Like the idea of focus on a single core progression for a startup. Very much like the list of Gotchas and Edge Cases. My favorite:
>5. Getting Test Users. I often hear people rationalize a PR push as the only way they can get enough users to test product market fit.
...
The solution isn’t PR, it’s go to some events and make some friends in that market.
This is the single best concise description of the steps to grow a startup. Nice job, Tony.
Only one thing to add. As my co-founder put it...
"The one thing missing is to get basic validation before coding via mockups. I think that's super key especially for devs who are looking for any excuse to avoid taking to potential customers and to get on with coding."
That's a good point. I wish there was a little bit more talk in lean about validating before coding. I don't think Customer Development and MVP covers the range of things people do here.
This book: http://www.runningleanhq.com/ called Running Lean is a concise how-to for Lean Srartups. I think it is the only book that gives you real specifics.
I'm glad you got that. I cut out a part about how this approach explains why Lean is called Lean. It doesn't mean cheap, it means spend your money and time efficiently.