What makes a company truly incorruptible?
In this special episode of the Inverted Podcast, Jeroen, Dana, and Dario sit down with legendary entrepreneur and The Lean Startup author Eric Ries to explore the ideas behind his new book, “Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great”.
Together, they unpack why some companies stay true to their values while others slowly compromise under pressure from investors, incentives, and short-term thinking. Eric shares powerful stories from companies like Costco, Cloudflare, and Anthropic, explaining how trust, governance, and long-term purpose can become real competitive advantages—not just ideals.
The conversation also dives into why security, privacy, and safety are often the first things sacrificed in profit-driven environments, and why building them into a company’s DNA from the beginning matters more than ever. If you care about building products, companies, or systems that people can truly trust, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we cover:
➡️The deeper meaning behind The Lean Startup
➡️Why speed without long-term thinking can be dangerous
➡️The core ideas in Eric Ries’s new book, Incorruptible
➡️How companies like Costco and Cloudflare turned principles into strength
➡️Why security, privacy, and safety are essential to trustworthy businesses
➡️How founders, employees, and even job candidates can spot incorruptible organizations
You can find Eric’s new book “Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great” here:
https://www.amazon.com/Incorruptible-Shape-Companies-That-Stand/dp/B0FWZZBPZB
And at the website: https://www.incorruptible.co/
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Chapters:
00:11 Introduction & guest welcome
00:59 Eric Ries on The Lean Startup
03:55 Lean Startup vs. long-term thinking
12:42 Inside Incorruptible
14:03 The FedMart, Price Club & Costco story
21:31 Financial gravity and why good companies go bad
26:14 Why security, privacy, and trust matter
38:58 Anthropic, Cloudflare, and building incorruptible companies
45:30 How founders and job seekers can spot trustworthy companies
58:10 Closing thoughts
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/39dfdSknQAEWRgd3rgvWxV?si=6cfwPsHtSjy8_RMB8z61Eg
Music by: Bensound
License code: KQNVJHTWQEBEDSEA