The World's Best Book Summaries
Entrepreneurs seem to resist management by nature – that’s why they started the company in the first place! But just like any project or organization, entrepreneurs and startups really do need management. What is entrepreneurial management? How do you manage well as an entrepreneur? Learn more, from Lean Startup and Eric Ries.
Much of business strategy in the past few decades has focused on competition, including Michael Porter’s five forces and SWOT analysis. In these red oceans, market structures are known, and companies try to outperform rivals to grab share of existing demand. Over time, markets become crowded, products become commodities competing on price, and profits dissipate. This trend is aggravated by technological improvements that allow incredible creation of supply that can outstrip demand, causing further price competition.
The strategy canvas is an important analytical tool from Blue Ocean Strategy. How do you use it in your business strategy to illustrate how your company differs? Learn more about the strategy canvas here.
Natural Experiments and Economics Economics is not an easy field in which to conduct randomized controlled experiments. Since much of economics focuses on quantities that are very large (national GDP, effects of fiscal policy on employment) and involves the study of individual decisions made by billions of people, it’s rare for economists to be able to test their hypotheses in a lab. For this reason, economists must observe events in the real world that happen create “variable” and “control” groups that can substitute for the classical design of a laboratory experiment. These real world events are called natural experiments. Throughout
Does your startup need to pivot? Is it at the brink of failure, and you need to find a new business model or customer segment? Figure out how to pivot your startup correctly in this guide from Lean Startup.
What is the Build Measure Learn feedback loop from Lean Startup? How do you step through the loop to build your company? Learn more from this guide from Lean Startup
What is Blue Ocean Strategy? Learn the definition of blue ocean strategy and the meaning of creating blue oceans here.
As the world has become more specialized and complex, people have come to rely more and more on experts to guide them through major life decisions. This is largely driven by fear of making a wrong decision that might result in financial ruin or even physical harm. As we’ve discussed above, however, experts are hardly neutral arbiters of truth who are selflessly devoted to guiding you through the trials and tribulations of a staggeringly complex world. Rather, they are often self-interested, equally fallible humans who seek to use their superior information to gain an advantage on you. This unequal distribution
Any business has to get customers. In paid marketing, you have to pay for each customer. This is the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Then, each customer gives you a certain amount of value over time, or the Lifetime Value (LTV) How do you calculate the LTV and CAC? How is it important that these two numbers related to each other? Learn in our guide from Lean Startup.
Figuring out how to build an MVP? Just as important as building a great MVP is figuring out how NOT to build one. Learn the key MVP strategies from Lean Startup here.