Google, Pixar, Twitter. All of them started as side projects or experiments which only later turned into big ideas. In a world of lean startups, the mantra is to get a product out there in the hands of consumers and keep making changes until something clicks. TechCrunch contributor Peter Sims ( @petersims ) has a new book out hat explains why little bets are more likely to lead to big ideas than big bets. It is called, appropriately enough, Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries , and it is just hitting Amazon and the book stores this week. Sims, who is a recovering venture capitalist, recently offered TechCrunch readers a preview of his thinking in a guest post which turned out to be very popular. He wrote: