Business

The Startup Way: 8 key ideas

by Eric Ries

The core ideas of The Startup Way, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Every company needs entrepreneurship

   Ries argues that entrepreneurship should be treated as a core function of any organisation, like marketing or finance.

   Large companies need ways to keep creating new products in an uncertain world.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Startups can live inside big firms

   Ries describes teams inside large organisations working like small startups.

   They experiment with new ideas quickly, using the lean methods he described earlier, while staying connected to the parent company.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   GE tried a new way

   Ries describes his work with General Electric on a programme called FastWorks.

   Teams learnt to test ideas with customers early, which changed how even a huge industrial firm developed products.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Fund experiments step by step

   Ries suggests metered funding, in which teams receive money in small amounts as they show progress.

   This reduces waste and lets leaders back promising ideas while stopping weak ones early.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Growth boards oversee internal startups

   Ries describes growth boards, small groups of senior leaders who act like investors for internal teams.

   They review learning and decide whether to continue funding, much as venture capitalists do.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Measure learning, not just revenue

   Innovation accounting means tracking early signs of progress, such as customer behaviour, before revenue appears.

   Ries argues this helps leaders judge new projects fairly instead of using measures meant for mature businesses.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Change the whole organisation

   Ries argues that real transformation involves functions like legal, finance and human resources, not just product teams.

   These departments must also learn to support fast experimentation. Old rules can quietly kill new ideas.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Transformation never really ends

   Ries describes the goal as continuous transformation, where an organisation keeps updating how it works.

   He argues that companies able to change themselves repeatedly will survive in fast-moving markets. Change becomes a permanent habit.