The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

The “Introduction” of The Lean Startup recounts a moment of conflict between Ries and his friend while they are building their first startup shortly after college. Ries knows the company was going to fail though he and his friend are doing everything right: They have a “great product, a brilliant team, amazing technology, and the right idea at the right time” (1). This anecdote leads into the book’s first argument: the mythmaking industry of the startup tells a “story of perseverance, creative genius, and hard work” (2), yet most startups with great ideas and promising ventures ultimately fail. Ries challenges audiences to question why this myth is so prevalent. More importantly, he advises that, rather than buying into a myth of startup success, “[s]tartup success can be engineered by following the right process” (3).

After the first story of failure, Ries pivots to one of success. After coming off a period of failure, Ries and a group of cofounders start a tech company, IMVU, that allowed people to communicate online using personal avatars. Unlike in his last venture, Ries decides not to perfect his technology before releasing it to the public. IMVU first builds a “minimum viable product” and ships it to customers before it’s ready.