A common misconception is that a Startup is a business idea. A startup is a business that has all the characteristics of a typical one, plus the potential for high competition, rapid growth and a lack of investment. We compiled and categorized the best, most reliable, and tested startup frameworks to help entrepreneurs create and grow successful products.

Startup Frameworks

Eric Ries introduced the Lean Startup Framework author of The Customer Development Approach). Eric Ries presented the Lean Startup Framework in 2011.

Eric stated that the only way for new product development to be less risky is to pay attention to the needs of the users and get constant feedback. Lean Startup Framework was introduced by Eric as a way to create products and maintain a constant connection with the real world.

Eric explained the Lean Startup concept in his book. The Lean Startup team must identify the value that a product provides to users, minimize waste and innovate every step of the process.

The book also explains the core activity of Lean Startup: a Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop that teams should repeatedly repeat. The Build stage is where a team transforms ideas into products, usually with a minimal set of features. The Measure stage is where the team presents the product to its target audience and collects metrics on its performance. They analyze the collected metrics (Learn) and decide whether to pivot or continue with their product idea. This knowledge forms the basis for the next cycle.

Operational Excellence Startups (OpEx)

In the 1970s, Joseph Juran introduced Operational Excellence. Joseph helped Japanese business leaders improve their product quality and reduce costs. This approach was designed to create a culture of excellence at all levels of an organisation using various approaches, models, tools and methods. Juran’s fundamental principles include:

• Encourage employees to increase the value flow to customers.
• Keep track of where your organization is going and make improvements.
• Quality is the key to a great customer experience.

Jiju Antony and Alexandre Torres and Marcelo Fernandes published ” OpEx Startup as an Alternative to the Lean Startup Method” in 2020. The authors examined the strengths and weaknesses of Lean’s approach to building startups and suggested that the OpEx principles be used in the Build-Measure-Learn loop.

According to this new approach, during the Build stage, a startup should refuse the “good-enough-to-move-on” principle and focus on quality from the very beginning.

Lean Startup Framework helps us measure a product’s effectiveness once it reaches the hands of users. OpEx startups, on the other hand, refer to high costs associated with quality problems at post-release. It suggests testing the product’s quality before it goes to market. The OpEx startup framework suggests that customers’ feedback is ignored during the Learn stage. Instead, they should use a failure mode analysis and effects analysis (a tool to analyze processes and detect potential failures to evaluate their maximum impact).

This approach is designed to preserve the original product idea and make it better in every way possible.

McKinsey 7S Framework to Startups

Robert Waterman and Tom Peters, both from McKinsey & Company, introduced the 7S framework in the 1980s.

This management model was initially used by companies to determine if an organization is properly set up to achieve its primary objectives. The framework created an actionable plan if it wasn’t. Startups can now use the framework to create an efficient management system for their future businesses.

The framework identifies seven key aspects that must be balanced in an organization to maximize its potential.

These aspects are all interconnected and any change in one can have implications for the others. Because it unites the entire organization, the Shared Values element is the heart of everything. Let’s take a look at each element.

• Strategy – Understanding your company’s unfair advantage to be able to outperform the competition.
• Structure – A clearly defined plan of how a company allocates resources.
• Systems – The main processes, activities, or tools that an organization uses to accomplish its goals.
• Style – How things are done in a company
• Staff – Talents and talent that is available to be hired.
• Skills – Understand the skills required to reach the goals and determine the strong competencies that are available.

To achieve its primary goals, a company must have shared values.

An organization must first evaluate the seven main aspects of the 7S framework before it can be used. This can take a while and require extensive research. Next, the team models the situation and develops a plan to achieve it in each area. An organization should then review its action plan and set new goals.

The framework’s undisputed advantage is its ability to show the consequences of any slight change to the system. The framework doesn’t consider external conditions and only analyzes internal forces within an organization.

Product-Market Match

Dan Olsen created the framework to help startups achieve product-market fit. This is a magical place that every startup dreams of, almost like Valhalla. A company that is product-market fit means its users can buy, use and spread the word about the company to the point that they sustain growth and profitability. Dan Olsen presented a model with five layers. These layers can be passed one by one to tune the product for modern market needs, increase its value proposition, or get a higher market share.

The first two layers, Target Customers and Underserved needs, are external aspects that you can research but cannot influence. You should focus on the inner aspects of the data in the first two layers, such as the Value Proposition (VP), the Feature Set and the UX.

Olsen recommended using his model starting at the bottom and working your way up. You first identify your target audience to determine their unmet needs. Next, you create your Value Proposition. This should answer the question: “How are we going to be better than all those products out there?”

Once you have completed all of these steps, you can begin to see how your product decisions are received by the market.

Startup idea discovery and shaping frameworks

Brisk Logic looks at the frameworks that support startups from the beginning of their journey in this category.

BRIDGeS

Rails were created by BRIDGeS, a product discovery platform. To analyze the multilayer context of a problem and lay the foundation for future products, our team has tested dozens of tools. We were unable to use any of the tools available to us in a timely and efficient manner. We wanted to develop a tool that could be used to assess a problem, find the best solution and identify hidden pitfalls and opportunities. BRIDGeS stands for the descriptors that we use to analyze the problem (Benefits and Risks, Domain Knowledge, Goals, etc.) and the Solution that results from the analysis. To simplify complex contexts, the framework uses coloured cards in different sizes and shapes. The two spaces, the Solution space and Problem space, are two boards divided into two halves.

The Problem space is where a team defines Subjects (anyone and everything that would benefit from problem-solving) and then analyzes the problem through the Subjects’ eyes. All data is then recorded on the corresponding cards and then prioritized.

A team will consider all possible solutions, which Brisk Logic call Solution Variations. Then they will choose the best one. Next, a preferred solution can be broken down into epics and tasks which form the backlog for a developer team.

This tool is great for product discovery and decision-making. BRIDGeS is used to improve company operations, build and tune company strategies, and make daily decisions.

Many other product discovery tools are available that can help startups to clarify their idea and validate it to determine if it is feasible within the budget and timeframe. This post reviews and compares the most popular product-discovery tools.

Market Opportunity Navigator

Sharon Tal, from the Israel Institute of Technology, introduced the Market Opportunity Navigator Framework to prioritize market opportunities for companies. This framework is useful for startups with product ideas and looking to expand their market reach. Each step requires its canvas.

This is the first step to identify market opportunities. Next, you can evaluate and compare all options. This is the last step to prioritizing those opportunities and determining your strategic focus.

This framework helps startups understand which markets are most promising and which ones are easier to penetrate.

Marketing frameworks for Startups

These frameworks are designed to help a new product gain market recognition and traction. Some are designed to help you build a product from scratch. Others can be used to enhance existing products and ensure sustainable profit growth.

AARRR Pirate Framework

Dave McClure is an experienced investor who worked with hundreds of startups to create the AARRR framework. Dave created a Pirate title to describe his framework, to save people’s nerves when they mention it.

Dave observed how many startups fell into euphoria when their superficial metrics had grown rapidly. While he believed it was vital to track metrics, these metrics should reflect the real state of affairs. Dave provided a simple framework that shows users the paths they took during interactions with brands and products. Startups should establish specific metrics for each stage and keep track of them.

Startup Framework for Planning

Objectives and Key Results (OKR)

Andrew Grove created the Objectives and Key Results framework while working at Intel. John Doerr was Andrew’s colleague and he attended the management course. He later shared his knowledge with Google, which he joined back in 1999. After Google made it its central goal-setting framework, the framework gained global popularity and was a multi-billion-dollar company. A company must set one important Objective and three to five complementary Key Results. These should be clear and quantifiable. It is important to be ambitious and create a realistic but achievable Objective that will inspire the team. It is not ambitious enough if the Objective isn’t achieved 100% by the deadline. The Objective should answer the question, “Where do I want to go?” While Key Results will explain “How do we know that we’re getting there?” These Key Results should then be broken down into clear deadlines and initiatives that create an actionable plan for your team.

Super-specific

Bob Moore was three days before Lehman Brothers collapsed, in 2008. This was his first experience as a founder. He’s been a founder twice more since his first venture in turbulent times. He says that the difference between having a clear vision and mucking through with one will affect the trajectory of your company.

Moore’s advice to future founders is: “Plain, simple, here’s what you need to know: Here’s our mission, here are the reasons we’ll excel at this specific thing, and here’s how we can harness the tailwinds to make now the right moment to do it,” Moore says.

This is what we’re seeing at Crossbeam. This company was founded with a very specific vision of what the world would look like if the data collaboration problem was solved in the best way possible.

Wrapping up

Many other frameworks are available that can help startups launch, grow, and launch their products. However, none of these frameworks will protect you from failure. You can’t. We have been working on various products since 2002 and can tell you that you should always think before you act. This is not a new concept. At Brisk Logic, we don’t do a project/strategy/task before we understand why we do that, who needs it, and how we know that. These basics save us and our client’s resources and guide us through every step.