The Lean Startup: a new way to learn it

Fifteen years on, I continue to be amazed by The Lean Startup’s journey through the world. Today, I’m excited to share a new, interactive experience that uses AI to help users explore and engage with Lean Startup methodology: Google’s Gemini Notebook Expert Intelligence program. 

The Lean Startup is in the launch cohort of books (where I’m in great company with Kim Scott, Derek Thompson, Daniel Pink, and Ethan Mollick, to name just a few). The notebook includes, and is based on, a collection of supplemental resources I pulled together. It provides flashcards, video, and other learning tools, as well as the ability to chat about the material. You can ask questions and explore all of the resources directly. 

I get a lot of questions these days about how AI is affecting company building and implementing Lean Startup. We have a long way to go before we’ll have a clearer answer on that, but this notebook is one great opportunity to see how AI can assist with understanding and using the methodology. In The Lean Startup, I defined a startup as “a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty”. The addition of AI is just a new kind of uncertainty to navigate using these tools. 

Some of the resources in the notebook are also connected to my new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad….and How Great Companies Stay Great. The Lean Startup is about how to build worthwhile companies; Incorruptible is about how to build in protections that ensure they’ll never be destroyed. I think of them as companion texts. 

If testing this out sounds appealing, now is a great time to do it as you can get The Lean Startup ebook for free¹ until October 6. Just click here (if the promo code doesn't pop up automatically on a phone or tablet, just paste the link into your browser). You also can learn more about the program here. Speaking of which, I want to take a moment to shout out Google for securing permission from publishers and authors and all the appropriate licensing. So much AI development is done without either credit or compensation, so it’s great to see them building this the right way. 

If you do spend some time with The Lean Startup Gemini Notebook, I’d love to hear how it goes. I'm not only interested to know what you think of it, but I still have the opportunity to adjust the materials and would love feedback from the field. 

¹ US only, while supplies last. Select books only, 18+, Valid payment method required.

Free Community Event: Connecting The Lean Startup & Incorruptible

If revisiting The Lean Startup in the age of AI is interesting to you, you’re invited to join the free Incorruptible Community to connect with people committed to building organizations that last, including founders, executives, investors, employees, and customers. 

We’re hosting a free virtual session on September 23 that includes a refresher on key concepts of The Lean Startup in today's context, and how to create a bridge from those concepts to Incorruptible.

The Lean Startup Revisited with Think School

I enjoyed this recent session diving into The Lean Startup in the age of AI in this episode with Indian Business School's Think School Podcast. Ganeshprasad Sridharan and I also talked about why Anthropic chose to move slower than OpenAI and why some of the world's biggest companies are built around engines of growth that most founders completely ignore.