Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 14, 2008

This was 2004, and we had never even heard of MySpace, let alone had any understanding of social networking. It required hearing customers say it over and over again for us to take a serious look, and eventually to realize that social networking was core to our business. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 131

San Francisco Customer Lean Continuous Deployment 131

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

Startups especially can benefit by using technical debt to experiment, invest in process, and increase their product development leverage. The biggest source of waste in new product development is building something that nobody wants. Unfortunately, customers hated that initial product. One last thought.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

And they expose the startups to a vast network of mentors, none of whom get paid for their involvement. Inspiring ideas: real-time biz metrics; safe continuous deployment; A/B split testing. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Some of the mentors are based in Boulder, but many are not.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Lean 113

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 22, 2009

Ive spoken in some detail about a specific pivot that we went through at IMVU , when we decided to abandon the instant messaging add-on concept, and switch to a standalone instant messaging network. We went through another pivot when we switched again from instant messaging to social networking.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 167

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

Let me quote an example that I used recently: Remember IMVUs initial IM add-on product? Unfortunately, when we realized the product design was not what customers wanted, we had to pivot to a new product. When we became a standalone network, it didnt matter how easy it was to add new networks, since we never did.

Software Review 87

Software Review Design Software San Francisco 87

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

I went to excellent public schools (so-called science magnets) that had computer classes, which meant they had networked computers that I could use. If we network them together, theyll answer each others questions and collaborate on projects we can hardly imagine. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Programming 143

Programming San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 143

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 1, 2009

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. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Will start to pay attention. Great post Eric.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 166

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Austin: the Lean Startup tour continues Next week I head to Austin, TX for my first visit ever. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

If everyone I know is using a specific product, in most markets thats a heavy influence. And in some markets its decisive, because of well-known network effects (as happened with Microsoft, eBay, and many others). This can even vary by category, as people apply different criteria to games vs. utilities vs. social networking apps.

Distribution 74

Distribution San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 74

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 6, 2008 When NOT to listen to your users; when NOT to rely on split-tests There are three legs to the lean startup concept: agile product development , low-cost (fast to market) platforms , and rapid-iteration customer development. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

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. then five years in Product Mgt. Good luck, engineering manager.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

In fact, the curse of product development is that sometimes small things make a huge difference and sometimes huge things make no difference. When we’re optimizing, product development teams encounter similar situations. I mean, here we are, paying them to be there, and they won’t use the product!

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Lean Metrics Design 154

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

For companies in the early-adopter phase, you can play "the earlyvangelist game" whenever a customer turns out to be too mainstream for your product. Pick a similar product that they do use, and ask them "who was the first person you know who started using [social networking, mobile phones, plasma TV, instant messaging.]?

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

Sometimes, a great hacker has the potential to grow into the CTO of a company, and in those cases all you need is an outside mentor who can work with them to develop those skills. At the end of the day, the product development team of a startup (large or small) is a service organization. Does this sound familiar?

Software Review 94

Software Review Technical Review Part-Time VPE San Francisco 94

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I'll add two ideas: The modern structure of university patent licensing and technology transfer works really well in the life sciences and other fields with expensive product development processes. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. September 9, 2009 7:00 AM Anonymoussaid.

DC 90

DC Washington San Francisco SBIR 90

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

All the usual ideas are good ones: I support inviting more women to speak at conferences , the creation of women-centric networking events like Women 2.0 All the usual ideas are good ones: I support inviting more women to speak at conferences , the creation of women-centric networking events like Women 2.0

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Sweden Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

When I reviewed a recent product development book, it immediately shot up to Amazon sales rank 300. These individuals, possessing talent, experience or real-world networks, will continue to function as ‘virtual gatekeepers’ in the next-generation media industry. My blog has over 14000 subscribers, for example.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

You create an entire framework of understanding and action based on your product/idea that sets it in motion in a self-sustaining way. Launching is about creating circles within circles (groups of people that connect) and social networking, word of mouth, and real-world advertising are all contributing factors. Thats how to "launch".

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 11, 2010

High-profile startup Friendster had first-mover advantage in the social networking space, but created openings for competitors when it could not scale to meet demand. High-profile startup Friendster had first-mover advantage in the social networking space, but created openings for competitors when it could not scale to meet demand.

San Francisco 120

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 120

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 4, 2009

This is true of most web application servers, caches like memcached, and all of the network infrastructure that connects them. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

San Francisco 151

San Francisco Architecture Startup Database 151

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 23, 2009

fbFund REV featuring Eric Ries The Lean Startup Host: fbFund Type: Education - Lecture Network: Global Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009 Time: 1:30pm - 3:30pm Location: fbFund REV Garage Street: 164 Hamilton City/Town: Palo Alto, CA RSVP Here So, if you are in the Bay Area and want to swing by Palo Alto on Thursday afternoon, come join the conversation.

Lean 74

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 74

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 11, 2009

This model has not translated well to the world of social networking, because customers of social networks engage sites in a different way than customers of search engines. Social network page views are much more likely to be internally focused; ads are more of a distraction. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Social Network Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 27, 2009

For network-effects businesses, like Skype , just being on the network is enough to create value. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica.

San Francisco 148

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 148

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 19, 2009

Recently, hes been engaged in a customer validation exercise around a new concept for a political action-oriented social network. Recently, hes been engaged in a customer validation exercise around a new concept for a political action-oriented social network. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 150

San Francisco Founder DC Washington 150

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 7, 2008

For example, if any of the mobile ad networks gets major traction, they may become a dominant way that people discover new apps. If the rating in the App Store is based on usage, I am sure those popular social networking applications are sure to be in the top and the hot seat always. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Retention SEM 68

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 31, 2009

I hope people will use this to recruit and share jobs/candidates in their own networks, letting retweets etc. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica. carry the word out wider.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Startup Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 16, 2008

Facebook , LinkedIn , and other successful social networks have elevated this technique to a high art. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ► 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica. Organic notifications.

Viral 140

Viral San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 140

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

Could we have built the first college-based social network five years before Facebook ? Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Towards a new entrepreneurship ▼ 2009 (88) ► December (4) Continuous deployment for mission-critical applica. Maybe, but the thought never even entered our minds.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94