Concepturealize™: a new contribution to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models

Abstract

It is widely accepted that somewhere in the region of 90–95% of startups fail. It is often suggested that the majority of unsuccessful startups either failed to identify a viable idea, or they failed to execute the idea effectively enough to get to market before running out of cash. Two approaches stand out as being particularly well-suited to addressing these problems: Design Thinking and Lean Startup, respectively. This paper presents the Concepturealize™ methodology that cross-applies Design Thinking and Lean Startup as a single iterative process and that enables the entrepreneur to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models. Existing literature reveals a need for further exploration of cross-application of Design Thinking and Lean Startup (and other related methodologies) in the areas of business model development and innovation. This work answers the research question by review of prior attempts to combine Design Thinking and Lean Startup and presenting the Concepturealize™ model that cross-applies Design Thinking and Lean Startup in a single iterative methodology and that enables the practitioner to generate real-needs-focussed, user-centred, lean business models. By following this new process model correctly, a practitioner will be guided to uncover a viable way to create value, develop a deep understanding of the value proposition, the target customers and how to reach and serve them, together with the expected revenue and costs, all needed to properly formulate the business model. Finally, the practitioner may use the Concepturealize™ model to retest the problem–solution fit and understand how the customers perception of value has altered, each time a new product or new features are launched, looking to continually add value at each cycle. Whilst prior research has explored how organisations may make use of both DT and LS, it has failed to demonstrate how they may be used in parallel, throughout the entire business model development process, instead it demonstrates examples of insight into where to transition from one model to the other. This work progresses the state of the art by following Design Science guidelines to present how the true, in-parallel, cross-application of DT and LS, in the context of business model development, is possible.

Four-step approach to idea management sequencing: redefining or reinventing values in a business model

“…It is defined as analysing design thinking and ideation from the perspective of a systematic process with interrelated and sequent steps, adding value to the result. Allen ( 2022 ) uses the Lean concept to describe the sequence within the design thinking and separates several Lean principles that have a certain nature of sequent stages, all of which together form a process that leads to a result or bring a value. The concept of value in the context of Lean has a slightly different meaning, focusing more on adding value to customer and preventing losses, including unnecessary steps in the process (waste) (Gülyaz et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Being closely interrelated with the design thinking, the field of idea management (IM) has grown in relevance over the last decade. Both concepts are linked with various innovation approaches, for instance, system thinking, understanding the perception of the value and value mapping, mission innovations and “moonshots”—disruptive innovations (Allen, 2022 ; Geissdoerfer et al, 2016 ; Mazzucato, 2021 ). The IM and its web-based solutions are not just about the creation of new ideas or capabilities to ideate or innovate, but they embrace the managerial process of systematic activities for exploring or recognising needs, generating or creating variations, evaluating and measuring the survival of new ideas, also, taking decision on their adoption and realisation (Vandenbosch et al, 2006 ).…”

“…In this study, the developed 4-step IM sequencing approach will be applied to define the value proposition for a company. One of the main causes of new ventures’ failing is associated with the lack of viable ideas or an inability to develop business models to realise new ideas and bring them to market (Allen, 2022 ). This indicates problematic challenges related to overall perception of the importance of the ideation and the design thinking, and the consequent need for IM within organisations.…”

“…Page 2 of 20 Mikelsone et al Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2022) 11:49 for exploring or recognising needs, generating or creating variations, evaluating and measuring the survival of new ideas, also, taking decision on their adoption and realisation (Vandenbosch et al, 2006). The level of idea generation and innovation can vary significantly within a single country or even a region, so these differences are not only influenced by economic factors or the entrepreneurial activity but are largely determined by the behavioural patterns of the people involved in the innovation and its processes (Soloviov, 2022), the notion of the design thinking mindset (Venkatesh et al, 2012) and facilitation of the IM as a systematic and sequenced managerial process (Allen, 2022;Meslec et al, 2020). Previous studies confirm that the ideation is an essential part of the design thinking (Micheli et al, 2018), but the conceptual settings part of managerial strategies and approaches of the ideation and IM sequence within organisations and teams are less conceptualised by the academic community (Meslec et al, 2020).…”

Emprendimiento social: revisión de la literatura y análisis conceptual

“…De igual forma, en algunos países las nuevas empresas no logran estabilizarse y fracasan por no ejecutar un plan viable y eficaz para posicionarse en el mercado. Generar un patrón centrado en una necesidad real que permita generar solución considerando la apreciación del cliente ante la presentación de nuevos productos para agregarle valor respectivo, así lo señala (Allen, 2022). Finalmente, considerando el efecto que causa la autoeficacia en el propósito del emprendimiento recomiendan a los gobiernos e instituciones incentiven a los jóvenes y fomenten el intercambio de destrezas emprendedoras, a través de programas en educación y formación, concluyéndose que los componentes del ecosistema son cruciales y a través de las políticas se debe reducir las barreras en emprendimiento, (Elnadi & Gheith, 2021) METODOLOGÍA Se desarrolló una categorización de la literatura de tipo descriptiva en el campo del emprendimiento con un enfoque cualitativo y a la vez se realizó un análisis documental relacionado al emprendimiento social.…”