Lean Startups for Social Change: The Revolutionary Path to Big Impact

For years, the lean startup has been revolutionizing both new and established businesses. In this eye-opening book, serial social entrepreneur Michel Gelobter shows how it can do the same for nonprofits.Traditionally, whether creating a new business or a new program, entrepreneurs in all sectors develop a plan, find money to fund it, and pursue it to its conclusion. The problem is, over time conditions can change drastically-but you're locked into your plan. The lean startup is all about agility and flexibility. Its mantra is "build, measure, learn"- create small experimental initiatives, quickly get real-world feedback on them, and use that data to expand what works and discard what doesn't.Using dozens of social sector examples, Gelobter walks you through the process. The standard approach wastes time and money. The lean startup will help your organization vastly increase the good it does.

“"Whether you're developing a new campaign or trying to innovate within a large organization, this book delivers the goods for how to make change at an unprecedented scale." --Mike Brune Executive Director, Sierra Club "Gelobter shows how to bring the cutting edge of Silicon Valley to some of the wicked problems facing the social sector. A must-read for all funders and change makers." --Barry Gold, Environment Program Director, Walton Family Foundation "Social change requires not just good ideas but also effective ways to implement them. In this excellent book Michel Gelobter lays out his revolutionary and practical methodology. An immensely valuable contribution." --Adam Kahane, Director, Reos Partners, and author of Power and Love”

“A major step forward for the social sector.”
—Eric Reis, author of The Lean Startup 

“Whether you’re developing a new campaign or trying to innovate within a large organization, this book delivers the goods for how to make change at an unprecedented scale.”
—Mike Brune Executive Director, Sierra Club

“Gelobter shows how to bring the cutting edge of Silicon Valley to some of the wicked problems facing the social sector. A must-read for all funders and change makers.”
—Barry Gold, Program Director, Walton Family Foundation

“Social change requires not just good ideas but also effective ways to implement them. In this excellent book Michel Gelobter lays out his revolutionary and practical methodology. An immensely valuable contribution.”
—Adam Kahane, Director, Reos Partners, and author of Power and Love

Michel Gelobter is the founder and chairman of Cooler Inc., a for-profit social venture that helps businesses and consumers reduce greenhouse gas pollution. He was formerly director of environmental quality for New York City, director of the Program on Environmental Policy at Columbia University, CEO of Redefining Progress, a cofounder of BuildingEnergy.com, chief green officer for Hara, and senior advisor to the Packard Foundation.

"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, entrepreneurs develop a detailed plan, find money to fund it, and then pursue 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 2 million children in two years, when a more traditional program took fifteen; 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.

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