It’s not about cost, it's about speed - rapid hypothesis testing and validated learning "If we saved that money and figured out who the customer was, and then got to the chasm and then crossed it - husbanding our resources before then - we would have spent it more wisely," said 31-year-old Eric Ries, author of the blog, Startups Lessons Learned, and a guiding light in what's become a popular movement in Silicon Valley - going lean.  Eric's statement refers to an experience he had years ago at a virtual world startup, There.com, that raised $40 million, overspent and then failed. It's a common, though not-often-told, story in Silicon Valley, where the rags-to-riches-to-rags story plays out like an old re-run. But given last year's economic downturn, coupled with a decline in technology costs, the ...   [ Read more ]