

Eric Ries: “Don’t Be In A Rush To Get Big, Be In A Rush To Have A Great Product” - aorshan
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/14/lean-startup-eric-ries-tctv/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

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martinkallstrom
This echoes the Einstein quote I regard as my personal mantra:

 _"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." - Albert Einstein._

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idlewords
"Be skeptical of inspirational quotes ascribed to great men"

\- Gandhi

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gruseom
It's true that many such quotes are bogus, but this one can be pinned down. It
comes from an interview with Einstein published in LIFE magazine, May 2, 1955:
"Never lose a holy curiosity. Try not to become a man of success but rather
try to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets
more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he
receives."

[http://books.google.com/books?id=dlYEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1...](http://books.google.com/books?id=dlYEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA64)

Also, I recommend the "Carpet Is So Easy To Care For" ad on the preceding
page. "Home means more with carpet on the floor."

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startupfounder
"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." - Benjamin Franklin

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gruseom
Huh? If LIFE from 1955 counts as reading something on the internet, then so
does <http://www.librarius.com/cantales/knigttl1.htm>. (Also, please don't do
the memester thing here. The natives don't like it.)

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staunch
What about the startups where scale _is_ the product?

Such as Reddit, Etsy, Quora, Airbnb, eBay, or any network effect/marketplace
business?

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lfittl
Sean Ellis recently did a good presentation on this, highlighting whats
different for network effect businesses:

[http://startup-marketing.com/bringing-a-network-effect-
busin...](http://startup-marketing.com/bringing-a-network-effect-business-to-
market/)

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staunch
I watched the video and it was quite interesting. He says pretty explicitly
that he thinks network effect businesses are in the most important ways the
opposite of a Lean Startup(TM). Definitely helped me think about the topic in
a clearer way. Thanks for the link.

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robjohnson
I really like that they are perpetuating this methodology as far as possible.
Steve Blank and Eric Ries are developing a logic and ration driven scientific
approach to entrepreneurship - very exciting indeed.

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mathgladiator
Why rush at all?

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mechanical_fish
If you have infinite runway you don't need to listen to Eric Ries or anybody
else. Build whatever you want. Take as long as you want. Give the stuff you
built away in your will when you die. Or, have your executors burn it all in a
massive bonfire.

Most of us do not have infinite runway, however.

And even if you do: There is an optimum pace at which to create any given work
of art. Working on it too much can be just as bad as working on it too little.
The momentum runs down. The zeitgeist changes. The authors become too familiar
with the product to see it afresh. The fanbase gets bored and stops paying
attention. And the stakes get higher: The longer you work on something, the
more of your reputation is tied up with that thing.

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mtogo
The Over Capitalization In The Title Is Really Kind Of Ridiculous.

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golden_apples
Thats funny. What is it about marketers overdoing title case in setting they
write anyways?

I actually added this line to a clients stylesheet once:

* { text-transform: capitalize !important; }

...trying to demonstrate how ridiculous his headlines looked.

When he said he loved it, I decided never to work for him again.

