Nascent Startups: How to spend your first 100 days and $100 when you have an idea for a tech business (hint: leverage market research superpowers)

You want to create an impactful business – maybe even a “unicorn” worth $1B. You’re at the nascent stage: you’ve got the kernel of an idea, but no customers, no product and no funding. So, what do you do first? Conventional lean methodology doesn’t apply because it’s focused on customers, and you have none. So, no, don’t build a minimum-viable product to achieve product-market fit. And definitely don’t validate hypotheses nor pitch investors. Instead, use nascent startups as an on-ramp to lean startup. Nascent startups is a set of strategies to quickly characterize whether your business idea is a 1-in-1,000,000 distraction or a 1-in-100 opportunity worth pursuing.

Key takeaways:

1. The unique challenge of the nascent stage of creating a new business.
2. Why conventional “lean” entrepreneurship theory doesn’t apply to the nascent stage.
3. Action items for founders of nascent startups, starting with hands-on market research.