After three years working in AI and robotics development, one thing is crystal clear: customers who understand the build-measure-learn cycle (as defined by Eric Ries in «The Lean Startup.») are dramatically more successful at implementing innovative tech.

What is the build-measure-learn cycle when innovating?

There’s a huge risk that developments don’t bear fruit right away. The build-measure-learn cycle solves this by breaking innovation into three repeating steps: Build a small version, Measure how it performs with real users, and Learn what works and what doesn’t. Then you build again, incorporating what you learned.

This way, you’re not developing your solution in a silo. Instead of guessing what the market wants, you’re constantly validating your assumptions with real feedback..

The traditional approach trap

Very often, customers fixated on traditional approaches expect things should take very short time, or that doing multiple experiments that don’t directly bear fruit is a failure. It seems like a waste of money, and they pull the plug too early.

The winning difference

The winning customers have a deep shared mindset with developers. They may not be technical themselves, but they understand how the approach to finding the best solution actually works.

So here’s my challenge to you:

Before your next tech project, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Are you prepared for the solution to look different than what you initially imagined? The best innovations rarely match the original brief – they evolve through learning.
2. Can you celebrate small wins and «intelligent failures»? Each experiment that doesn’t work is data that gets you closer to what will work.
3. Do you have patience for the process, not just the outcome? The startup mindset isn’t slower – it’s actually faster because you avoid building the wrong thing at scale.

The companies that truly transform their industries aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the clearest initial vision. They’re the ones willing to start small, learn fast, and iterate until they find something that works.

Your innovative tech project isn’t failing if it’s changing direction – it might working exactly as it should.

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The Assumption Gap is a series to tackle the non-communinated assumptions between techies and non-techies. When we understand each other, we win more often.

Laksiya