Eric Ries produced a very popular book known as the "Lean Startup". The book focuses on methods to shorten the product development life cycle and determine if a business is viable or not more rapidly.
"Build-measure-learn" principles
Lean Canvas
A "Lean Canvas" is a common tool used to try and articulate the core principles of a business
These canvases can then be used to inform what to build.
If you ever want to start a business - start here
Lean Canvas
Product-Market Fit
Product-Market Fit (PMF) is the degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand.
Young companies thrive to reach PMF as soon as possible, as it's usually a key step in early growth
One of the earliest steps of exploring PMF in a lean way, and verifying the business viability, is to build an MVP
To build an MVP, one must first understand the business
The sole purpose of an MVP is to validate assumptions, not to build good technology