as Steve Blank's co-author, I must comment that building a startup is NOT gambling...his and my work and book are often discussed as "applying the scientific metnod to starups..." have a hypothesis, develop a test to prove or disprove it, run the test, read the results, iterate and test again...It is a serious, demanding process that has generated many millions in value for thousands of startups around the world. There is no other process so detailed and granular in its step-by-step process. And luck is at best a trivial influence on startup success...lean methods conceived by steve and in our book are a a far better alternative to the startup casino...