Testing Business Ideas A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation

A practical guide to effective business model testing

7 out of 10 new products fail to deliver on expectations. Testing Business Ideas aims to reverse that statistic. In the tradition of Alex Osterwalder’s global bestseller Business Model Generation, this practical guide contains a library of hands-on techniques for rapidly testing new business ideas.

Testing Business Ideas explains how systematically testing business ideas dramatically reduces the risk and increases the likelihood of success for any new venture or business project. It builds on the internationally popular Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas by integrating Assumptions Mapping and other powerful lean startup-style experiments.

Testing Business Ideas uses an engaging 4-color format to:

• Increase the success of any venture and decrease the risk of wasting time, money, and resources on bad ideas
• Close the knowledge gap between strategy and experimentation/validation
• Identify and test your key business assumptions with the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas

A definitive field guide to business model testing, this book features practical tips for making major decisions that are not based on intuition and guesses. Testing Business Ideas shows leaders how to encourage an experimentation mindset within their organization and make experimentation a continuous, repeatable process. 

David J. Bland
Author and founder based in Silicon Valley who helps companies find growth using "Lean Startup" methods, design thinking, and business model innovation.

Alex Osterwalder
Lead author of the international bestsellers Business Model Generation and Value Proposition Design; #7 on the "Thinkers 50" list; passionate entrepreneur; and in-demand speaker.

1 Design

Design the Team p. 3

Shape the Idea p. 15

2 Test

Hypothesize p. 27

Experiment p. 41

Learn p. 49

Decide p. 59

Manage p. 65

3 Experiments

Select an Experiment p. 91

Discovery p. 101

Validation p. 231

4 Mindset

Avoid Experiment Pitfalls p. 313

Lead through Experimentation p. 317

Organize for Experiments p. 323

Afterword p. 329

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