How to build a company that withstands any era | Eric Ries, Lean Startup author

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How to build a company that withstands any era | Eric Ries, Lean Startup author

The Lean Startup author on why most mission-driven companies are just mission-“hopeful,” why only 20% of founders remain CEO three years post-IPO, and the Delaware filing every founder should make

Lenny Rachitsky

May 10, 2026

∙ Paid

Eric Ries is the author of The Lean Startup, a book that reshaped how a generation of founders think about building companies. His new book, Incorruptible, explains how successful companies are destroyed by failing to protect what makes them valuable, and how to change it.

Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts

In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:

Why 80% of venture-backed founders are ousted within three years of going public
The governance structures that protect companies like Anthropic, Costco, and Novo Nordisk
The simple legal filing that takes two pages and could save your company
Financial gravity: why successful companies predictably get corrupted into mediocrity
Why mission-aligned companies like Anthropic reap major benefits from protecting their mission through governance
Why success won’t protect you—it instead makes you a bigger target

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Where to find Eric Ries:

• X: https://x.com/ericries

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries

• Website: https://www.incorruptible.co

• Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://news.theleanstartup.com/

• Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://ericriesshow.com

• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Referenced:

• Reflections on a movement | Eric Ries (creator of the Lean Startup methodology): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/reflections-on-a-movement-eric-ries

• How Anthropic’s product team moves faster than anyone else | Cat Wu (Head of Product, Claude Code): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-anthropics-product-team-moves

• Quibi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quibi

• Vital Farms: https://vitalfarms.com

• BlackRock: https://www.blackrock.com

• Costco: https://www.costco.com

• Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com

• “The best time to plant a tree” quote: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/12/29/plant-tree

• Whole Foods: http://wholefoodsmarket.com

• Marie Krogh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Krogh

• August Krogh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Krogh

• Martin Shkreli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli

• Novo Nordisk: https://www.novonordisk.com

• Zeiss: https://www.zeiss.com