Agility for Maximum Impact –

Start with Lean Impact

Use Lean Startup prin­ci­ples to effec­tively tackle soci­etal chal­lenges. Develop impact­ful solu­tions through iter­a­tion, feed­back, and agility. 

What is Lean Impact? 

Lean Impact com­bines the agility and cre­ativ­ity of the Lean Startup approach with the goal of gen­er­at­ing sus­tain­able soci­etal impact. While Lean Startups aim to bring mar­ket-ready prod­ucts to life fast, Lean Impact focuses on cre­at­ing solu­tions that are both impact­ful and sus­tain­able. 

The three core prin­ci­ples of Lean Impact are: 

  1. Build: Quickly develop ini­tial ideas for solu­tions to gather first feed­back. 
  2. Measure: Collect rel­e­vant data to test assump­tions and make informed deci­sions. 
  3. Learn: Use your insights to keep improv­ing your strat­egy to max­i­mize your impact. 

Why Lean Impact is rel­e­vant for founders: 

  • Quick adap­ta­tion: Avoid lengthy devel­op­ment cycles by col­lect­ing feed­back early. 
  • Efficiency: Allocate resources where they cre­ate the great­est impact. 
  • Maximum impact: Solutions are devel­oped and opti­mized iter­a­tively to address soci­etal chal­lenges effec­tively. 

The Four Phases of the Lean Impact Journey 

The Lean Impact Journey con­sists of four phases, guid­ing you from prob­lem analy­sis and ideation to scal­ing your solu­tion. Each phase is designed to help your startup progress with a focus on impact and agility. 

PHASE 1

IDEATION

Create the Foundation for Impact 

Build

Identify rel­e­vant prob­lems and ana­lyze your tar­get audi­ence. 

  • Problem and stake­holder analy­sis: Which soci­etal chal­lenges do you want to address? Who are the key stake­hold­ers? 
  • Target audi­ence analy­sis: Understand the needs and per­spec­tives of your tar­get group. 
  • Solution analy­sis: What could a solu­tion to the iden­ti­fied prob­lem look like? Which aspects of the solu­tion are most impor­tant? 

Measure & Learn

Gather data and val­i­date your assump­tions. 

  • Data col­lec­tion: Use inter­views, sur­veys, and obser­va­tions to gain insights. 
  • Validation: Test the accu­racy ofr your assump­tions about  tar­get group and prob­lem. Also, learn what your tar­get group thinks about your solu­tion ideas, and which has the best chance of suc­cess. 

PHASE 2

PROTOTYPING

Testing Your Ideas 

Build

Quickly develop ini­tial pro­to­types. 

  • Create sim­ple mod­els or pilot projects that can be tested cost-effec­tively. 

Measure

Test and ana­lyze your prod­uct. 

  • Collect feed­back from your tar­get group to under­stand what works—and what doesn’t. 
  • Assess the mar­ket poten­tial and demand for your solu­tion. 

Learn

Optimize your approach. 

  • Adjust your solu­tion based on the insights you’ve gath­ered. 

PHASE 3

GROWTH & SCALE

Developing an MVP and Preparing for Growth 

Build

Create your MVP (Minimum Viable Product). 

  • evelop a mar­ket-ready prod­uct that entails the core of your solu­tion and is ready for scal­ing. 

Measure & Learn

Get ready to scale. 

  • Impact easure­ment: Verify that your solu­tion achieves the soci­etal impact you intended. 
  • Funding strat­egy: Plan the next steps to con­vince part­ners and investors. 

Improve Self-Reflection and Quality through Agility

Self-reflec­tion is a key com­po­nent of Lean Impact. Ask your­selves reg­u­larly:

  • „Are we reach­ing the peo­ple we want to sup­port?“ 
  • „How can we bet­ter uti­lize feed­back from our tar­get group?“ 
  • „What resources do we need to max­i­mize our impact?“ 

Starting March 2025, use our self-assess­ment tool to eval­u­ate your pro­jec­t’s matu­rity level and find con­crete approaches for fur­ther devel­op­ment.

Good Practices – Learning from the Best 

Successful impact-dri­ven enter­prisesstrate­gi­cally mea­sure and man­age soci­etal change. These exam­ples can be a source of inspi­ra­tion to you: 

Too Good To Go

This startup fights food waste while help­ing restau­rants and super­mar­kets cut costs. Through a clever app, sur­plus food is passed directly to consumers—a win-win model for every­one involved. 

Tomorrow Bank

This bank offers sus­tain­able finan­cial prod­ucts with a trans­par­ent impact approach, ensur­ing that your money con­tributes to pos­i­tive social and envi­ron­men­tal change. 

Boreal Light

Boreal Light uses solar-pow­ered water treat­ment sys­tems to deliver clean drink­ing water to remote regions, achiev­ing sus­tain­able and life-chang­ing impact. 

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