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.)

Absolute Must

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

You need this if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.

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

Everything

Have you listened to any of Eric Ries’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the only book I read by Eric but I imagine they're all just as good.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

all of it.

Any additional comments?

Love this so much.

Required reading for any software company

Great stuff. Common sense turned on its head. Business experiments revealing how Validated learning can drive the growth engine.

Exceptional

More than meet my expectations this book was exceptional. Those who have the flame of entrepreneurship will consider The Lean Startup a guideline to success.

Eliminate waste

Nobody wants their time wasted. This really helps us towards not wasting our time or the time of those around us. Really excited about trying out these ideas in practice.

validated learning key concepr

un libro excelente para aprender como innovar rápido y bien... era innecesario escribir más pero me obligaron

very good book

wow! I learned a lot. this is a good book. very comprehensive. If you already know everything in here and still fail, look in the self help book aisle.

Kudos to Eric

Great Insights on building a product and measuring using the right metrics. Multiple iterations are needed to implement in right way.

"Disrupting the Startup Game with The Lean Startup

As a former startup owner, I highly recommend "The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses." This book gave me a valuable framework for developing and launching a successful business. One of the most valuable aspects of this book is the emphasis on testing and iterating your ideas before committing to a full-scale launch. The Lean Startup method encourages entrepreneurs to embrace uncertainty and failure as opportunities to learn and improve. This mindset shift is crucial for success in today's fast-paced and highly competitive business environment. The author's emphasis on continuous innovation, validated learning, and quick iteration helped me understand how to prioritize and make the most of limited resources. I also appreciated the practical tips and real-life examples included throughout the book. This is a must-read if you're an entrepreneur or thinking about starting a business!

Required reading for anyone who makes products

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lean Startup to be better than the print version?

I have a strong preference to Audiobooks, so I'm biased. They both have advantages, I'm sure. It helps that Ries performs his own words. Less gets lost in translation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not that kind of book. My favorite Anecdote is in the beginning where the executive team is actually spending time prototyping the business in the field to test their thinking. So much time gets wasted in meetings and 'brainstorming' when you can just go and ask people/test your ideas.

Have you listened to any of Eric Ries’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really - this is the kind of book that you need to mull over. Listening to more than 30 minutes at a stretch makes it hard to digest all that's being said.

Any additional comments?

Its going to be a modern classic in terms of business books.

Must read for any one contemplating a startup.

Would you listen to The Lean Startup again? Why?

So many minor but significant tips and tricks, it's hard to get it all in on the first listen.

What other book might you compare The Lean Startup to and why?

Listen to this after reading Getting Real by 37 Signals

Any additional comments?

The concepts outlined works best, if you operate in large markets where it take short amount of time to get a descent sample for your experiments.