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Eric Ries's new book Incorruptible is due in 16 days (release date May 26, 2026)…

2026-05-10 · 22:27 UTC ·@evanlapointe ·1 min read

Brief

Evan LaPointe shares Lenny Rachitsky's conversation with Eric Ries ahead of Ries's book Incorruptible (out May 26, 2026). The episode explains why companies decay under 'financial gravity', cites >80% of founders losing control within three years post-IPO, examines the Groupon-style public-company pitfalls, profiles 'governance fortress' firms, and offers three immediate founder actions.

Why it matters

Eric Ries's new book Incorruptible is due in 16 days (release date May 26, 2026); Lenny Rachitsky promoted a podcast episode featuring Ries.

Key details

  • Ries claims over 80% of founders are fired within 3 years of taking their company public and uses examples like Steve Jobs and PE takeovers that change restaurant quality.
  • Episode highlights include the concepts of financial gravity, the 'Groupon email death spiral', the 'governance fortress' model (Anthropic, Costco, Patagonia), and the line: "It is always too early to protect your company. Until it's too late." plus three specific actions founders can take this week.
Source evidence

This should be required listening before anyone is allowed to do anything at work.

Incredible episode.

Lenny Rachitsky (@lennysan)

"A lot of people liked the Lean Startup, but no one ever said it made them cry."

In 16 days, @EricRies's new book Incorruptible comes out.

It's about why you can taste it when your favorite restaurant gets bought by a PE firm, why even Steve Jobs got fired from Apple, and why over 80% of founders get fired within 3 years of taking their company public.

In our real-talk conversation, we discuss:
🔸 "Financial gravity": the force that predictably pushes successful companies into mediocrity
🔸 The Groupon email death spiral every public company eventually runs
🔸 "It is always too early to protect your company. Until it's too late."
🔸 The "governance fortress" Anthropic, Costco, and Patagonia all have—and your company probably doesn't
🔸 Three things founders can do this week to protect their company long-term.

Listen now 👇
piped.video/PoJ1vTdHpks

— https://nitter.net/lennysan/status/2053590761804087307#m