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

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.)

Great starter but needs more practical details

Liked the concept, definitely a great introduction to lean, and great examples. Would've like the author to go more into practical details.

Get Your Startup Off the Ground

While so many books give insights and strategic direction (very important) The Lean Startup taught my business partner how to build, measure and learn. We are off the ground, testing learning and iterating, all thanks to this fantastic resource!

Stands up for its anticipation

I'd heard a lot about lean start up and the lean movement before, but never gave too much atention to the book, thinking it might be some sort of buzz word compilation. It's not. It's a practical guide, loaded with intelectual honesty on confronting companies and projects efectiveness pain points. A must-know theory for nowadays working dynamics.

Eyes opening book

I've been an entrepreneur for more than 2 years and for me, this book was an eye opening book.
I have discovered so many tactics that I could have used before and I did not.
I really believe that lean principle are a way to handle the new technolocal challenges we are facing, and experimenting is the way to find out easily what works and what doesn't.
I recommend this book for sure.

#tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Great book!

If you could sum up The Lean Startup in three words, what would they be?

Lean entreprenureal management.

What did you like best about this story?

Great overview of the lean startup process.

Which character – as performed by Eric Ries – was your favorite?

This is a business management textbook. No character but Eric himself.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Don't make a film of this book.

Interesting

I believe this a good book for any entrepreneur to find up some new ideas of how to maximize ur chances to get your golas

Great book for any one in product development.

If you could sum up The Lean Startup in three words, what would they be?

Accurate, Educational, Inspirational

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Lean Startup?

The emphasis of getting an MVP out there to start getting real data to analyze.

What about Eric Ries’s performance did you like?

Great real life stories that I could related to from being in the software industry

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What does your MVP tell you?

Great book and well performed

This is a really thought provoking book and well performed. I would recommend this to any manager.

Interesting Concepts

The book is good but I find it difficult to apply it to a wide range of startup businesses. It would be nice if there were more examples on how to apply the concepts to other business ventures.

Powerful tools and mindset

This book is full of actionable advices. No fortune cookies here, but real-life examples of what works and why. Very enjoyable.