1: It was the summer of 2004. Three college sophomores traveled to Silicon Valley having recently started their fledgling college social network.
“It was live on a handful of college campuses. It was not the market-leading social network or even the first college social network; other companies had launched sooner and with more features, writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup. “With 150,000 registered users, it made very little … continue reading
1: Before becoming Zappos‘s founder, Nick Swinmurn was frustrated. He couldn’t find an online site with a terrific selection of shoes.
So, “he envisioned a new and superior retail experience,” writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup.
One option would be to raise money to build “his complete vision with warehouses, distribution partners, and the promise of significant sales.”
Instead, he ran an experiment.
He asked “local shoe … continue reading
1: We know what to do when someone says, “Drive to the grocery store.” Our “hands seem to steer us there on our own accord,” writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup.
We use constant feedback to turn the steering wheel. “This feedback is so immediate and automatic that we often don’t think about it, but it is steering that differentiates driving from most other forms of transportation.”
Launching … continue reading
1: Dr. Carol Clinton was an ER doctor and a stage 3 ovarian cancer survivor.
She decided to change her own life and that of her patients by founding Timeless Skin Solutions, a nonsurgical medical company. As an entrepreneur, she adopted the “Make Big Happen” system to build and grow her business.
A system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; … continue reading
Getting better at getting better is what Rise With Drew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
This past summer, we received some exciting news. Fortune magazine named PCI the #55 Best Medium Workplace in the U.S. This represented the achievement of our long-term … continue reading
1: Imagine. We are starting a new company. What are the key ingredients to ensure success? Thorough market research? A good plan? A solid strategy?
“In earlier eras, these things were indicators of likely success,” writes Eric Ries in The Lean Startup. “The overwhelming temptation is to apply them to startups too, but this doesn’t work, because startups operate with too much uncertainty.”
Startups live in a VUCA world: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
“Startups … continue reading
1: Eric Ries remembers the moment he realized his company was going to fail.
“It was like a breakup scene from a Hollywood movie: it was raining, and we were arguing in the street,” he recalls in The Lean Startup. “My co-founder and I were at our wits’ end. The dot-com bubble had burst, and we had spent all our money. We tried desperately to raise more capital, and … continue reading
