Startups and Lean Startup approach in building innovative companies creating unique market values – theoretical considerations

Abstract

The article explicates the Lean Startup methodology, a popular framework for constructing nascent and pioneering startup enterprises. Since its inception, this methodology has garnered recognition from academic scholars and business practitioners. Its precepts, grounded in Agile Project Management and the Customer Development philosophy, are ideally suited for implementing innovative projects to introduce product, technological, or organizational innovations into the market. Many of them are focused on creating solutions to support innovation in the green sectors of the economy. Many of them are focused on creating solutions to support innovation in the green sectors of the economy - in particular, those related to the ICT industry. In addition, the importance of technologies created by startups in terms of positive environmental impact has been reflected in scientific works worldwide. They have a powerful impact on the building and dynamic development of green economies manifested in various aspects of society. The significance of startups for advancing economies across the globe has been acknowledged for many years, as they exert a substantial influence on critical economic spheres, including the labor market, technological advancement, and the progress of every industry in which innovative solutions are employed. Despite the challenges, startup entrepreneurs can act as powerful change agents, reducing inefficiencies, creating jobs, and boosting economic development. Through these activities, startups stimulate the sustainable growth of economies. The Lean Startup methodology allows testing the created value before introducing it to the market. Thanks to the application of Customer Development guidelines where, through an iterative process of creating innovation, it is tested by a panel of potential customers. Successively created value is supplemented with additional elements that potential users constantly verify. In this way, the value delivered to the market is ideally suited to the requirements and expectations of its buyers. The article also reviews the literature on startups regarding their impact on the Sustainable Development (SD) of enterprises and entire economies. The most important concepts were presented, and an attempt was made to define the concept initially. The last part of the article systematically presents the limitations and directions of further research and startups and the possibilities of using Lean Startup.