Happy programmers working on not so lean startups




This article is my effort to bring the founder perspective to a lean team.
Most programmers I know would love to work on a lean startup they are passionate about. Getting the product out to the customer faster, building tools to test the outcome, delivering value to the customer in small increments as we continue to gauge the response. These practices provide less uncertainty on whether or not the product is successful. While we sometimes have to  abandon an experiment because of market failure, there is no waste.
By contrast, delivering software for a startup founder so that we may raise venture capital is more complex. Prior to having that customer feedback, the team has to come up with creative ways to anticipate what should be the MVP that would deliver the most value to the founder.


Building lean software is all about reducing waste, and programmers involved in lean software are conscious of this at all times. The hardest part for such founder-based teams is to iterate over a product that has not seen an end-user. Frustration with wanting to see the end product in the market can be a force to reckon with. What I’ve  seen that helps the creativity and excitement alive in such teams is the following.
  • More visibility on what the founder is thinking and doing. This can be a weekly update of activities  that the founder has taken on behalf of promoting the product.
  • Cadence with the founder where the team demos and has a direct influence on what is picked for the next sprint's MVP.
  • A learning exercise for the team to get exposure to venture startups.
  • A progression wall of milestones reached.
As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Nothing any good isn’t hard,” and a good programming culture is no different.

Good software comes from a happy place and it’s a delivery lead’s job to make sure the team is happy. Coming up with creative ideas to enhance the understanding of the founder within the team. This requires hard work. It’s a lot like parenting to provide that nurturing environment. Treading a nice balance between emotions, reason and value.
Location: Saline, MI, USA

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