Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2008

Although Catalyst folded with the dot-com crash, Ries continued his entrepreneurial career as a Senior Software Engineer at There.com, leading efforts in agile software development and user-generated content. Your blogs are full of rational thoughts and has nuggets of information. Looking forward to more of these.

San Francisco 155

San Francisco Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO CTO 155

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 7, 2008

Oops - there went several precious weeks of development effort down the drain. And if you dont know who your customer is, perhaps some customer development is in order? Labels: customer development , search engine marketing 13comments: Jim Lindstrom said. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Demand 167

Demand San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 17, 2010

The team hired only the best and the brightest. Even more surprisingly, the engineering team was equally vocal about their contention that adding rounded corners would add weeks of development time to the project, which would have pushed it out way past its hard deadline, effectively killing it. Here’s why.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review San Francisco Lean Software Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

When Ive asked mentors of mine who have worked in big companies about the role of the CTO, they usually talk about the importance of being the external face of the companys technology platform; an evangelist to developers, customers, and employees. Labels: product development 15comments: mukund said. Very good and informative.

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2009

Before I close, let me quote just one additional bit of twitter feedback from one of the video beta-testers: bmeschke : @ ericries This is such GREAT information. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 115

Lean Video San Francisco Continuous Deployment 115

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 8, 2009

Sometime later, a guide would rattle off useful information, like the density of cars in the immediate vicinity, how that density compares to historical averages, the average mass and velocity of recent cars. So the product development team was busy creating lots of split-tests for lots of hypotheses. It required two things.

San Francisco 84

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 84

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

(Turns out, they were incredibly well-credentialed graduate students who had, in fact, developed some interesting new robotics technology. I have come to believe that there is a hierarchy of pitches, and that understanding where your pitch falls on this spectrum can assist in making decisions about what information to highlight.

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, June 5, 2009 It’s a startup, not a spreadsheet Some people, when they start to realize the power of using data to inform their decisions, become obsessed with optimization. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 17, 2009

It wont even get passed the registrant information screen to even get to selecting what you want to register for. Although Im not a developer, I am captivated by the lean and agile start-up model that you write about. Although Im not a developer, I am captivated by the lean and agile start-up model that you write about.

Lean 76

Lean San Francisco Web Continuous Deployment 76

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

User-centric and interaction design, test-driven development, continuous integration, services-oriented architectures - the list goes on. During the course of implementing a design, new information will arise, which many times will change the original design. These principles are every bit as true today as then.

Software Review 87

Software Review Design Software San Francisco 87

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

Because of the incredible array of information available, we have a desperate need for filtering mechanisms. Mass blasts of information are ineffective, because the broadcast channels are suffering from information overload (even in social media). I used to be skeptical of all this talk of “personal brand.&# Is that good?

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

Like a financial debt, the technical debt incurs interest payments, which come in the form of the extra effort that we have to do in future development because of the quick and dirty design choice. We can choose to continue paying the interest, or we can pay down the principal by refactoring the quick and dirty design into the better design.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Their product development team is hard at work on a next-generation product platform, which is designed to offer a new suite of products – but this effort is months behind schedule. And what of the product development team? Every board meeting, the metrics of success change. Go on an agile diet quickly.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

It uses principles of agile software development, open source and web 2.0, The presentation was informative, insightful, and humorous - as you pointed out the many ridiculous assumptions we make as entrepreneurs! The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Try About the author.

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 20, 2008 The engineering managers lament I was inspired to write The product managers lament while meeting with a startup struggling to figure out what had gone wrong with their product development process. And this was a huge product, which took years to develop.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 13, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, July 13, 2009 The Principles of Product Development Flow If youve ever wondered why agile or lean development techniques work, The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen is the book for you.

Product Development 153

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 153

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

I originally thought I might get some development process tips (I manage developers), but I find that Im really enjoying your business tips (SEM, listening to customers, etc.). I agree with the other comments, more information on yourself and what topics youll focus on would be helpful. More of the same. So why you?

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 4, 2009

Today, Id like to spend some time on two techniques: the problem presentation and learning what channels of information reach customers. If this was a startup, Id be asking it of a sample of customers even more often, because getting a regular tracking result is helpful for informing your decision loop.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 23, 2009

Solving the chicken-and-egg platform problem Developers don’t want to develop unless there are customers who are there to buy their products, and customers don’t want to come on the platform unless developers are there selling them something useful. Nice post Eric thanks for sharing such useful information with us.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Audio 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 24, 2010

And, in the survey that was attached, I learned a lot of useful information about how to make this blog better. And, in the survey that was attached, I learned a lot of useful information about how to make this blog better. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 104

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 104

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Then, in each development cycle, use the insights gained by studying customers to make improvements. When those teams face difficult choices, its incredibly hard for them to come together and make an informed, fact-based decision. Then, in each development cycle, use the insights gained by studying customers to make improvements.

Metrics 121

Metrics San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 121

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 26, 2010

Traditional product development efforts often invest millions of dollars and years of time into one fixed product concept that is assumed to meet known customer needs — creating a high level of risk that the "waste of overproduction" occurs and creating a product that customers reject. More information is available here.

Lean 113

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 113

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 4, 2010 Stop lying on stage Entrepreneurs crave information about successful startups, and they should. This is the same issue we see with vanity metrics : companies are giving the appearance of sharing information while actually engaging in spin or outright deception.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean PR Metrics 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2010

For software companies especially, scaling distribution and development is comparatively cheap. I freely admit that I have no inside information, no unique insight into what they are thinking. Comprehensive means it has to address all aspects of a startups life: marketing and product development, especially.

IPO 166

IPO San Francisco Lean Silicon Valley 166

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 16, 2010

It requires separating the product launch from the marketing launch (see Dont Launch ) as well as other staple Lean Startup tactics: minimum viable product, split-testing, customer development and the pivot. “We don’t give you all this Pro plan information right away when you join SlideShare. That is customer development.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Analytics Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Unfortunately, after months or even years of development, many companies discover that customers arent willing to buy their new wares. Thats why some entrepreneurs are trying another approach to product launches: marketing a product online before spending much on research and development or inventory. Read the rest.

San Francisco 137

San Francisco Product Lean Continuous Deployment 137

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 11, 2009

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica. February 19, 2009 5:23 PM Maryam Asif said.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 102

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 27, 2009

Use that data to make an informed choice about whether you want to change strategies. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Better to set up complete experiments that are themselves internally coherent.

San Francisco 148

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 148

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 1, 2009

As for a topic Im particularly interested in, Id be curious about partnerships: the type of formal or informal relationships one tech co has with another in terms of either cross marketing or integrating each others products. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 31, 2009

A common question I get asked is "do you know someone amazing that we can hire?" I do my best to play matchmaker, but as those of you who have ever tried to fill a job in a startup know, the most important and elusive quality for a startup hire is fit. Great startups are always hiring, if the fit is right.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Startup Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 5, 2008

This blog is very informative for me. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ► 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

Advertising 60

Advertising San Francisco Media Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 20, 2009

Specially because of Twitter and this information overload, I think many people have been struggling to reduce the number of RSS feeds they actually follow (it is my case), so it´ll become easier for us to keep track of your writing even if we´re not reading those blogs that often. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Even if men have an innate advantage at software development, the gap would have to be massive in order to explain why startup after startup has an all-male team. After all, if you already have an all-male startup, you’re already at a disadvantage when it comes to hiring the very women that could fix that imbalance.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Sweden Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 9, 2009

Thats the essence of so many of the lean startup techniques Ive evangelized: customer development , the Ideas/Code/Data feedback loop , and the adaptation of agile development to the startup experience. Creating a company-wide feedback loop that incorporates both customer development and agile development is a challenge.

San Francisco 132

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean Agile 132

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 7, 2008

Need some isight into this if you have any information. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ► 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Retention SEM 68

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

The advantage of sharing this information widely is that it gives everyone insight into the kinds of problems the team is facing, but also insight into how those problems are being tackled. Wanted to add one additional note from the perspective of someone who was intimately involved in developing this system. What are you waiting for?

Software Review 167

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 1, 2009

Figuring out whether and how to incorporate that new information into your vision is your job. For one, capacity development. Also SJ's obsession with better taste (positively) contributes to the overall product development process. There are some good anecdotes about Chief Engineers in the Toyota Product Development Book.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 166