The Real Startup Book: Free Open-Source Lean Methods Guide
New chapters on customer discovery, concierge tests, NPS, and biases
By Kenny · Quick Answer: The Real Startup Book is a free, open-source startup book under Creative Commons that just added new chapters on customer discovery interviews, secondary market research, concierge tests, net promoter score, and biases. As product managers, we can use, remix, and contribute to this community-driven resource covering lean startup experimentation methods. The team is actively seeking feedback via Google Drive comments, PDF downloads, or Twitter at every stage of the writing process.
We have a new update for the Real Startup Book available here: Download For those unfamiliar with this project, please read our first update.
Updates
- We updated the book’s formatting to make it easier to read on computer screens
- Added chapters on customer discovery interviews, secondary market research, concierge test, net promotor score, and biases
Since the Real Startup Book is under Creative Commons, anyone will be able to use, remix, and rehash what we come up with under the terms of that license. If you’re not familiar with Creative Commons, it basically means the book will be like open source software: free to use for the benefit of the community. It will also be written by the community. Everyone who contributes will be listed as an author.
Getting Feedback
What we most need right now is feedback from you. We’re asking for feedback at every stage of the process. Comments and corrections are critical to getting this project right! Our staging server is google drive and you can access The Real Startup Book draft. Just ask and we’ll give you commenting access. You can also download the pdf version here and send us feedback. You can tweet @RealStartupBook as well. Anything works. Download
What should we change?
Is there anything we should be doing that we’re not? Some test we should be running better? Probably…please let us know in the comments below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Real Startup Book and is it free?
The Real Startup Book is a free, community-driven startup book released under a Creative Commons license. Like open source software, anyone can use, remix, and build upon it. It covers innovation methodologies including customer discovery interviews, concierge tests, net promoter score, biases, and secondary market research. Contributors are listed as authors.
What new chapters were added to the Real Startup Book?
The latest update added chapters on customer discovery interviews, secondary market research, concierge tests, net promoter score, and biases. These additions expand the book’s coverage of lean startup experimentation methods and help us as product managers better understand both qualitative and quantitative validation techniques.
How can I contribute feedback to the Real Startup Book?
There are several ways to contribute. You can access the draft on Google Drive and request commenting access, download the PDF and send feedback through the contact form, tweet at @RealStartupBook, or leave comments on the blog. As a community-written project, feedback and corrections at every stage are critical to getting the content right.
Can I legally remix or reuse content from the Real Startup Book?
Yes. The startup book is published under a Creative Commons license, which means you’re free to use, remix, and redistribute the content under the terms of that license. This makes it similar to open source software — it’s designed for the benefit of the broader innovation and lean startup community.
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