A lean startup process is an attractive route to business ownership for people with limited funds or who are risk averse, as such a process is designed to avoid significant loss and support success (Thickett, 2013). This article contends that ideal tools to facilitate this lean startup methodology of experimentation, reflection, and flexibility are social media platforms and third party selling. This reflective case study examines the author’s process using these tools to lean launch a niche web-based artisan business.

This article presents a case study of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (“PNME”), an arts organization transformed by reinventing its artistic product based on new methods of audience engagement. The PNME approach illustrates a number of theoretical concepts in action, and provides an example of how artists and artistic organizations may apply entrepreneurial principles to the development of their artistic products. Broader implications for the theories illustrated by the case are noted.