# The Lean Startup

> Framework for building businesses through continuous experimentation and validated learning

Eric Ries's foundational business book introduces a scientific approach to creating and managing startups. It details how to test core assumptions early using minimum viable products and iterative build-measure-learn loops rather than following rigid upfront business plans.

Website: https://theleanstartup.com/book

## What it is for

- Validate core business hypotheses before writing code or investing heavily
- Design minimum viable products (MVPs) to gather real customer feedback
- Establish innovation accounting metrics to determine whether to pivot or persevere

## Features

- Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop framework
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP) design guidelines
- Innovation accounting for tracking real progress
- Scientific hypothesis testing for business assumptions
- Decision frameworks for pivoting versus persevering

## Pricing

Paid. Retail book purchase across standard booksellers

## Details

- Type: Article or course
- Category: [Business & Money](https://xiry.app/topics/business-money.md)
- Open source: no
- Platforms: other
- For: Entrepreneurs, product managers, and corporate innovators
- Alternative to: The Four Steps to the Epiphany, Running Lean, Zero to One
- Tags: startups, business, entrepreneurship, mvp, books, product management

## Why it was saved

- [@askmichia, 10 September 2024](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_vdnbDIPA0/): Provides entrepreneurs with practical frameworks to continuously test and validate business models without wasting time and money.
- [@askmichia, 13 April 2024](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5tTLpPIAcK/): Helps startup founders systematically find product-market fit and validate demand with real customers rather than risking everything on untested ideas.

## Related

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- [How Long It Takes to Reach Product-Market Fit](https://xiry.app/resources/how-long-it-takes-to-reach-product-market-fit): Timeline benchmark showing how long major startups took to reach PMF. (Framework, Free)
- [The Hard Thing About Hard Things](https://xiry.app/resources/the-hard-thing-about-hard-things): Practical leadership and crisis-management advice for startup founders and CEOs. (Article or course, Paid)
- [The Millionaire Fastlane](https://xiry.app/resources/the-millionaire-fastlane): Entrepreneurship and wealth creation book outlining rapid financial independence strategies. (Article or course, Paid)
- [Peter Thiel's 7 Core Mental Models](https://xiry.app/resources/peter-thiel-s-7-core-mental-models): A distilled summary of key startup and investing principles from Zero to One (List, Free)

Updated 3 October 2026. Page: https://xiry.app/resources/the-lean-startup

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