Stephanie Sun's Reviews > The Lean Startup

"The big question of our time is not Can it be built? but Should it be built?"

I wasn't too surprised to find that Eric Ries is a great writer: clear, intellectually honest, articulate, and good-humored.

As Ries readily admits in the Epilogue, the theories and frameworks promoted in this book have the danger of being used retroactively to justify what you did in the past, or what you've already decided that you want to do, no matter your industry. Its success no doubt has to do with its take control of your chaotic reality self-help vibe.

What's most important in this book is not the snappily named tools (MVP, Concierge, pivot, Build-Measure-Learn) but Ries's less sexy advice, like:

"it's the boring stuff that matters most."

"Remember if we're building something that nobody wants, it doesn't much matter if we're doing it on time and on budget."

"Customers don't care how much time something takes to build. They care only if it serves their needs."

Copy, paste, print these lines out, stick them on every wall of your startup: even the bathroom's.