Eric Ries

Startups also have a true north, a destination in mind: creating a thriving and world-changing business. I call that a startup’s vision. To achieve that vision, startups employ a strategy, which includes a business model, a product road map, a point of view about partners and competitors, and ideas about who the customer will be. The product is the end result of this strategy (see the chart on this page).

A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

See, we thought we should get a gold star just for listening to our customers.