This is an image of Eric Ries at the London Lean Startup conference. Flickr|betsyweber
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Executive’s On topic column is a series covering startup concepts; bringing the field’s buzzwords to a broader audience and getting into the nitty gritty for those already familiar with the terms. As increasing activity and success stories begin to surface in Lebanon’s startup ecosystem, Executive sees this as an opportune time to bring these ideas to the business-savvy mainstream and anyone interested in following the sector’s development. The lean startup method of product development is based on cutting out extraneous elements when building a product and testing it fast to adapt quickly to consumer reactions. It was proposed by Eric Ries, a coder, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and avid blogger, who first ventured the idea in a 2008 blog post and expanded it in his 2011 book titled “The Lean Startup”. The idea has roots in lean manufacturing, particularly in Japanese auto manufacturing company Toyota’s production system whose philosophy and management practices
