eries

31 ms·

451.
by eries 9y ago
Our goal with building this was not to be comprehensive, but to give founders and employees a way to have a more productive conversation about options and what they are worth. Too many startup employees I meet don't properly value the
452.
by eries 11y ago
It's a classic two-sided market problem. If you just make great startups, won't they migrate to a better startup hub when they have enough traction to do so? I think it's about creating a true startup community where people w
453.
by eries 11y ago
Not even remotely. Even a week ago I didn't think we'd pass 500k.
454.
by eries 11y ago
People have the ability to willfully misunderstand any concept, no matter what it's called. That said, if MLP is a better term, I'd gladly adopt it. Go prove it.
455.
by eries 11y ago
Thanks!
456.
by eries 11y ago
Am-C-D-F
457.
by eries 11y ago
Hey that's cool. I completely forgot about that feature of bitly.
458.
by eries 11y ago
I'm conflicted. Personally, I think SV is a magical place and that's why I live here. OTOH, it's also a very fad-driven place and some people get distracted by the noise. Plus, there are clearly many other startup hubs where
459.
by eries 11y ago
I think a liberal arts education is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their child (thanks, Mom & Dad!). That said, there's clearly plenty of people who are able to succeed without formal schooling. And, for that matter, t
460.
by eries 11y ago
1. Just wrote a little about this: http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2015/04/getting-feedbac... 2. I know so many people like that. I'll tell you a funny story. Back in 2005 a certain VC wanted to invest i
461.
by eries 11y ago
The Leader's Guide is only available on Kickstarter and only for a few more hours. It can't be sold in stores or at retail, so this is the only way to get it. The next book - the sequel to The Lean Startup - will come out in 2016
462.
by eries 11y ago
Treat publishing like you would any industry you're thinking of entering as a startup. Talk to authors, editors, publicists, anyone who will talk to you. Don't take their word for "how things work" just gather info and p
463.
by eries 11y ago
The new book (codenamed The Startup Way) will be traditionally published just like TLS. I already have a book contract and everything. The Leader's Guide is the MVP, that will only be available via Kickstarter. In fact, my book contrac
464.
by eries 11y ago
Think about a very delicious cupcake, rather than half the ingredients in a mixing bowl. That's what most MVPs are like - you want to give the customer a taste of the end experience you hope to build. Visual polish is extremely importa
465.
by eries 11y ago
Good question and hard to do justice to it. The Kickstarter is an MVP in several ways: 1. It's a good test of the value prop for the new book 2. The Leader's Guide gives me a chance to test out ideas from the new book and make sur
466.
by eries 11y ago
Well, that's a bit like saying "how much science should I use?" There's not really such a thing as "too much science" more like "bad science" or "too expensive science." The key, to me, is t
467.
by eries 11y ago
That technique is actually very common. If you have a 30 day free trial, for example, you really don't need a payment processor for at least 30 days (and that's the optimistic scenario! I've seen startups that don't need
468.
by eries 11y ago
Yes, I think the fundamental issues are the same as product development elsewhere: the key is to find product/market fit. Sometimes you swing for the fences and it works out great. Sometimes you do everything right and you still fail.
469.
by eries 11y ago
There's plenty of "leanwashing" going on, that's for sure. The key is to move from "pretend startup" to "real startup" - which is 100% possible inside an established company if the leadership wants it
470.
by eries 11y ago
Ask Corey Nelson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkdsYTlEGfQ It all depends on what you are trying to learn. What has to be true in order for your new product or project to succeed? How can you find that out cheaply and qu
471.
by eries 11y ago
No.
472.
by eries 11y ago
It was totally obvious that Aardvark was a better product than the previous ones they had tested. They could feel it in their bones once customers started using it. I do think it's possible to quantify that result, but it's almost
473.
by eries 11y ago
It's a whole new world. It reminds me a bit of 2007, but even more intense. And although I wasn't in Silicon Valley in 1999, it has some of those overtones, too. But the biggest change is not in all that noise, it's in the fa
474.
by eries 11y ago
That's really Steve Blank's domain, but we just had lunch and he filled me in. It sounds absolutely incredible.
475.
by eries 11y ago
I think they are very applicable. During the writing process for TLS I spent an absolute metric ton of time testing, iterating, workshopping and trying to make sure that: 1) the value proposition for the book was right and 2) that the book
476.
by eries 11y ago
thanks!
477.
by eries 11y ago
No, I will not. I am not yet sold on the tools approach to lean startup adoption. It's not to say I am opposed to it, but I haven't really seen it work in companies. I prefer prose: convincing people to try it and letting them bui
478.
by eries 11y ago
Now _that_ is a good question. Most agile systems are designed to insulate management from the volatility inherent in software development (and to tamp it down a little bit). They aren't really designed to exploit the positive variabil
479.
by eries 11y ago
Well, because I hadn't read the excellent book Founder's Dilemmas, I didn't have a clue about what to look for. Honestly, the biggest criteria was that they were willing to work with me!
480.
by eries 11y ago
Let's be honest: I almost didn't make the front page. My post got to about #25 on /newest with only like 9 upvotes. If it had rolled over to page two, I doubt I would still be answering questions right now. So no, I don'

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