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Startup Lessons Learned (Eric Ries)

2 resources from Startup Lessons Learned (Eric Ries) we point founders to, and the questions each answers.

✍️ Essay
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it The free, original essay that defined the MVP before the book existed, written plainly by the person who coined the term. It clears up the most common mistake founders make, which is thinking an MVP has to be a working product when a landing page or a video often teaches you more, faster. Useful as a quick primer you can send someone in one link.

Minimum Viable Product: a guide

From Startup Lessons Learned (Eric Ries) by Eric Ries ~15 min read

  • An MVP is the smallest thing that produces validated learning, not the smallest product
  • A page or a video can be a legitimate MVP if it tests real demand
  • Aim for maximum learning per unit of effort, not feature completeness
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Answers How do I run a landing-page / 'fake-door' test? What's the difference between an MVP and just a cheap, half-finished product? Isn't doing things that don't scale a waste of time, shouldn't I automate from day one? When is my product 'ready' to launch? Should we ship an ugly, half-working version now or wait until it feels good enough to be proud of?
✍️ Essay
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it Ries makes the exact distinction our answer rests on: a product launch (making it available) and a marketing launch (making noise) are two separate events, and conflating them is what turns a soft launch into either cowardice or a wasted splash. Read this before you plan your own launch sequence so you are choosing the timing on purpose, not by default.

Don't launch

From Startup Lessons Learned (Eric Ries) by Eric Ries 10 min read

  • Product availability and public announcement do not have to happen on the same day
  • A quiet release lets you fix problems before they are visible to everyone at once
  • Treat launching as a tactic you deploy when it helps, not a milestone you are owed
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Answers What does a 'soft launch' actually look like, and is it just a cop-out for being scared to ship?
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