ABSTRACT
Both startups and new ventures inside corporations must manage similar conditions of extreme uncertainty: Will the market for the new offering develop? How quickly? Can the product be delivered at an attractive cost? Will people be willing to pay for it? Will the new technology work? What new competitors might disrupt the business? These are market uncertainties, and they are the province of entrepreneurs. A venture inside a corporation also deals with internal risks that startups do not face. These risks come in three general categories: Personal risks, risks to the performance engine, and risks to the corporation itself. The Lean Startup methodology is somewhat chaotic. Graduated engagement assures that existing standards and ways of working, which often seem very constraining for those doing something new, will not slow down the innovation team as the business is being developed. Organizational issues do not loom large when a venture inside a large company is small.
