The Lean Startup — World’s Best Startup Book
The one life-changing book (no exaggeration) I read this year was Zero by Peter Thiel. That was until I read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — If I could sum up my review in a few words, I’d say it is legit one of the best startup books to read.
Now, if you too have a zeal and passion to build your own startup and make it ‘lean’, The Lean Startup is a must-read. Why is that? For starters, this is one book that finally acknowledges the fact that startups and traditional businesses are two different things.
In this review of The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, I’ll analyze the book and help entrepreneurs and people alike understand how impactful and beneficial this book is in the making of a successful entrepreneur.
Although a book is a theoretical approach to practicality, a good book is always based on practical validations and learnings. The Lean Startup is one such book. Centered on value-adding activities, the book has two core hypotheses: the value hypothesis and the core hypothesis. These hypotheses cover many areas and aspects of building a successful startup, starting with the mitigation of no market need risk.
Myriad marketers, innovators, and startup authors build the notion that following the models and frameworks of establishing companies and corporations are the key to a successful startup. Eric Ries, in his book, says otherwise. He explains how companies and startups are not alike and following the framework of established companies can turn into detrimental decisions that can negatively impact the startup — right from the start.
Instead of starting over from scratch, Eric Ries believes in taking new approaches for all ventures that are looking to make it ‘lean’. This is oddly in contrast to the old way that suggests the launch of a product only when it is perceived as ‘the best’ by the creator. Eric, however, suggests a different approach — He understands how perfectionism costs both money and time, two things that may go to waste if what the creator perceives as perfect is not really perfect for the customer. This is why, in his book, The Lean Startup, Eric brilliantly elucidates on constantly improving a product based on customer-feedback loop, instead of wasting both resources and time on creating something that is perfect on the first go. The approach is based on VOC or Voice of the Customer that new ventures can immensely put to their use when testing their startup hypothesis.
Apart from these, The Lean Startup also delves deep into meaningful metrics that add value to a startup’s progress.
The book on startups has become a phenomenon ever since it was launched. From taking a methodical approach to debunking common myths associated with startups, if I say The Lean Startup is one of the best startup books to read, it may be an understatement. Eric Ries in his book provides an insightful roadmap for building your startup effectively from scratch. To conclude, The Lean Startup is a quintessential read for any person looking to innovate and be a successful entrepreneur.
