When we interview project creators, we love to ask them to recommend a book they draw inspiration from. This question gives us great insight into their viewpoint and the way they run their business and their lives.
One book we hear about often is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, which does a fantastic job of explaining why startups fail and showing how failure can be preventable.
Ries defines a startup as an organization devoted to creating something new under uncertain conditions. Startups must break through this uncertainty to find a way to make their business successful and sustainable.
Validated learning through a feedback loop is key here. Specifically, our feedback loop should be based on Build-Measure-Learn, which means the faster you go through this feedback loop, the faster you’ll (hopefully) find success. As you’re going through this, make sure predictions made can be proven or disproven, metrics are well-defined and measurable and you use A/B testing to get feedback. Your product or service must deliver value, and it needs to be easy for new customers to discover it.
You’ll start with an assumption and test it. Then, you’ll use the results to pivot, or make a structured change that will test a new hypothesis of your business, product or growth. Through this method, you should be able to create a business that is successful and sustainable and quickly grows.
Why Entrepreneurs Should Read The Lean Startup
In The Lean Startup, Ries offers a method for entrepreneurs to continuously test their visions and adjust before it’s too late. This scientific approach to building successful companies is critical for entrepreneurs as they start out with a new venture.
The book is filled with technical information backed up by case studies and real-life examples from a variety of industries. It provides practical advice for getting a minimum viable product to market, then testing it and using customer feedback to revise the product and improve the business. Early-stage companies typically don’t have the resources to launch a fully-functional product backed by extensive research, which is why this method is so helpful for many entrepreneurs.
If you’re an entrepreneur in any capacity, especially if you’re launching a Kickstarter or Indiegogo project, you’ll want to read this book – it provides a scientific method for achieving your goals and building a successful business, and it gives entrepreneurs a holistic framework for building a great business. Whether you’re struggling with the validated learning process, identifying metrics, or determining how to pivot and what changes need to be made to make your business more successful, this book is for you.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a book to guide you step-by-step through the startup process, check out The Lean Startup.
