[1] In his book, Ries applies scientific principles to entrepreneurship, advocating for an approach he calls "just-in-time scalability": conducting product experiments without massive up-front investments in planning and design.

[3][4] Ries attributes the failure of his first startup, Catalyst Recruiting, to not understanding the wants of their target customers and focusing too much time and energy on the initial product launch.

"[1] Ries also argues that to build a great company, one must begin with the customer research and interviews, developing a minimum viable product (MVP), and iterating based on feedback.

Companies cited in the book as practicing Ries's ideas include Alphabet Energy of California, Dropbox, Wealthfront,[10] and General Electric (GE).

He also criticized the business model canvas for ignoring the most important question for a start up, "what is your hypothesis about the world based on your unique knowledge and beliefs?"