The character arc of Eric Ries
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 22 September 1978. Between then and now sit a programming book written in high school, a Yale computer science degree, Silicon Valley from 2001, IMVU co-founded in 2004, a step down as chief technology officer in 2008, The Lean Startup in 2011, The Startup Way in 2017, the Long-Term Stock Exchange from 2015 and a new book in 2026. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Eric Ries?
Find out first, then build it.
He wrote a book about programming games in Java while he was still at high school, which tells you most of what you need to know about the start of this line. He took a degree in computer science at Yale and moved to Silicon Valley in 2001 as a software engineer at There, Inc. In 2004, at twenty five, he co-founded IMVU with Will Harvey.
The method he became known for came out of that company rather than out of a theory. The ordinary way to start something is to build the thing properly and then find out whether anybody wants it, which is expensive and slow and usually wrong. His argument, sharpened at IMVU, is to invert it: ship the smallest honest version, measure what people actually do, and let what you learn decide the next build.
He stepped down as chief technology officer of IMVU in 2008 and worked as a venture advisor at Kleiner Perkins and then independently. The Lean Startup, published in 2011, entered the New York Times bestseller list at number two, and the phrases in it, minimum viable product, pivot, build measure learn, are now used by people who have never read it. The Leader's Guide followed in 2015, funded on Kickstarter, and The Startup Way in 2017. From 2015 he has been organising the Long-Term Stock Exchange, an attempt to build a market that does not punish a company for thinking beyond the next quarter, and he published a new book in 2026.
The moments
Eric Ries's timeline.
The 1990s
A book at high school
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A published programming book, written before he left school.
The 2000s
Silicon Valley
Milestone, and it changed his direction. An engineering job, and a first view of how companies actually start.
IMVU
Milestone, and it changed everything. His own company at twenty five, and the place the method was worked out.
Ship, measure, learn
Milestone, and it changed everything. Ship the smallest honest version, watch what people do, and let that decide the next build.
He stepped down
Setback, and it changed his direction. Out of the company he had founded, four years in.
Advising, and writing
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Two years advising other founders, which is where the book came from.
Advise quietly, or publish
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: write the method down, taken, or keep advising. The book entered the bestseller list at number two, and its vocabulary is now used by people who have never read it.
The 2010s
The Lean Startup
Milestone, and it changed everything. Minimum viable product, pivot, build measure learn. People use the words without knowing the book.
A new stock exchange
Milestone, and it changed everything. A market designed not to punish a company for thinking past the next quarter.
The Leader's Guide
Milestone. A book funded by its readers before it existed, which is the method applied to itself.
The Startup Way
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The same method taken into large companies, where it is much harder.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a habit that saves people years: find out whether anybody wants it before you spend two years building it properly.
What he wrote
Books by Eric Ries
- 2011
The Lean Startup
How constant innovation creates radically successful businesses. It entered the New York Times list at number two.
- 2015
The Leader's Guide
Funded on Kickstarter before it existed, which is the method of the first book applied to itself.
- 2017
The Startup Way
The same method taken into large organisations, where it is a great deal harder to apply.
- 2026
Incorruptible
Why good companies go bad and how great companies stay great.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His built a method out of nearly getting one company wrong. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Eric Ries: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
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Sources
- Eric Ries, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Long-Term Stock Exchange, founded from 2015.
- Publisher records for The Lean Startup, The Leader's Guide and The Startup Way.