• The Lean Startup

  • How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
  • By: Eric Ries
  • Narrated by: Eric Ries
  • Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (13,831 ratings)

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The Lean Startup

By: Eric Ries
Narrated by: Eric Ries
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Publisher's summary

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.

The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning”, rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product-development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute.

Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs - in companies of all sizes - a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

©2011 Eric Ries (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

"Eric has created a science where previously there was only art. A must read for every serious entrepreneur—and every manager interested in innovation." (Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Opsware Inc., and Netscape)
"At Asana, we've been lucky to benefit from Eric's advice firsthand; this book will enable him to help many more entrepreneurs answer the tough questions about their business." (Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook and Asana)
"In business, a ‘lean’ enterprise is sustainable efficiency in action. Eric Ries’ revolutionary Lean Startup method will help bring your new business idea to an end result that is successful and sustainable. You’ll find innovative steps and strategies for creating and managing your own startup while learning from the real-life successes and collapses of others. This book is a must read for entrepreneurs who are truly ready to start something great!” (Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Entrepreneur.)

What listeners say about The Lean Startup

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Must Read

The book and the lessons are not just for entrepreneurs but for any activity that has a goal, timeline and resources. It touches almost all challenges and provides guiding principles & scientific ways to constantly evaluate the plan of action. The success lies in the art of applying & improvising these scientific ways...

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Concept is great ... but hard to be drawn out for so long

Once you get the basic concept of the MVP, lean startup concept (which I DO subscribe to), the rest of the book is kinda “meh”.

Lots of concepts so prob helps to see bullet points etc... I don’t suggest listening to the audio book - this is probably one for a physical version.

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Phenomenal Insights

This book should be required reading for all entrepreneurs. I’ll be implementing many of the strategies discussed in this book immediately.

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Product Development Bible

this book is an amazing summary of how modern day product development should work. while I have used some of these techniques and processes before, I did not understand their role in a greater process. the ide!idea! and.principles discussed here are a great foundation for building efficient and effective product development teams.

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Clear, usable points

Not a particularly fun read per se but I listened at 1.3 speed and picked up extremely valuable points.

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Lots of Examples

I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of really good examples however I felt this book was a little bit long in the sense that majority of it was solely focused on examples of starts up. The teaching of the “lean start up method” really comes to light towards the ending third of the book. However, would definitely recommend to any entrepreneur.

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Best book I've read in 2020 !

Simply loved it, lots of tools that I have applied in my business and job and paying instant dividends.

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Good read

Probably a must read for anyone who want to develop a product and service. Thank you, Eric

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It's ok, a little overrated.

The mom test and four steps to an epiphany are more current, insightful and offer better examples. Also, the author often refers to Intuit as an innovator when in in reality they successfully lobby the government to maintain a near monopoly on the market---that's not innovation.

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Build | Measure | Learn

This is the second time I’ve read this book. The first was just after release. This time was as a refresher. Here’s the bottom line, if you’re a bootstrapping entrepreneur, you will build a better economic model by using these principles. You will save money by using these principles. Build your company in modules, from accounting to sales to lead generation. Ask you customers to give feedback. Be ok with negative feedback. That’s where all the good ideas live. Enjoy

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