Initiation (1)

Lifecycle Stage

In the Initiation Stage, someone has an idea for a new value stream.

Purpose

“In the Initiation stage (1), your business is just an idea for a new product or service. It has no agency of its own yet. Like a newborn, it needs regular care and attention, or else it just withers and dies.

You might call it the familiarization or the preparation level. It is the level at which you start exploring the feasibility and viability of the idea and your purpose as a founder/entrepreneur or an intrapreneur of a corporate startup. In this stage, you earn your income with another role or job, and perhaps you have some discussions with friends or colleagues who, at the next levels, might become your co-founders or team members.

What you need to complete at this first level is your Product Vision and any preparations for seeking Product/Solution Fit, which is the search that happens at the next level. This stage ends when you have been able to secure a small amount of time and resources to start the research and begin the actual game.”

Notes

The text on this page is adapted from the book Startup, Scaleup, Screwup by Jurgen Appelo.

Rules / Constraints

  • We have identified no rules/constraints yet.

Free book chapter

We offer a free chapter from the book Startup, Scaleup, Screwup, which describes the Lifecycle Stages in more detail. Sign up to our newsletter to get access to the free download!

“Life is in stages. There is a stage where, like grasshoppers, we hop from grass to grass. And another, where we move from grass to grace.”

(Source: Michael Bassey Johnson)