The Lean Startup is one of the most widely read books on Lean Methodologies in the IT Sector. One of the reason is the ease with which author Eric Ries explains his idea of lean startup strategy without the baggage of successes letting readers understand the idea in the context of their workspace. Capitalizing on the name recognition of his successful venture IMVU, Eric Ries uses the well-known application as a case study for his book along with a diversity of examples.

The book is divided into three parts – Vision, Steer and Accelerate – subdivided into ideas which seem less like a textbook but more like a stream of consciousness. There are two major highlights of this book –

  • Meta References – Eric refers to his own experiences – both success and failures – to explain his ideas. This gives a personal touch to a relatively dry subject. Additionally, the products are more common knowledge to the readers by the experience of literature and by giving the developer’s insight, Eric helps end-users connect dots from inception to conception of a product.
  • Simplicity – Many books on this topic fail to hit the mark because they are too complex for their readers. Eric keeps the content of his book very simple. He steers away from complexities involved by talking in terms that doesn’t need any specialization. Without dwelling into specifics he explains the topics with an unfailing simplicity.

The Lean Startup is a great book for someone who is looking into understanding the concepts of Lean Product Development. In a little over 300 pages, Eric Ries takes one through a great journey of an entrepreneur.

~S