In the media and popular culture, startup companies are often associated with alluring stories of excitement and success, but in reality, they face a high likelihood of failure.
With his bestselling book The Lean Startup, Eric Ries, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and pioneer of the Lean Startup movement, aims to reduce startups’ risk of failure and increase their likelihood of success by applying the principles of lean manufacturing to the field of entrepreneurship. Ries’ Lean Startup method provides entrepreneurs with an agile Build-Measure-Learn process, helping them to successfully develop products based on direct customer feedback.
Widely praised for its practical and actionable insights, The Lean Startup is essential reading for entrepreneurs in companies of all sizes, from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.
The Lean Startup…in 30 minutes is the essential guide to quickly understanding the important ideas in Eric Ries’ bestselling book, The Lean Startup.
Offering an overview of Ries’ Lean Startup method, this concise summary gives entrepreneurs—independent of size or sector—the necessary tools for fostering innovation and developing successful products.
Eric Ries is a Silicon Valley computer programmer and entrepreneur who served as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and was the founder of the company IMVU. I will start out by saying that the Summary: The Lean Startup ...in 30 Minutes - A Concise Summary of Eric Ries' Bestselling Book (30 Minute Expert Summaries) was not written by him, but it is a simple summary of his book, The Lean Startup.
There are twelve chapters in this book and at 36 pages, it’s a quick read, especially if you are adept to “business speak”. Each chapter contains an overview of the chapter from the full length book along with a quote from Mr. Ries, a summary and key points.
The first chapter is about starting up which talks about the Build-Measure-Learn loop. You start with ideas, you build a product based on those ideas, you measure the products worth with data you obtain from consumers, then learn from that data, then come up with more ideas on how to better that product and start from the beginning.
It then goes on to discuss other product related subjects such as productivity, experimentation, testing hypothesis, collecting data, changing direction or staying the course, product testing, growth, adaptation, and innovation.
Here’s what I see; the book may not be for everyone. I think someone who is already familiar with business would find this information useful if they were interested in building a startup company. Then they would perhaps consider adding the full length book to their library. The Build-Measure-Learn Loop makes perfect sense and is explained very well. I also think the key points at the end of each chapter really help to muddle through all that “business speak” and give you the gist of each concept in a way that’s understandable. I think this summary is good for someone just starting out, or someone looking to get the basic ideas behind a startup company.
This summary of Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup is the essence of competitive entrepreneurship. It stresses that in order for your startup to be of even the slightest value, you need to be a visionary; you have to foresee the changes in the industry, particularly with regard to what customers want. Eric Reis calls it "validated learning," where the idea is experimented on by researching customers. If the research shows that prospective customers will want the product, it’s all a question of should it be built, never "can it be built." If you need an example, look at Richard Branson’s space tourism company. He saw how the Russian space program was using tourism for profit, in the form of offering a celebrity a three-hour ride on a spacecraft for one hundred thousand dollars. He didn’t ask how he could possibly do the same thing; he asked if it would or wouldn’t be profitable. Once he settled on profitable, he set about starting his own launch site, hiring the designers and astronauts, and securing the permits and financing.
Toyota is another prime example of competitive entrepreneurship at its best. Summarizing the key essence of Reis’s book, it becomes an example of using a “loop” to learn how to improve the product, long before the mass manufacture begins. You need to research, design, build, and when that’s done, measure the customers’ reactions. With the data from the prospective customers on hand, you continue building.
For those of you that would savvy Reis’ book, yet haven’t the time to read it in its entirety, this summarization will provide you with all the key lessons of the book.
Short, Sweet and to the Point Must-Have for Any Start-Up
Four Stars
The Lean Startup…in 30 minutes is a great summary of Eric Ries’s book. It clearly defines each chapter and concept, while translating Ries’s points easily and well.
The point of the book: it's easier for those who want to do a start-up to have an ethos of flexibility rather than a set, concrete plan that provides little to no deviation. Included are ideas of small batch testing, customer feedback, and frequent testing. The work clearly promotes the idea of an engaged, fast response between a business and its demographic.
Given that Ries’s background is in Silicon Valley, his guidelines reflect his experience. The questions that Ries provides for every entrepreneur, such as “who is your customer?” and “should it be built?” should be asked by any self-starer.
The fact that he bases his method on Toyota’s Production System is interesting Toyota was in innovator in production. Why shouldn’t the construction of a product be translatable to a business:it's a hop skip jump step away.
In Short, The Lean Startup…in 30 Minutes should be an excellent pocket bible for all entrepreneurs.
Be a Part of the Minority: Don’t Let Your Startup Fail!
I was amazed at the wealth of useful information found in The Lean Startup …In 30 Minutes! People could take multiple seminars and waste a fortune, and not come away with as good a game plan as you receive from this book. Based on Eric Ries’s successful philosophy, this book gives you the basics and much more so you can succeed where so many others have failed. The key point to me was the emphasis on creating an environment that emphasizes entrepreneurship, and the vision to create new and exciting products amongst all employees. The key question has to be “should” the item be built, not “can” it be built. I found the “analysis paralysis” concept interesting and very relevant in today’s data driven world.
The book does not sugar coat anything, starting a business will be difficult, and I appreciated the no nonsense approach. I felt like the author was speaking directly to me, and it was reassuring. To me, the accessibility of the book and the guidance offered made it a must read; in today’s touch economy you will definitely have the edge if you follow the advice and become a visionary and not just a business person!
The foundation of any new business requires an innovative idea, determination to succeed, and a well-measured plan of attack (i.e. business plan). In Eric Ries full-length novel, he gives detailed accounts of the best practices and habits of a successful start-up. But, who has time to read a lengthy book, particularly when they have their hands full starting a new business? The Lean Startup… in 30 Minutes is a thorough and informative summary that’s much easier to swallow.
Having learned through his own experience, as well as the ups and downs of fellow companies, Ries provides insight on the important points that require focus in a start-up, and this summary shrink wraps those key points in a neat little package. Product retuning, product testing, consumer testing, and consumer retuning are all part of the startup process. And, of course, the job of testing and retesting is never done.
With quotes from the book and through run-throughs of each chapter, this summary makes starting a business look easier than eating a piece of cake.
As someone entering the life and creativity coaching business, I wondered if this material was going to be either too dry for me, or over-my-head in terms of content. Luckily, neither was true. The writer did a great job summarizing Eric Ries' book and I found myself reading much later into the night than I had planned. Secondly, the content was killer. Ries' book goes in depth into the MVP - a term that had me rearranging my entire thinking about my business by the end of the summary. I really loved this new take on your product not having to be perfect and beautifully designed before getting it out. Because, as he says, it doesn't matter how beautifully packaged something is, if know one wants it! And that's what this book is all about: a really simple process to allow you to figure out, very quickly, what your customers want. Which, despite our entreprenurial love our ideas, is hands down the most important thing. A great book, that I will probably be re-reading and definitely implementing.
These job market these days makes people want to whimper. It's an employers' market - which is why more and more more people are looking to have their own startups. That industry is also dangerous with a lot of pitfalls. That's where this summary comes in: it's for people who want to strike out on their own or create new things in their current company and either don't have the time to dig too deeply into Eric Ries' "The Lean Startup" or want to supplement their reading. Ries is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is on his third startup, so he's a valuable resource. It's written in an easy-to-read style with brief chapters (generally no more than 3-4 pages) with important points highlighted at the end. They detail things like using a "Build- Measure-Learn" feedback loop and how to focus on "value-creating activities". Don't buy this expecting instant success - savvy thinking and yes, some luck, will show the way. It's worth reading no matter your situation - employed or unemployed.
This summary of Eric Ries’ book, The Lean Startup, is a wonderful crash course for anyone who has ever entertained thoughts of starting a business. The chapters are concise and the main points are explained simply, yet thoroughly. I don’t have a bit of business background, and still found the concepts easy to follow. The main points outline how to build a business thoughtfully, in stages, in order to avoid wasting valuable resources. It encourages you to be flexible in order to gain success; starting with investing intensive initial thought into your product or services, then gaging success and satisfaction by collecting customer feedback and data, and leaving room for creative problem solving and adjustments. I appreciated this cost effective approach, especially considering the state of our economy, and the financial constraints I, and so many others, are living with these days.
To get the most thorough and well-organized summary of Eric Ries’s The Lean Startup, I highly recommend this concise summary. It very plainly breaks down Ries’s full-length title into understandable, well-organized chapters with overviews, direct quotations and bullet points at each chapter’s conclusion. Technical concepts are well explained so that, should you not have the time to read the full-length version, you still have a solid understanding of how these methods can be applied to small or large companies. The summary makes me want to read the full The Lean Startup, but as a small business employee, I don’t have the time right now – I do, however, feel confident approaching my boss with ideas from this summary to examine the direction of our company over the next few years. Great read!
Eric Ries currently teaches at The Harvard Business School and has devised a system for start-up companies modeled on the lean manufacturing system created by Toyota. In The Lean Startup in 30 Minutes, this lean guide strips down his strategy to the bare core and shows companies how to successfully compete on a global scale. The guide is clear and precise and shows the start-up how to attract customers, keep those customers, and how to make vital and immediate changes to keep a company focused on success. This informative and hands on guide effectively shepherds any size company through the daunting and challenging process of remaining competitive in today’s unforgiving business climate.
What a compact,clear summary of a complicated idea that has a track record of success. Author Eric Ries writes best-sellers and it's easy to see why. The ideas he promotes have the sweet smell of success. Most entrepreneurs don't have time for anything other than the basics. Here are basics delivered without dumbing them down. The idea of Lean Start up is to focus on the end product which must satisfy customers. To do this, you check value added satisfaction every step of the way. This is what Toyota did when they were at the top of their game. This book is a time-saver and a bargain to boot.
Garamond’s take on Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup provides a valuable, straightforward and succinct summary. Ries debunks the old-school startup model of using ‘projected milestones’ as a means for determining growth and instead suggests employing a feedback loop of information shared between entrepreneurs and their target audiences. By broadening the definition of the word ‘entrepreneur,’ Ries clearly illustrates how these visionary innovators are driving the economy at all levels. This super-handy little book distills each chapter down to the crux, underscored by bullet points that ensure the reader absorbs the intended principles. Truly a bargain…
There are countless books that will tell you how to start a business, how to make business plans, how to read financials, how to attract venture capital and more. Very few will tell you what you need to know to start a business or new product, and keep it alive. The “Lean Startup” book that this summary is based on will do all that and more by showing you how to account for the human factor so that you don’t run aground while you had your eye on the numbers alone. While you won’t learn the detailed techniques the book provides, this summary will give you exactly the information you need in order to understand the value of the book itself. That alone is worth many times the purchase price.
Here's a super condensed know-how for launching and steering your startup. By breaking down The Lean Startup into need-to-know bullet points, this 30 minute summary book contains all the essential tidbits within an easy to read framework. Through relating the lean manufacturing principals to startups, Ries redefines key terms (such as 'startup' itself) and encourages a realistic yet flexible business plan. Whether you're starting your own company or headed new projects within an established business, this book's both applicable and accessible.
The Lean Startup summary is a pretty solid resource for those of us who've embarked on our own entrepreneurial (mis)adventures or simply daydreamed of the possibility of putting an idea to work. Was also helpful to those of us who've a hard time always committing to a full length text. This read was logical, practical, concise, and applicable--especially as it applies to the use of customer metrics. And unlike most business oriented reading, the author dispenses with verbiage devoted to convincing us he's the smartest guy in the room.
The Lean Startup...in 30 Minutes is a condensed yet informative summary of The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. As a small business owner for twenty years, this is an interesting read and makes me painfully aware of the mistakes I made and how things could have been done differently. The processes detailed in the book are based on the Toyota Production System as well as the author's successes and failures in business. The Lean Startup...in 30 Minutes is not a series of steps to follow; it is more of a framework that cultivates innovation, adaptation, and success.
This book is a shorter, summarized version of Eric Ries' "The Lean Startup."
It's informative and concise, especially pertinent in today's age of growing startups. The strategies on the operations of a startup are carefully explained, from how value (of a new product) is to be identified, all the way to how growth and sustainability can be maintained. Valuable read for anyone who wants to gain insight on startups, either as a general interest, or to start his/her own business.
This book gave me a great idea of how to start-up my new business venture. I was concerned about failure, but this summary of The Lean Startup method invented by Eric Ries gave me exactly the kind of information I needed about testing a product and listening to customer feedback. Ries’s business method can take me from start-up to success, and can even be implemented long after that. It’s a great read for anyone who thinks they have a good idea but just doesn’t know where to get started!
This summary packs a good punch in a short and concise read. The Lean Startup theory is valuable for anyone looking to start a business or fine tune one. Key point summaries at the end of each chapter allow the reader to follow the theory easily without having to have a business degree. In thirty minutes you could be on your way to success!
This is a solid summary of The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. It covers the main points of the book while staying short and to the point. The lean startup is an efficient way to make use of resources while maintaining relevancy through rigorous market testing and constant data analysis. Great tips for innovation in well-established businesses as well.
Read this book when it first came out. Great book for the first time entrepreneur. If you're an engineer (not a comp sci), you'll already think in this method (set assumptions, test them, refine). He has some great references.