SXSW 2013 Sampler

To that end, we’ve engaged a talented
entrepreneur and artist who goes by the
name of Fake Grimlock. Fake Grimlock has
created an expressive set of illustrations just
for Th e Lean Entrepreneur. Th e illustrations
tell a story and serve to amplify concepts
from the book.
You’ll fi nd them a bit whimsical at times,
but be prepared to think deep thoughts as
you take them in.
We’ve made them available for you for
reuse and remix, subject to the Creative
Commons license.
If you want to download the illustrations
to use them in your presentations or blog
posts or in other interesting ways, please
do.* You can access them at http://Lean
Entrepreneur.co/illustrations or e-mail us
at pics@leanentrepreneur.co.
Our writing style aims to get to the heart
of the matter quickly. Experts in specifi c
domains will notice, probably much to their
irritation, that we will intentionally gloss
over some of the fi ner points we discuss.
Th is is not because we don’t think the details
xxii INTRODUCTION
matter; they do, but they don’t matter for the
context of this book.
Th e Lean Entrepreneur is divided into 10
chapters:
1. Startup Revolution—A brief redux on
what’s going on now that makes lean
startup the right methodology to apply
to your business, regardless of size or
sector.
2. Vision, Values, and Culture—We describe
what a lean startup looks like in
the startup world and in the enterprise.
3. All the Fish in the Sea—We help you
fi gure out what customers to fi sh for.
4. Wading in the Value Stream—We
explain how to posit the value you are
creating.
5. Diving In—We introduce various
methods of customer interaction to
learn.
6. Viability Experiments—We talk about
various methods of running experiments
to de-risk your market.
7. Data’s Double-Edged Sword—We help
you not drown in data, while fi nding
the information necessary to move the
needle.
8. Th e Valley of Death—We guide you
through the requisite ups and downs of
traversing uncertainty.
9. Real Visionaries have Funnel Vision—
We break down marketing and sales.
10. Th e Final Word—We end with a call to
action.
Th roughout, we include examples of real
companies applying lean startup principles
and succeeding. We hope you gain learning
and inspiration from these companies, many
of whom don’t use the term lean to describe
themselves.
Each chapter also includes exercises and
templates you can use to help you think
through your business model. Although we
don’t believe a step-by-step approach to
success exists, we think many will fi nd our
exercises benefi cial.
Learn the craft, then make it your own.
* We’ve licensed the illustrations with http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. We’d love for you to use and share them, just remember to attribute “Th e Lean Entrepreneur by Brant Cooper and
Patrick Vlaskovits with illustrations by Fake Grimlock” with a link to http://LeanEntrepreneur.co. Th anks!