Customer Development

Definitions

1. A startup methodology centered on talking to customers early and often to validate problems, buyers, and product direction before scaling execution. It is foundational to lean startup thinking.

   In plain English: Learning directly from customers to validate what the business should build and sell.

   Example: "They skipped customer development and built six months of product nobody asked for."

Related Terms

• MVP
• MVP (Product)
• Customer Discovery
• Customer Segmentation
• Death Valley
• Feature Gating
• Founder Market Fit
• Full-Stack Startup
• Lean Canvas
• Minimum Viable Product
• Rapid Prototype
• Acquihire
• Anchor Tenant
• Over-Capitalized
• Product Discovery
• Viral Loop