Lean Startups for Social Change

The Revolutionary Path to Big Impact

By: Michel Gelobter

Narrated by: Matt Morea

"There's a new way to change the world," writes social entrepreneur Michel Gelobter. It's called the lean startup - but it's not just for new ventures. It's been revolutionizing businesses of all ages for years, and Gelobter shows it can have the same transformative impact on the social sector.

Traditionally, an entrepreneur develops a detailed plan, finds money to fund it, and then pursues it to its conclusion. But conditions can change drastically at any point - you can end up locked into a process based on now-obsolete assumptions. The lean startup is all about agility and flexibility. Its mantra is "build, measure, learn": create small, experimental initiatives, get real-world feedback on them quickly, and use that data to identify what works and discard what doesn't. And then test some more.

Gelobter explains exactly how nonprofits and advocacy organizations can adapt lean startup concepts to their unique circumstances. He offers dozens of real-world examples: an established homelessness group whose data analysis showed that reducing a single overlooked metric could get many more people off the street; a technology-based literacy startup that used lean techniques to reach two million children in two years when a more traditional program took 15; and many others. The standard approach wastes time and money - the lean startup promises to help social sector organizations vastly increase the good they do.

©2015 Michel Gelobter (P)2015 Michel Gelobter

Great resource for applying lean startup for good

Michel provides detailed steps for applying the popular Lean Startup methodology to 'not for profit' organizations. A must read for those in government and nonprofits who want to use their resources effectively while having a huge impact in their programs and initiatives.

Good content read and edited poorly

As a social entrepreneur operating a nonprofit, this Bol is not earth shattering. It is a good refresher of solid concepts and principles. The problem was the execution as an audiobook. Section titles were poorly read with no pause or indication to the listener that a transition was happening. Incredibly difficult to listen to.