4 ms·

Actually, skip it. It's not that good. There were some solid ideas in it back when he wrote it, but it was/is very raw, and has been fleshed out and refined by

Actually, skip it. It's not that good. There were some solid ideas in it back when he wrote it, but it was/is very raw, and has been fleshed out and refined by Blank and others in the years since. That, and the writing/editing is really bad - not up to the quality of what you find on his blog, which I like a lot.

JoeCortopassi 15y ago
I completely disagree with the above comment, but why is it being downvoted? Down voting people because they have a differing opinion just makes HN an echo chamber. Downvote trolls and irrelevant comments, not stuff that promotes reflection and discussion. That being said, damoncali, I never thought the blog was that great compared to the book
- damoncali 15y ago
  Different strokes, I suppose. To be clear, I think there is lots of good info in the book - I just think it is better presented and expanded upon elsewhere, including his own blog, the many lean startup themed sites/books, and other places. In my view, the book reads like a big-company consulting manual, and does not get to the point very quickly or well. An important work, but not a must-read any more. Will I buy his new book? Probably.
mindcrime 15y ago
Yeah, I couldn't disagree with you more on this, but this comment doesn't deserve to be downvoted. FWIW, I think The Four Steps to the Epiphany is absolutely in "must read" category. Sure, you can crib together most (if not all) of the same material from reading hundreds of different blog posts, spread over dozens of blogs.. but if you just read the book, you get all of the important content, in one place, with the methodology all laid out in order, with the diagrams, etc. Honestly, I'd argue that reading TFSTTE should be a prerequisite to reading any of the various blogs and articles out there that touch on Customer Development and the Lean Startup approach. But that's just my take...

JoeCortopassi 15y ago

I completely disagree with the above comment, but why is it being downvoted? Down voting people because they have a differing opinion just makes HN an echo chamber. Downvote trolls and irrelevant comments, not stuff that promotes reflection and discussion. That being said, damoncali, I never thought the blog was that great compared to the book

damoncali 15y ago
Different strokes, I suppose. To be clear, I think there is lots of good info in the book - I just think it is better presented and expanded upon elsewhere, including his own blog, the many lean startup themed sites/books, and other places. In my view, the book reads like a big-company consulting manual, and does not get to the point very quickly or well. An important work, but not a must-read any more. Will I buy his new book? Probably.

mindcrime 15y ago

Yeah, I couldn't disagree with you more on this, but this comment doesn't deserve to be downvoted. FWIW, I think The Four Steps to the Epiphany is absolutely in "must read" category. Sure, you can crib together most (if not all) of the same material from reading hundreds of different blog posts, spread over dozens of blogs.. but if you just read the book, you get all of the important content, in one place, with the methodology all laid out in order, with the diagrams, etc. Honestly, I'd argue that reading TFSTTE should be a prerequisite to reading any of the various blogs and articles out there that touch on Customer Development and the Lean Startup approach. But that's just my take...