Publishers Weekly
02/03/2025
In this competent manual, Knapp (Sprint), cofounder of the venture capital firm Character Capital, promises to help readers develop a hit product in two days. On day one, Knapp recommends brainstorming how to solve a common problem and determining how to differentiate the product from competitors. Day two, he suggests, should be devoted to improving the product by considering criticisms and by testing it with customers. To illustrate how to differentiate a product from the competition, Knapp recounts how while developing Google Meet, he focused on making ease of use its selling point, ensuring it could be accessed from an internet browser while rivals Skype and Tandberg required the installation of an app. Emphasizing the importance of testing products with consumers, Knapp discusses how the company Phaidra, which creates AI software that autonomously monitors sensors in industrial plants, learned from an unsuccessful trial run that engineers found the user interface insufficiently informative and then revamped the software based on that feedback. The “two day” conceit is misleading since the product testing process is scheduled to take five days per test, but the guidance makes the daunting entrepreneurial process approachable by breaking it into steps. Business leaders will find this a solid program for stimulating innovation. Agent: Sylvie Carr, Carr Agency. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
This book is a true gift: playful, ingenious, and simple. If you want your next project to succeed, equip everyone involved with a copy of Click.” —Dan Heath, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Made to Stick, Switch, and Reset
“Click is the new playbook for building the future. It’s a concise, actionable masterclass on design and strategy for founders. Before you start building your company, read this book.” —Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and Inflection AI
“A must read for startups or anyone building a product.” —Katie Dill, head of design at Stripe, former head of design at Lyft and Airbnb
PRAISE FOR SPRINT:
“Every business leader I know worries about the same thing: Are we moving fast enough? The genius of Jake Knapp’s Sprint is its step-by-step breakdown of what it takes to solve big problems and do work that matters with speed and urgency. A sprint is a cure for what ails companies in an ever faster world.”
—Beth Comstock, vice chair of GE
“Sprint offers a transformative formula for testing ideas that works whether you’re at a startup or a large organization. Within five days, you’ll move from idea to prototype to decision, saving you and your team countless hours and countless dollars. A must read for entrepreneurs of all stripes.”
—Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup
"The key to success, often, is building the right habits. But which habits work best? Sprint offers powerful methods for hatching ideas, solving problems, testing solutions—and finding those small, correct habits that make all the right behaviors fall in place."
– Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
“To quote one of my colleagues, 'don’t get ready, get started.' Through hard won experience Jake Knapp and the team at Google Ventures have refined an efficient, hands-on approach to solving your product, service and experience design challenges. Try the book and try a Sprint.”
– Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and author of Change By Design
"Read this book and do what it says if you want to build better products faster."
– Ev Williams, founder of Medium, Blogger, and Twitter
"Sprint teaches you a novel process for solving really thorny problems in just 5 days. It's full of helpful, entertaining stories that will make it easier for you to succeed. What more, exactly, would you demand from a book? I wish all business books were this useful."
– Dan Heath, author of Upstream
Library Journal
03/01/2025
Knapp and coauthor John Zeratsky, with whom he wrote Sprint and Make Time, provide a practical guide for launching ambitious projects effectively. Drawing from their work with over 300 products and businesses, the authors introduce the Foundation Sprint, their system designed to help teams make better decisions, minimize wasted resources, and ensure their ideas resonate with customers. The book is structured around 10 essential lessons, offering a step-by-step plan for execution. Engaging stories from famous corporations including Google and Nike are featured, as are examples from AI research. Knapp and Zeratsky illustrate how teams can align their goals, validate their ideas, and quickly build momentum. What sets this book apart from similar works is its blend of practical advice and case studies, making it valuable for entrepreneurs, corporate employees, and creatives. Readers will walk away with clear strategies to answer critical questions such as: Is your product addressing a genuine problem? Do customers truly want the product? Will they find real value in it? VERDICT An essential guide to navigating the complexities of starting impactful projects. This is an insightful resource for business professionals, with valuable lessons for students, innovators, and anyone looking to turn an idea into reality.—Susan McClellan
