Page 146 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success
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CHAPTER SIX
Startup Agility
Executing with Focused Flexibility
“A startup is an experiment: An inquiry into how the world might look
under the vision of the startup’s founders.”
—Eric Ries, Co-Founder, IMVU
Despite the eagerness and optimism of passionate entrepreneurs,
there is no such thing as a sure thing. Each new venture is a learning
lab in which the founder’s ambitions and ideas are tested against mar-
ket realities and cold financial facts. The birth of a business is an in-
herently creative process in which possibilities are generated, torn
apart, refined, and reconstituted, all to adapt to environmental un-
certainty that will persist long after the startup phase.
Passionate founders must especially guard against betting the bulk
of their resources onto a singular, unforgiving strategy. As we move
into the second decade of the twenty-first century, commercial mar-
kets are increasingly turbulent due to the transformational effect of
technology on all facets of business and life, redefining how products
and services are designed, produced, purchased, delivered, and serv-
iced.1 Amid this uncertainty, executing with agility is more vital than
ever.
American Management Association • www.amanet.org
