• Polls
• “Would you use this?”
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

22. Fasal
• SMS-based program designed to give farmers in India
current market prices, so they can sell their crops for a
profit
• Started with a Minimum Viable Product
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

23. Fasal
• Final product vision: SMS messages automatically sent
to users
• MVP version: One of the team members manually sent
SMS price alerts to early users
• Final product vision: Voice response technology would
send daily automated phone calls with price updates
• MVP version: One of the team members recorded the
“automated” voice
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

24. Fasal
• The Fasal team studied how early users used the service
• Only when they were sure that people would use the
service, did they invest in building out the full vision
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

25. Key Elements of an MVP
• No cost / low cost
• Easy set-up and maintenance
• Measurable
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

26. Why create an MVP?
It allows you to test your assumptions:
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See if there’s a need for it, before you invest in something
Find out if it’s a viable idea worth your team’s time
Eliminate wasted time
Eliminate wasted money
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If people will use it, THEN start building it out
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

27. Let’s talk about assumptions
We base a lot of our work on assumptions
(it’s not just you, everyone does it)
A few assumptions:
• X group needs more information on Y (it’s an information problem)
• Our donors want to hear more about X issue (we know our donors)
• The best thing to help X group, is Y service (we know how to help
them)
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

28. Disproving Assumptions:
Lean Impact
• Circa January 2013
• Assumption: People will pay $20 for an online conference, to learn
about Lean Startup in the social good space
• MVP:
• Lining up a few speakers
• Basic website
• Eventbrite registration
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

29. Disproving Assumptions:
Lean Impact
• Assumption: DISPROVED
• We sold 4 tickets
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

30. Disproving Assumptions:
Lean Impact
• As a result:
• Gathered feedback from our audience
• Planned launch parties in New York, DC and San Francisco
• Each party had over 500 registrants and 300 people through
the door
• By using web tools for our MVP , we saved money and had our
answer in 60 days
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

31. Getting started with MVP
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Low cost (or no cost)
Easy set-up
Built in measurement
Bonuses: list building, social sharing, fundraising, network
effect
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

32. Three case studies
City of Phoenix / David &
Gladys Wright House
Gateway Green
Lesbians Who Tech
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

33. David & Gladys Wright House
• The David & Gladys Wright House was at risk of being
torn down and replaced with luxury homes
• The house was built by Frank Lloyd Wright for his
son, and is an architectural and historical landmark
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

34. David & Gladys Wright House
• The assumption: other residents of Phoenix understand
how important this house is, and want to see it preserved
• The MVP: a Change.org campaign, to see if there is
public support for the house
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

35. David & Gladys Wright House
• Metrics: signatures
• The result:
• 29,000 signatures
• 20,000 opt-in to Save the House email
program
• The house was saved!
“By incorporating their first online petition into a
broader advocacy campaign, FLWBC was able to
harness the passion of their supporters and reach a
much broader audience of people interested in their
cause -- while winning in a big, public way that
generated momentum for future campaigns.”
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

36. Gateway Green
• Gateway Green is a project in Portland, Oregon to turn a
stretch of unused land into a multi-use bike park.
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

37. Gateway Green
• The assumption: residents of Portland want a multi-use
outdoor space for recreation and preservation
• The MVP: an Indiegogo campaign, to see if there is public
support for the project
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

38. Gateway Green
• Metrics: funds raised + funders
• The result:
• $123,880 raised
• 723 funders
“This project will need millions of dollars to be fully
built out. While the crowdfunding campaign will
raise just a small chunk of that, backers see it more
as an opportunity to show the powers-that-be that
the public is behind this project and that it's worth
putting real money into.” – BikePortland.org
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

39. Lesbians Who Tech
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Tech events are 90% male
LGBT events are 90% male
LGBT in Tech events are 90% male
Sometimes it’s hard for LGBT women to find each
other, even within their own company
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

40. Lesbians Who Tech
• The question: Are there other queer women in tech?
• The MVP: Eventbrite events, plus Facebook
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

41. Lesbians Who Tech
• Metric: event registrations
• The Result:
• First event: 25 registrations
• Second event: 75 registrations
• Third event: 150 registrations
• After 3 months: 1,500 registrations
• After one year: 3,000 registrations, chapters in 12
cities
“In three months’ time we were able to build a list of
1,500 people who were interested in what we were
doing. We never could have done that without using
Eventbrite as a tool. “ – Leanne Pittsford, Founder
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

42. In Summary
• Testing ideas through MVP:
• Is less risk than investing months on something
• Is easy to try, using the tools we’ve covered here
• Gives you quick data so you know whether to move
forward
Most people are quick to stop you before you get started,
but hesitant to get in the way if you’re moving!
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

43. Further Reading
• Change.org campaign: Save the David & Gladys Wright
House
• Indiegogo campaign: Gateway Green
• Eventbrite success: Lesbians Who Tech
• The Ultimate Dictionary of Lean for Social Good –
leanimpact.org
• What would The Lean Startup Look Like for Nonprofits?
By Sasha Dichter
• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• Don’t Overthink It by Leah Neaderthal
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

44. Check out our partners
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

45. See it in person
The Lean for Social Good Summit
San Francisco, CA
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Leanimpact.org/san-francisco
@leanimpact
#leanimpact

46. Thanks!
Leah Neaderthal
Co-Founder, Lean Impact
www.leanimpact.org
leah@startsomewhere.com
@leahtn
@leanimpact
#leanimpact