Eric Ries

This is a chronic problem in all kinds of metrics-obsessed systems (OKRs, compensation, engagement, etc). We easily draw conclusions about cause and effect without double-checking the intermediate steps in the causality.

cc @sethgodin.bsky.social's work on false proxies

Solve It With Code An antidote to AI fatigue - created by Jeremy Howard and the team at AnswerDotAI.

you might prefer the solveit method of using AI, where you simultaneously learn something while also building the artifact you want: solve.it.com

That decision led to their first product, a bar of goat milk soap, and to a philosophy of entrepreneurship built on kindness and long-term thinking.

After losing their Manhattan jobs during the 2008 recession, Brent and Josh moved to a farm in upstate New York and agreed to take in 80 homeless goats from a neighbor.

YouTube video by The Eric Ries Show The G.O.A.T.s of Kindness on Bootstrapping a Purpose-Driven Company

You can listen to or watch the episode here:

🎥 YouTube: youtu.be/YCkt8NwtqOE
🎙️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6awL...
🎙️ Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Together, we talk about scaling a values-driven company, turning The Amazing Race into PR that fueled their growth, and how to make purpose authentic instead of performative. We also explore why kindness and discipline can coexist, and how the best brands instill a sense of belonging.

That decision led to their first product, a bar of goat milk soap, and to a philosophy of entrepreneurship built on kindness and long-term thinking.

After losing their Manhattan jobs during the 2008 recession, Brent and Josh moved to a farm in upstate New York and agreed to take in 80 homeless goats from a neighbor.

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, co-founders of Beekman 1802, to explore how a small act of compassion grew into a multimillion-dollar skincare brand rooted in community and purpose.

this was a good reminder, for anyone still dealing with Office subscription pain

cc @nateduncannba.bsky.social

Steve Blank No Science, No Startups: The Innovation Engine We’re Switching Off Tons of words have been written about the Trump Administrations war on Science in Universities. But few people have asked what, exactly, is science? How does it work? Who are the scientists? What d…

No startups, no science: How the Republican Administration switched off America's most important engine of economic success.

steveblank.com/2025/10/13/n...

I purchased this on launch day - very excited to read it. Ken Liu is a phenomenal writer.

PS. If you haven't read The Grace of Kings you're really missing out.

LMK if you decide to try and take this experiment further

bad faith is one of the biggest problems in society right now, so this could be the start of something huge. I would love to see all my social feeds and group chats scrubbed of bad faith garbage

From Fired CEO to Billion-Dollar Exit: How Lukas Biewald Turned Failure into the Future of AI Spotify video

You can listen to or watch the episode here:

🎥 YouTube: youtu.be/_XCxLPMHAug
🎙️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3Gah...
🎙️ Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

Lukas Biewald has been shaping the future of AI for nearly two decades. In this episode, we explore how his early passion for the board game Go, his hard-won lessons as a founder, and his focus on alignment and culture helped him build Weights & Biases into a trusted toolmaker in machine learning.

solveit: New course and AI platform from Jeremy Howard and Eric Ries | Product Hunt Ever tried to build something with AI and gotten stuck? You're not alone. The initial results look promising. But then comes the hard part: making changes, adding features, building something real. To...

solveit is on ProductHunt today: www.producthunt.com/products/sol...

feel free to ask any questions

Launching Solveit, the antidote to AI fatigue – Answer.AI Practical AI R&D

I'm incredibly excited to share the new "solveit" course with you.

Basically anyone who finds vibecoding frustrating or hasn't gotten a lot of value out of the whole agents thing (even if they're afraid to say so) will get a lot out of it

www.answer.ai/posts/2025-1...

YouTube video by The Eric Ries Show How to move beyond bureaucracy, not waste talent, and innovate faster | Michele Zanini & Gary Hamel

You can listen to or watch the episode here:

🎥 YouTube: youtu.be/6yHiwFaZNaQ
🎙️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7COs...
🎙️ Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

We dive into how to rethink management from first principles, why employee engagement is at historic lows, and what leaders can do to build organizations that unlock the full potential of their people.

Hamel and Zanini have spent years researching and advising some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies. Together, we make the case for replacing top-down control with systems that maximize contribution, creativity, and ownership at every level.

Bureaucracy was once a breakthrough. Today, it’s become a costly drag on innovation, human potential, and business impact. I sit down with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, authors of Humanocracy, to explore how organizations can move beyond outdated management models and unlock true human thriving.

I hadn't considered this angle; I wonder what will happen as a result

YouTube video by The Eric Ries Show From Blacksmith to Billionaire: The Making of Patagonia’s Ethos

You can listen to or watch the episode here:

🎥 YouTube: youtu.be/4qnahYYQ3n0
🎙️ Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4mAT...
🎙️ Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

We talk about what Patagonia’s story reveals about the possibility of building ethical companies that not only survive but thrive. And we make the case for putting strong protections in place from the very beginning, so that a company’s purpose can endure long after its founder is gone.

I speak with journalist David Gelles, author of Dirtbag Billionaire, his new book about founder Yvon Chouinard. We explore how Chouinard built Patagonia with an ethos of quality and conservation, how he resisted the corrupting pull of profit-at-all-costs, and why he ultimately gave the company away.

Patagonia has always been different. While so many companies lose their way when profits come before people, the planet, or even their own products, Patagonia continues to stay true to its values.

not true. reporting was semiannual until 1970. many UK and EU companies also report semiannually

Just one example, from The Accounting Review (2019):

publications.aaahq.org/accounting-r...