Released Monday, January 5, 2026
Rule No. 1 — Solve a real problem.
Rule No. 1 summary: If your product, service or strategy isn’t solving a real problem for a real person, it’s a vanity project – not a business.
Painkillers outperform vitamins every time.
Why is this Rule No. 1? Because, without a problem worth solving, everything else is wasted effort.
Businesses don’t fail because their founders didn’t work hard enough. They fail because the work wasn’t aimed at something real. Something felt. Something worth paying for.
Rule No. 1 is where every enduring business begins: Identify the problem your customers can’t ignore—and prove that your solution matters. If you can’t do that, nothing else you build will matter either.
WEEK 1 Ask Yourself —
What problem does our business truly solve—and would our customers describe it the same way?
WEEK 1 Recommended Reading —
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
“The question is not ‘Can this product be built?’ Instead, it is ‘Should this product be built?’” — Eric Ries
WEEK 1 Action Step —
Interview three existing or potential customers to uncover a problem they’re actively trying to solve. Document exactly how they describe it in their own words.
Now, write down your core problem statement—not in your words, but in your customer’s words.
Full Access to Rule No. 1
All visitors can experience Rule No.1— Solve a Real Problem (the only publicly available rule) —as a preview of the insight, impact and opportunity inside each of the 50 rules pages.
- The Lean Startup Summary
- Key Executive Takeaways
- Leadership Team Discussion Prompts
- Rules to Results 45min Workshop
- Red Flags
- Actionable Strategies
- Real World Scenarios
- Member Insights
- + more
This Rule isn’t finished—and it never will be. Business changes, leaders learn, and our Members keep sharpening the edges with real stories and hard-won lessons.
What you see here is today’s version. Tomorrow’s will be better, clearer, and backed by even more field-tested experience.
Apr 7, 2011
Google hosts Eric Ries author of, “The Lean Startup” The Lean Startup movement is taking hold in companies both new and established to help entrepreneurs and managers do one important thing: make better, faster business decisions. Vastly better, faster business decisions. Bringing principles from lean manufacturing and agile development to the process of innovation, the Lean Startup helps companies succeed in a business landscape riddled with risk.
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