The Lean Startup
by Eric Ries
Key Concepts
Validated Learning
Learning what customers truly want by testing hypotheses, not just building features.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The smallest product version that allows maximum validated learning with minimum effort.
Build-Measure-Learn
A continuous feedback loop for turning ideas into products, measuring customer reactions, and learning whether to pivot or persevere.
Pivot or Persevere
The critical decision point where a startup either changes its strategy based on learning or continues on its current path.
Innovation Accounting
A way to measure progress and prioritize work for startups, focusing on actionable metrics over vanity metrics.
Action Items
Start with a clear hypothesis about your customer and problem.
Build the smallest possible product (MVP) to test your riskiest assumptions.
Measure real customer behavior, not just activity or vanity metrics.
Regularly analyze data to decide whether to pivot your strategy or persevere.
Embrace failure as a learning opportunity, not a dead end.
Core Thesis
The Lean Startup advocates for a scientific approach to entrepreneurship, emphasizing rapid experimentation and validated learning to build sustainable businesses under extreme uncertainty.
Mindset Shift
Entrepreneurship is transformed from an art of luck or genius into a disciplined process of scientific experimentation and continuous learning.