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

Q: 法律文件的作用

简单的法律文件可以保护公司免受腐败。

Q: 成功的负面影响

成功反而使公司成为更大的目标。

Lenny's Newsletter

Lenny's Newsletter2026年5月10日

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

7.5内容质量

TL;DR · AI 摘要

Eric Ries讨论了为何大多数创业公司创始人会在上市后三年内被替换，以及如何通过法律文件保护公司免受腐败。

核心要点

80%的风投支持的创始人会在上市后三年内被替换。
简单的法律文件可以保护公司免受腐败。
成功反而使公司成为更大的目标。

结构提纲

按章节快速跳转。

§引言
Eric Ries讨论了公司治理的重要性。
§创始人被替换的原因
80%的风投支持的创始人会在上市后三年内被替换。
§法律文件的作用
简单的法律文件可以保护公司免受腐败。
§成功的负面影响
成功反而使公司成为更大的目标。

思维导图

用一张图看清主题之间的关系。

查看大纲文本（无障碍 / 无 JS 友好）

公司治理

金句 / Highlights

值得收藏与分享的关键句。

80% of venture-backed founders are ousted within three years of going public.
— 段落 2
⬇︎ 下载 PNG 𝕏 分享到 X
The simple legal filing that takes two pages and could save your company.
— 段落 3
⬇︎ 下载 PNG 𝕏 分享到 X
Success won’t protect you—it instead makes you a bigger target.
— 段落 6
⬇︎ 下载 PNG 𝕏 分享到 X

#创业#公司治理#法律文件

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

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

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

Transcript

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](https://youtu.be/PoJ1vTdHpks), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2dR1MUZEHCOnz1LVfNac0j), and [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-podcast-product-career-growth/id1627920305)

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

* *

Brought to you by:

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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

• Philip Morris: https://www.philipmorrisusa.com

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

• Matthew Prince on X: https://x.com/eastdakota

• “AI Will Break the Internet”—Cloudflare CEO’s Big Prediction: https://www.ericriesshow.com/matthew-prince-ai

• Andrew Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmason

• Groupon: https://www.groupon.com

• Steve Jobs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

• Yvon Chouinard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvon_Chouinard

• Patagonia: https://www.patagonia.com

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

• Johnson & Johnson: https://www.jnj.com

• Peter Drucker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker

• How the Former U.S. CTO Built a $3B Healthcare Company Powered by Love | Todd Park: https://www.ericriesshow.com/how-the-former-us-cto-built-a-3b-healthcare-company-powered-by-love-todd-park

• Devoted Health: https://www.devoted.com

• Don’t be evil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_evil

• _Silicon Valley_ on HBO Max: https://www.hbomax.com/shows/silicon-valley/b4583939-e39f-4b5c-822d-5b6cc186172d

• Adam Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith

• Understanding public benefit corporations: Profit with a purpose: https://www.britannica.com/money/what-is-a-public-benefit-corporation

• B Corp: https://www.bcorporation.net

• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com

• Clayton Christensen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Christensen

• Howard Schultz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardschultz

• HEB: https://www.heb.com

• Mary Parker Follett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Parker_Follett

• Elon Musk on X: https://x.com/elonmusk

• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama

• Dario Amodei on X: https://x.com/DarioAmodei

• Daniela Amodei on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-amodei-790bb22a

• Kobayashi Maru: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru

• Mark Zuckerberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg

• Larry Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page

• Sergey Brin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin

• Rome Conference on AI, Ethics, and Governance: https://romeai.wsgrevents.com

• OpenAI: https://openai.com

• Cohere: https://www.coherehealth.com

• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com

• John Lewis & Partners: https://www.johnlewis.com/

• Mondragon: https://mondragon-corporation.com

• Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com

• What is Evergreen?: https://www.tugboatinstitute.com/what-is-evergreen

• Berkshire Hathaway: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com

• Conway’s law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_law

• Ants vs. humans: Solving the piano-mover puzzle: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/ants-vs-humans-solving-the-piano-mover-puzzle

• Frederick Winslow Taylor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor

• The Principles of Scientific Management (1911): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Principles_of_Scientific_Management

• Rowntree’s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowntree%27s

Recommended books:

•_The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses_: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898

• _Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great_: https://www.amazon.com/Incorruptible-Good-Companies-Great-Stay/dp/B0FWZZBPZB

* *

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [[email protected]](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#deaeb1babdbfadaa9eb2bbb0b0a7acbfbdb6b7aaadb5a7f0bdb1b3).

_Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed._

* *

My biggest takeaways from this conversation:

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