The Four Steps to the Epiphany ^{3rd Ed.}

The bestselling classic that launched 10,000 startups and new corporate ventures — The Four Steps to the Epiphany is one of the most influential and practical business books of all time.

The Four Steps to the Epiphany launched the Lean Startup approach to new ventures. It was the first book to offer that startups are not smaller versions of large companies and that new ventures are different than existing ones. Startups search for business models while existing companies execute them.

The book offers the practical and proven four-step Customer Development process for search and offers insight into what makes some startups successful and leaves others selling off their furniture. Rather than blindly execute a plan, The Four Steps helps uncover flaws in product and business plans and correct them before they become costly. Rapid iteration, customer feedback, testing your assumptions are all explained in this book.

Packed with concrete examples of what to do, how to do it and when to do it, the book will leave you with new skills to organize sales, marketing and your business for success.

If your organization is starting a new venture, and you're thinking how to successfully organize sales, marketing and business development you need The Four Steps to the Epiphany.

Essential reading for anyone starting something new.

• The Hero's Journey

1. The Path to Disasters: The Product Development Model
2. The Path to Epiphany: The Customer Development Model
3. Customer Discovery
4. Customer Validation
5. Customer Creation
6. Company Building

• Bibliography
• Appendix A: Customer Development Team
• Appendix B: Customer Development Checklist

Lousy title, abysmal design, too much text, and in desperate need of an editor. Also, targeting a very small audience (startups and PDM-nerds), with very little to give to other audiences…

But a damn good book, that tells it like it is, and don't mince words! I loved it! It introduces the Customer Development Model, which in my opinion have been missing from the brain cells of too many entrepreneurs!

This book is highly recommended for would-be entrepreneurs or VCs or anyone that have to deal with people that are convinced they have invented the next roasted toast. If you are not in these segments, you can probably read it anyway and get something out of it, that you can use, even if it is very much targeted book.