Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 12, 2010

For the many entrepreneurs that send me cold emails asking for me to review a business plan or answer a strategic dilemma: Im much more likely to answer if youve already tried getting an answer on the mailing list. Last, Ive tried to keep this blog updated with events , slides , audio , video and books that are helpful as well.

Lean 146

Lean San Francisco Wiki Startup 146

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. In the meantime his two books, The Monk and the Riddle and Getting to Plan B are both a must-read. In the meantime his two books, The Monk and the Riddle and Getting to Plan B are both a must-read.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Software Review 133

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

Then you set up a web app to co-ordinate volunteers who can wipe a hard drive and install Ubuntu. I'd be interested to hear your opinion of a book we published earlier this year: "Hello World! " The book teaches kids programming with examples written in Python, and is illustrated with fun kid-friendly characters.

Programming 143

Programming San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 143

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

The best resources there are his book Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change and the gentle introduction at extremeprogramming.org. For customer development, start with Steves book The Four Steps to the Epiphany or take a look at his recent Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Lecture. Want to learn more about me?

Lean 102

Lean San Francisco Agile Continuous Deployment 102

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

But if you want to practice rapid deployment, you need to be able to deploy that build in one step as well. If you want to do continuous deployment, youd better be able to certify that build too, which brings us to. For more on continuous deployment, see Just-in-time Scalability. Can you make a build in one step?

Software Review 144

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 144

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 16, 2009

Thats why I prefer to think of them as two co-equals: the problem team and the solution team. I wont do the explanation justice so I suggest you grab the book. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. I hope nobody will misinterpret what Im saying as a criticism of the agile pioneers who made all this possible.

Agile 111

Agile Customer Development Developer San Francisco 111

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 19, 2009

One, which is described in great detail in the Mythical Man-Month (in finding that link, I discovered that today is coincidentally the exact 11th anniversary of my first purchasing that book: Jan 19, 1998), is that as you add people to a team or project, there is an increase in communications overhead that makes everyone slightly less productive.

Lean 140

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.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2009

benjaminjoffe : early adopters of buggy product are visionary customers, sometimes smarter than founders! Many founders dont like to hear that visionary customers are as smart, maybe even more so, than they are. Books like Crossing the Chasm are excellent, but they can be misleading. Brilliant insight. Amazing Video, great.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Japan Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

I place them roughly in this order: Movies > Television > Books > Music > Magazines > Radio > Newspapers Each industry is watching the one in front of it sink into the quicksand. When I reviewed a recent product development book, it immediately shot up to Amazon sales rank 300. My blog has over 14000 subscribers, for example.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

Imagine a general manager that has read The Innovator’s Dilemma and related books, and is therefore trying hard to help her organization make a transition to a new product category via disruptive innovation. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Pivot, don't jump to a new vision Why Continuous Deployment?

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

If you have a minute, post your answers in a comment, or email me. Heard about O'Reilly video from "So you want to be an entrepreneur" blog 3)I subscribed in spite of the fact that I just pruned my email , twitter and Google reader feeds down to the bone. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

TWO See page 199 of Poppendieck and Poppendiecks new(er) book for a finer analysis of defects and bugs: Unit tests prove that the code does what the developers want it to do, i.e. there are no defects. Excepting for cosmically co-incidental success stories, the fuzzy requirement stuff never congeals as a holistic engineering exercise.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 4, 2009

Thanks to those of you who were willing to fill out the survey, I learned my net promoter score (about 25) as well as some clear other segmentation insights: about 80% of you are founders of or work at a startup, you read many of the same other blogs, and many of you would like to engage with Lessons Learned in formats and venues beyond this blog.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 20, 2010

Heres an excerpt: Philosophy Helps Start-Ups Move Faster - WSJ.com Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists often churn out how-to business books and fancy themselves as management gurus, but few see their methodologies adopted. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 153

Lean San Francisco Arlington Continuous Deployment 153

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 5, 2010

We did our best to package as much content (including almsot a dozen books and ebooks) as well as tools and apps, into one low-priced magic offer. But I am even more excited to report that it will include a hardcover copy of my new Lean Startup book. But thats not all! And theres so much more.

Lean 153

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 153

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 3, 2009

This also gives me a chance to clarify that I am no relation to the author of the classic book on positioning , Al Ries ) Next up, heres the video from my talk with Steve Blank at startup2startup. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Ive embedded the slides below the video feed. Want to learn more about me?

Video 104

Video San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 104

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

If all that archive-browsing leaves you hungry for more, you will soon be able to get Startup Lessons Learned in book form. I think a book of all your most read posts would be amazing (much like Guy Kawasaki). Why Continuous Deployment? * Awesome, looking forward to the book. Let me summarize. Don't launch * 8.9

San Francisco 84

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 84

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

On to what seems to have stuck: kwooleyy : #g2s Showed startup OODA loop developed by USAF pilot John Boyd I included two Boyd-inspired books in the recommended reading list on the right-hand side of this blog: Certain to Wi n and Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 92

San Francisco DC Washington Lean 92

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

In particular, we would cover customer development, continuous deployment, minimum viable product, and actionable metrics. How many workshops, books, webinars, blog posts, etc have you read, said "that's awesome", and then never did anything beyond that. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 102

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 102

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 13, 2009

Reinertsen is the book for you. Its quite simply the most advanced product development book you can buy. For those who hunger for a rigorous approach to managing product development, Donald Reinertsens book is epic. The book is structured as a series of principles, logically laid out and briefly discussed - 175 in all.

Product Development 153

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 153

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Education Guideline Book (1st Edition) Sep 2006 View SlideShare document or Upload your own. ► 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. If not, you might want to take a look.

Advertising 60

Advertising San Francisco Media Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 9, 2009

sachinrekhi : "Visionary customers are as smart if not smarter then the founders" #leanstartup Theres no skipping the chasm. My cofounders and I would hash out nuances and details almost every day, re-drawing diagram after diagram on the whiteboard. Heres the promo; more information is available on their site. Thanks for sharing Eric.

San Francisco 132

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean Agile 132

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

In fact, I remember sending him and his obscure-to-me co-founder (aka Reid Hoffman ) a bug report early-on, instead of taking them up on their offer of an in-person meeting. I managed to be envious of dozens of other companies, founders, and colleagues who seemed to be having tremendous success but later turned out to be a mirage.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 16, 2009

That foundational idea, so clearly articulated in books like Lean Thinking, is what originally led me to start using the term lean startup. I had a background in lean manufacturing (book knowledge, anyway) and lean software development (hands on) before encountering Lean Startups. A/B testing is set-based design.

Lean 140

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 140

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

I think the absolute best reading on this subject is a book called Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 by AnnaLee Saxenian. The book is really fun to read (how often do you see an academic tome crossed with a real whodunit?). Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Silicon Valley 68

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

His book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production is a fascinating read, even though its decidedly non-practical. Yet there is one specific technique that I learned most clearly from this book: asking why five times. Each five whys email is a teaching document. Five whys should read like plain English.

Software Review 167

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 27, 2009

The full formula works like this: runway = cash on hand / burn rate # iterations = runway / speed of each iteration Very few successful companies ended up in the same exact business that the founders thought theyd be in (see Founders at Work for dozens of examples). Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 117

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 117

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 2, 2009

Have you considered putting all these into a book? oh, and on the book front, you'll be able to get all of my essays so far in ebook, print-on-demand, and kindle editions - coming soon. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Great article as always, Eric. They seem to be liking it. (oh,

San Francisco 164

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Software Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Founders push for it. In some ways, founders are even worse. My experience is that many founders actually have a deep anxiety that maybe they are not succeeding. If so, I might have something that can help with more of a grass roots effort1 Or email me at rush1527@yahoo.com March 14, 2009 11:25 AM Maria Marsala, EduCoach said.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 1, 2009

For startups that are tempted to mimic this behavior, I suggest reading the great account of the early Apple in Founders at Work.) There are some good anecdotes about Chief Engineers in the Toyota Product Development Book. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. August 7, 2009 6:03 AM mrcavalcanti said.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 166

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

One time, I became completely enamored with Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (which is a great book, but thats for another post). I thought that this was a great post, and Ive quoted it extensively to folks via email. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Any thoughts?

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

Id also recommend Cal Hendersons (flickr) presentations (and book), e.g. [link] And - of course - going through [link] and reading up on the various different approaches different companies have (successfully) taken towards getting scalability at reasonably low cost. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Open Source 107

Open Source San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean 107

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 30, 2008

I have found James Surowiecki s book The Wisdom of Crowds particularly helpful in thinking through these issues. This book is Tipping Point - esque , full of anecdotes and interesting social science citations. Let me briefly summarize the part of the book I find most helpful (leaving a few out, which arent germane to todays topic).

San Francisco 83

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 83

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 29, 2008 Q&A with an actual reader One of my favorite things about having a blog is the feedback I get in comments and by email. Thanks again and if you have any other suggestions or books that I should read, I would be forever in your debt. Very exciting. Want to learn more about me?

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

This is called “the illusion of cause&# and is discussed at length in the extremely readable book The Invisible Gorilla ). By only releasing vanity metrics , companies co-opt the press into helping them mislead others. By only releasing vanity metrics , companies co-opt the press into helping them mislead others.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Metrics Lean PR 154

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 22, 2008

It is described in detail by Fred Reichheld in his book The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth. Email is great; of course, at IMVU , we had our own internal notification system. For this reason, I think email is actually not such a great method unless your service relies on it heavily for its core functionality.

.Net 158

.Net Operations San Francisco Lean 158