As you consider building your own minimum viable product, let this simple rule suffice: remove any feature, process, or effort that does not contribute directly to the learning you seek.

Meritocracy is a good thing. Whenever possibly, people should be judged based on their work and results, not superficial qualities.

What if we found ourselves building something that nobody wanted? In that case what did it matter if we did it on time and on budget?

If you can’t out iterate someone who is trying to copy you, you’re toast anyway.

In a startup, both the problem and solution are unknown.

Lean thinking defines value as providing benefit to the customer; anything else is waste.

A head start is rarely large enough to matter, and time spent in stealth mode-away from customers-is unlikely to provide a head start. The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.