Informative, mature but not original or essential

If you're coming out of high school and are scheming up your first (or maybe second) startup, then this is the book for you. You'll learn a lot.

On the other hand, if your a consultant, read business blogs and have launched a few products in your time, you probably won't learn much.

The narration is by the author, laid back but personable. He knows what he's talking about. He offers clarity and direction. The Lean Startup won't teach you everything, but if you are relatively new or confused, or perhaps discouraged by past failures, get this.

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69 people found this helpful

Second-hand sold as high fashion

First, why I bought the book – the author did a great job of promoting his book by using a word which is the most popular in modern business world. Leaders of all levels everywhere around the world know this word – LEAN. But everybody got used to “Lean execution”, so my first reaction when I saw the title was – “wow, have I missed something, are there new scientific methods from Stanford I’m not aware of?” So, I bought it with high expectations of something new and then… Then there was complete disappointment. The author introduce new concept with new name selling it as a breakthrough in the science of management, but when you complete a chapter you ask yourself, so what’s new there, why old practices are called differently from what I used to. First, “Minimum Viable Product” – the concept of early introduction of a product for testing a concept is not new, it’s applicable for products with short development cycle only and very specific for few industries. So, where is breakthrough? Bigger disappointment was “Innovative Accounting” – yeah, you see another popular label – “Innovation”. But when I finished I tried to recount what was it and again – second-hand is sold as high fashion. The author keeps saying – “old accounting methods are not applicable for startups because of uncertain environment” – yes, true – but then goes narrative description of what’s been in business books for decades. And last – “Build-Measure-Learn”! What was a purpose of renaming “Plan-Do-Check-Act”?
So, in overall – it was waste of time, with only exception – now I know that I should ignore everything containing “The Lean Startup”, “Minimum Viable Product” and “Innovative Accounting”. And also – would you trust somebody whose only experience is mediocre social network startup with unclear business model? After Facebook IPO?

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43 people found this helpful

8:30 Hours On Validated Learning & System Thinking

This is not a bad book by any standart. It presents a very good framework for building a start-up (especially useful for tech start-ups) and it delivers exactly what it promises - the lean methodology to build a business.

This methodology is based on adding a new critical metric to your business, validated learning or seeing what works and what doesn't. It's the opposite of "build it and they'll come". Instead it's "build the minimum product, see if they come and then improve it based on what gets results".

Most entrepreneurs employ wishful thinking - hoping or feeling like the market has a moral obligation to buy what they've built just because they've bought it. In the lean start-up methodology you don't take any chances and you use only real world data to see if your idea will float or sink.

The only downsize to this book is that after 8 hours, I've got about 3 good ideas from it. Yes, three good ideas that I've applied both in my personal and professional life but nothing more nonetheless. This means at least for me that the book could have been shorter, maybe 50% of it's current lenght. There are a lot of examples and after a time you are in a position of "yes, I've got it, move on".

As far as my experience with Audible, again, it was an amazing one. Chapters are a little strange in this audiobook (I'm listening it on a SanDisk Sanza) but overall, it's an amazing book for results oriented people. The methodology here can be used both in a business and in your personal life, so don't shy away from this book even if it's designed for entrepreneurs.

And as far as the lenght, do as I do, sometimes play it on fast speed. The narator speaks rather slowly and clearly so I can understand it even on high speed.

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33 people found this helpful

Great book, fascinating ideas

What did you love best about The Lean Startup?

Really enjoyed the content of the book. Exciting stuff. Can't wait to put what I learned here to use. The author (and narrator) was very good as well. Very well read.I ended up having to buy the book as well. While listening was nice, it was the sort of content that I really needed to think about and ponder. While I thought and pondered (ok, maybe daydreamed...), the book played on. I found myself having to stop, back up, and play stuff again a number of times. For content like this, I find that reading the book is necessary for it to sink in. Your mileage may vary. :)

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27 people found this helpful

Some helpful tips, nothing mindblowing.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I don't think I would recommend this book to a friend. It's not bad, but its not groundbreaking or anything.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect was the great tips Ries presents and even though they involve a tech company, they can be applied to any company. The least interesting part is the slow stories of his boring tech company.

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

I have not even heard of Eric Ries's before listening to his book. I have read

What did you take away from The Lean Startup that you can apply to your work?

Produce in small batches, test often using the right metrics, and make timely adjustments.

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20 people found this helpful

A great read!

Every entrepreneur should read this. If you are in the product development field this is a must read for you. Eric Ries explains the best practices of how to discover customers for your ideas, how to plan/test/release your products to market and when to pivot. A must read for every startup organization.

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19 people found this helpful

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.

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12 people found this helpful

The simple and efficient way to get on the market!

What did you love best about The Lean Startup?

To me, the Lean Startup is about starting a business without having a complete product. I simply loved it even if for entrepreneurs like me, it's something hard to do. I always want it to be perfect but find out that I had problems in the past working too long on something that wasn't wanted.

Definitely cut corners and launch as soon as you can! Then, iterate often.

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

I listened to an interview on Mixergy and think it was also really interesting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

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11 people found this helpful

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.

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9 people found this helpful

A must for anyone starting a business

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who's running a business, starting a business, or in business school.

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9 people found this helpful