Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 22, 2009

Some startups fail because the founders cant have this conversation - they either blow up when they try, or they fail to change because they are afraid of conflict. Although I wish I could take credit for these pivots, the reality is that they were not caused by my singular insight or that of my other co-founders.

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Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 29, 2010

Weve gone from total obscurity to something people are beginning to misunderstand and even co-opt. Heres a tiny sample: "Case studies, case studies, case studies presented by real people. The way forward requires getting everyone together in a room, and having a conversation about where were headed. Congratulations.

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 120

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 16, 2009

Those who are interested in work-in-process might want to take a look at Work in small batches and Continuous deployment - Eric) Some specific TPS practices appear in Lean Startups. Conversion optimization is a form of kaizen. Conversion optimization is a form of kaizen. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 140

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 5, 2010

I have personally sold many copies of his book, and continue to recommend it as one of the most important books a startup founder can read. It is written in a conversational tone, doesnt take itself too seriously, and avoids extraneous fluff. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 166

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2010

I am grateful to everyone who helped make this event a success, especially my co-organizers Charles Hudson and David Sachs. And a special thanks is due to all of our presenters, panelists, and mentors. I am grateful to everyone who helped make this event a success, especially my co-organizers Charles Hudson and David Sachs.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Software Review 133

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 15, 2010

Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review Way back when the money was doled out, the team made a compelling pitch about the large market that was going to adopt their new innovative product or service. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Hockey Stick San Francisco Entrepreneur Lean 105

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 16, 2009

Eric Ries Lean Startup Schematic View Of Agile Development And Customer Development View more presentations from Eric Ries. Ive had at least three conversations this week about the relationship between agile methodologies and customer development. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Agile Customer Development Developer San Francisco 111

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 17, 2009

Im excited that well get more than the usual few minutes of Q&A, so come with a healthy appetite for conversation. If you or your company is interested in sponsoring someone with a scholarship to travel to the expo and contribute to the conversation, please leave a comment or let me know. You heard me right.

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Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

And then we would use that simple analytics system I mentioned to monitor the conversion rates of customers from each campaign. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

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SEM San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 164

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

To promote this metrics discipline, we would present the full funnel to our board (and advisers) at the end of every development cycle. It was actually my co-founder Will Harvey who taught me to present this data in the simple format weve discussed in this post. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Continuous Deployment 166

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

Most important slide: about the founders In a pitch meeting, try to spend as much time as possible talking about the key questions for your pitch. If you find yourself getting asked non-key questions, try to use your answers to steer the conversation back to the key questions. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

For example, say that your business model calls for a 4% conversion rate – as ours did initially at IMVU. After a few months of early beta at IMVU, we discovered that our actual conversion rate was about 0.4%. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 19, 2009

Returning to our example of the beleaguered founder who still has the pager, before hiring an operations guy, try promoting someone from within to take on the job. Given that most recruiting channels are pay-for-performance, its usually cheaper, too, because it has a lower conversion rate. The blog is fantastic as well.

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Lean Hiring San Francisco Continuous Deployment 140

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

It should be even more important to the founders themselves, because it demonstrates that their business hypothesis is grounded in reality. These founders have not managed, to borrow a phrase from Steve Blank , to create a scalable and repeatable sales process. More on that in a moment. They are close to breakeven.

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Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 14, 2009

This workshop presents a new methodology that will allow you to bring new products -- and companies -- to life. Most importantly, if you know a high-quality entrepreneur who you think would add to the conversation, would you be willing to try and convince them to attend? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Software Review 60

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 24, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, March 24, 2009 The metrics and levers of engagement, presentation on Engagement Loops for Facebook Developer Garage SF Ill be presenting a talk at the Facebook Developer Garage SF Wednesday evening. Eric, Great presentation tonight. You can learn more about the event here. So, in summary: 1.

Metrics 88

Metrics San Francisco Lean Viral 88

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 28, 2009

I thought we were having a successful conversation. Back to my conversation with the company I met recently. The pressure to release should always be present, but never so strong that technical debt increases over time. Fortunately, my co-founders are also engineers and understand the need for some of the stuff I do.

San Francisco 79

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 79

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

Real life seldom presents such comparable choices. To do that, we add specific speed regulators, like integrating source control with our continuous integration server or the more elaborate dance required for continuous deployment. Startups are always moving, so invest in moving faster and better. One last thought.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

Im writing this post from an airplane headed to Washington DC, where Ill be presenting at the Government 2.0 Beyond just those who will be hearing about the lean startup for the first time, Im expecting to shake a lot of hands and have a lot of interesting side conversations. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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DC Washington San Francisco SBIR 90

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 6, 2008

I believe that having the whole team work from a common task list, in priority order, lets everyone feel that "all hands on deck" sense that the founders experienced in the early days of the company. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Lots of little projects erodes teamwork and builds up work-in-progress.

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San Francisco SCRUM Lean Continuous Deployment 74

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

Lean methods present a third option: to invest in our process so that our design gets more feedback sooner and is more adaptable to changes in purpose. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

Software Review 87

Software Review Design Software San Francisco 87

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 2, 2010

By all accounts, the conversation was a success. By all accounts, the conversation was a success. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

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San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 149

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

We tried and tried to boost our conversion numbers, each time analyzing what worked and what didnt, and iterating. We were excited by each new discovery, and each iteration we managed to move the conversion needle a little bit more. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

At least, not in the traditional sense of trying to squeeze every tenth of a point out of a conversion metric or landing page. When you read stories of successful startups in the popular and business press, you usually hear about how the founders anticipated several of these challenges in their initial vision.

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San Francisco Lean Metrics Design 154

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

So I generally feel right at home in these conversations. So let’s turn our attention from what may happen in the future to what is definitely happening in the present. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. In other words, they are facing conditions of extreme uncertainty, just like startups.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 11, 2008

Im really proud of the virtual goods system we built at IMVU , and a whole day of presentations left me feeling very confident in IMVUs durable competitive advantage. Youll need bundles, promotions, category and segment managers, and algorithms for upsell, cross-sell, and conversion optimization. In other words, a marketing department.

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 11, 2010

The Conversation - Harvard Business Review : Still, startups develop some kind of process — whether its disciplined, haphazard, bureaucratic or empowering — because building a great product depends on it. The Conversation - Harvard Business Review For Startups, How Much Process Is Too Much?

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San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 120

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 28, 2010

This conference will be the first of its kind: an opportunity to have a conversation about the future of the lean startup movement. We want everyone who can contribute to that conversation to be there, regardless of their ability to pay. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 109

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 6, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Saturday, March 6, 2010 Startup Visa update As I write this, I am traveling at 30,000 feet on Virgin Americas excellent IAD->SFO nonstop, following an intense few days of conversations in Washington, DC about the Startup Visa. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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San Francisco DC Washington Startup 113

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, December 7, 2008 Getting started with split-testing One of the startup founders I work with asked me a smart question recently, and I thought Id share it. If youre a founder or top-level executive, have the courage to be wrong in a very public way. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 132

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Entrepreneurs: Beware of Vanity Metrics - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review : The idea is simple. Read the rest of Entrepreneurs: Beware of Vanity Metrics at The Conversation on Harvard Business Review. Entrepreneurs: Beware of Vanity Metrics - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review : The idea is simple.

Metrics 121

Metrics San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 121

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 23, 2009

Part of that includes giving a presentation for the fbFund companies on the lean startup methodology. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

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Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 74

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

By only releasing vanity metrics , companies co-opt the press into helping them mislead others. Notice that cohort and conversion based metrics do not suffer from this problem. When we look at the same conversion percentage for cohort after cohort, we are effectively getting a new, independent, report card for our efforts each period.

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San Francisco Metrics Lean PR 154

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 22, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, May 22, 2009 The Lean Startup at SIPA follow-up I had wonderful time presenting at SIPA last night , and was completely exhausted by the incredible post-speech response. 2009 05 21 The Lean Startup At SIPA View more OpenOffice presentations from Eric Ries. I could not make it to the presentation.

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Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 76

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 16, 2010

Rashmi Sinha, co-founder and CEO of SlideShare , describes an early version of the analytics package that’s part of the Pro accounts the company announced today. ’&# They removed the core plan, and conversions went up. ’&# They removed the core plan, and conversions went up.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Analytics Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

I promised to post the slides for my highly abbreviated version of the lean startup presentation, so here they are. Summit Edition View more presentations from Eric Ries. A lot of conversation was about what "the federal government" should do. Great presentation. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

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San Francisco DC Washington Lean 92

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Paul quotes one of his founders like this: “Thats the actual beauty in the off-the-record-ness: you hear just how screwed up most of these successful startups were on the way up.&# It makes successful founders famous. It makes successful founders famous. It sells newspapers and magazines. It helps companies with PR.

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San Francisco Lean PR Metrics 167