Eric Ries Quotes

There are some keys to success in the fad business. One is never give up. You need total motivation and the right kind of creativity. You also have to back the right activity. It is a disaster if you back the wrong idea with your energy. You not only lose money, but you take a big social risk.

What interests me is starting businesses on our own, finding ideas that we can support, and simply investing in invention.

An entrepreneur assumes the risk and is dedicated and committed to the success of whatever he or she undertakes.

One of the banes of successful innovation is that companies may be so committed to innovation that they will give the innovators a lot of money to spend.

I think the mistake people make most often when they invest in other kinds of startups is they say, 'This is totally different.' And so the things that matter, like making a product that people desperately want, like talking to customers, they throw this out the window. That is a recipe for heartache and tears.

I had an idea, I was passionate about it and I had to work hard to turn that into a big success and more products.

To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.

Look at MIT—the smartest people in the world. They start up 50 companies a year. Only 1 makes it.

It is one thing to seek out new ways to grow your company and new potential streams of income from new services or products, but it is quite another to take on responsibilities that are far from your primary job as Entrepreneur.

Opening a business is going to be hard work, no matter what choices you make. If you decide to fall on your sword and just slog through all the work as an operator instead of an owner, then you take responsibility for the entire operation and the actions of the business.

Running a fashion business takes the heart of a good gambler. You're always dealing with new things. And there's no guarantee that anything new is going to be successful.

In getting Under Armour started, like any business, I think, number one, you need a great idea.

If you're doing business, not that simple to only buy. You have to create something. You have to create something that never exist for the future.

Whenever you start a new business, the sheer number of variables at hand makes failure a constant possibility.

Entrepreneurs always begin the journey believing that they have the next big idea. They dream of the fame and fortune that awaits them if only they had the funding to pursue it. But the reality is that as the product is built and shared with customers, flaws in their concept are discovered that - if not overcome - will kill the business.

Starting a successful company is one of the hardest things anyone does.

'Bazillion Dollar Club' follows six struggling startups trying to get their products together.

The biggest problem I see with early-stage entrepreneurs is they get the idea in their head, and they leave it in their head. And they begin embellishing it in their head, making it more ornate. They add on the second story to their dream house - then add the tennis court and the turrets and the gargoyles.

If you want your company to succeed, you have to have the confidence in your business to take a bet on its future - to risk destroying a mediocre business model for the chance to have a strong one.

Nine out of ten businesses fail; so I came up with a foolproof plan - create ten businesses.

Learning is the essential unit of progress for startups.

I love building companies; I love making products.

In the movies, you want a good story and characters that are honest, but you are also looking for a good director who can lead the ship. That's how we look at business. Everybody has a great idea for a start-up, and so do their relatives, and they tell me, 'You gotta build it.' I say, 'I have to believe in it.'

I'd get kicked out of buildings all day long, people would rip up my business card in my face. It's a humbling business to be in. But I knew I could sell and I knew I wanted to sell something I had created. I cut the feet out of those pantyhose and I knew I was on to something. This was it.

Founders go wrong when they start to believe their business plan will materialize as written. I advise entrepreneurs to burn their business plan - it's simply too dangerous to the health of your business.