Business Quote by Ryan Holiday
““In Silicon Valley, start-ups don’t launch with polished, finished businesses. Instead, they release their “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP)—the most basic version of their core idea with only one or two essential features. The point is to immediately see how customers respond. And, if that response is poor, to be able to fail cheaply and quickly.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday, 2014
MVPs let startups test ideas quickly, learning from real feedback and avoiding costly failures.
In simple terms: Test ideas fast, learn, adapt.
Key Takeaway
Launch early, iterate based on feedback.
Themes
innovation
risk management
learning
Mood
practical
strategic
Type
business
motivational
When to use this quote
- startup launches
- software features
- market testing
- entrepreneurial pivots
Key Concepts
Lean methodology
product development
Questions to Reflect On
- What core feature must your MVP include?
- How will you measure early success?
A Different Perspective
MVPs may miss deeper user needs if too minimal.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)