The Lean Startup
"Most startups are built to fail. But those failures, according to entrepreneur Eric Ries, are preventable. Startups don't fail because of bad execution, or missed deadlines, or blown budgets. They fail because they are building something nobody wants. Whether they arise from someone's garage or are created within a mature Fortune 500 organization, new ventures, by definition, are designed to create new products or services under conditions of extreme uncertainly. Their primary mission is to find out what customers ultimately will buy. One of the central premises of The Lean Startup movement is what Ries calls "validated learning" about the customer. It is a way of getting continuous feedback from customers so that the company can shift directions or alter its plans inch by inch, minute by minute. Rather than creating an elaborate business plan and a product-centric approach, Lean Startup prizes testing your vision continuously with your customers and making constant adjustments"--
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about The Lean Startup
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Drawing on his own startup IMVU and case studies from companies like Intuit and Dropbox, Eric Ries argues that a new venture is a series of testable hypotheses, not a launch plan. He walks readers through minimum viable products, build-measure-learn cycles, and the choice to pivot or persevere.
The Lean Startup is Eric Ries's framework for building startups through validated learning, build-measure-learn loops, and minimum viable products. Published in 2011, it has become foundational reading in tech and entrepreneurship.
Yes. Despite being over a decade old, The Lean Startup remains widely cited and taught. Some specific examples are dated, but the core build-measure-learn methodology has become standard practice in early-stage startups.
The Lean Startup was written by Eric Ries, published in 2011 by Random House Digital Inc..
The Lean Startup is 336 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Lean Startup takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
The Lean Startup is a standalone novel by Eric Ries, not part of a series.
The Lean Startup is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.