With a new-age business start-up becoming a desirable career option, fresh graduates are wondering whether to strike out on their own or opt for a stable corporate job. Students might have an innovative idea and a business plan, but many fail to succeed because they lack the skill to plan for the future and manage risks.
Lean Start-up is a scientific approach that helps one understand when to drive the business with full acceleration, when to steer away, and the importance of customer feedback over the intuitive approach. It helps take a principled approach to developing new products and is important for youngsters trying to innovate and launch a new product. Often such ventures fail due to lack of market research and inability to eliminate uncertainty. However certain management courses like the BBA are including specialised courses like the Lean Start-up to help students build the necessary skills.
Way forward
Experiential learning: Case-based learning opens up opportunities to understand real-world issues, complexities and solutions. The course will help students stay abreast of the latest happenings and also learn through guest lectures, seminars and internships.
Accounting for innovation: To build a lean start-up, the first step is to improve the outcomes of the business. Focusing on basic things like how to set milestones and measure progress and which task has to be prioritised are important. The course empowers the students to become accountable for their own work through a rigorous curriculum that offers project work, assignments and assessments.
Academic and industry knowledge: While understanding market opportunity plays a big role in designing a suitable product or service, it is also important to keep a watch on the industry-wide pulse. Students are constantly encouraged to go for online courses that help them understand theoretical knowledge such as understanding economics and market realities, financial management, and funding for entrepreneurs.
Identification of problems and risks: Business plans can be easy to look at but their implementation is difficult. Budding entrepreneurs should be able to factor in the risk involved and identify the problem at the earliest. To build a lean start-up, entrepreneurs must know the problem and the solution fit, which can be done through critical and analytical thinking.
The writer is Director, SCMS Pune
