Eric Ries

Founder and Executive Chairman at Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE)

Creator of the Lean Startup methodology and author of The Lean Startup, who coined terms like MVP, pivot, and vanity metrics, and is currently founder and executive chairman of the Long-Term Stock Exchange.

The Scientist The Visionary

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 90%

Execution & Craft 65%

Data & Experimentation 85%

Growth & Distribution 40%

Team & Leadership 50%

User Empathy & Research 60%

Key Themes

Lean Startup methodology evolution first principles thinking in startups MVP and pivot as descriptive concepts corporate governance and long-termism founder mental health scientific approach to entrepreneurship

Episode Summary

Eric Ries reflects on the state of the Lean Startup movement over a decade after his influential book, explaining how his concepts went from being yelled at in meetings to becoming the default startup methodology. He shares the origin story of the movement, explains why first principles thinking is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive, and discusses the Long-Term Stock Exchange, AI governance, and the underappreciated mental health crisis among founders who build companies they end up hating.

Leadership Principles

→ First principles thinking is primarily descriptive — name what already happens so people can reason about it, then the prescriptive parts follow deductively
→ Far worse than a startup failing is building a company you hate that becomes something abhorrent — more founders should take that seriously early on
→ A startup is an experiment whether you treat it that way or not — the question is whether you learn from it systematically

Notable Quotes

"People act like having a startup fail is the worst thing that can happen to you. That's not even in the top 10. Far worse is to be in a company that won't die, a zombie, undead company that you hate but you can't leave."
— On the underappreciated mental health risks of building companies

"I'm not telling you that you should pivot. I'm just saying that is what it's called when you change the strategy but try to have fidelity to the vision."
— On how Lean Startup concepts are primarily descriptive, giving names to things that already happen

"We at IMVU shipped product 50 times a day on average at a time when people were lucky to be doing it monthly. People said that's impossible, that could never work."
— On the origins of continuous deployment and how radical it seemed

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