Lean Startup by Eric Ries: Why Should Aspiring Entrepreneurs Read It?

Randy Komisar’s (Founder, TiVo) quote about the book – Lean Startup on its cover – “If you are an entrepreneur, read this book. If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, read this book. If you are just curious about entrepreneurship, read this book.”In case you require more reasons to read this book beyond the words of an established entrepreneur then here are two of the key points that are emphasized throughout the book:

• Build a product that people actually want to use and pay for.

Why is this important? It is a common mistake done by many startups. Founders spend months sometimes even years building a product without finding out the market for that product. Only when the product is ready, the team ventures out to see if anybody is willing to buy the product. This should essentially be the other way round to avoid wasting your time in the wrong direction. Put your idea to test before you spend time on it because when you start-up, you will realize time is money.

• Build a sustainable business once you have found the product sweet spot

You are on the right road if you have pinned on a product that people want and are willing to pay for. There might an initially momentum for the product that you have developed. But the real success of your product lies in sustaining the market for the product. Will there be a constant demand for your product? Or is it only a limited one-time demand?

This book gives you pointers on how you should go about doing this – build a product that people actually want to use and pay for and also making it sustainable. Eric Ries gives you the insight required to startup by efficiently and effectively using minimum available resources int the book, Lean Startup. So if you think you have a great idea that you want to put to test before you spend your time on it then Lean Startup by Eric Ries would be your best starting point.

If you need more pointers taking your ideas forward, take a look at our resources section.