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Startup Reading List

100 points by snickmy 10y ago

hahagavkdr 10y ago
Euclid Baby Rudin Collected speeches of De Gaulle and many biographies The Bible The Bhagavad-Gita The Iliad Thucydides Xenophon Chaos and Pain training manual
- votr 10y ago
  'Chaos and Pain training manual' What's this?
  - hahagavkdr 10y ago
    Powerlifting training manual by Jamie Lewis
projectramo 10y ago
Startup books are like books about screenwriting: the common wisdom is you learn the most by actually doing it. Reading about it without doing it is like reading about the piano or programming without actually doing it. Now, once you've started the most useful book or resource has to do with the problem you face. If you have customers but need to raise money, its one kind of advice. If you have a customers but the product isn't working, its another sort of advice. If you don't have customers, well, that's the hard part.
- mettamage 10y ago
  The way you related it to programming gave me a whole new perspective. Books and coaching have a role to play in programming, for example. Most of the time it is to accelerate learning it. Yet, you do need to have some momentum to begin with by having an own project. I never looked at it so clearly with regards to startups.
n72 10y ago
The great majority of people shouldn't read these — not because they're not good books or don't increase one's chances of startup success (they may or may not — I have no clue), but because the great majority of people will think they're doing startup stuff by reading them. It's confusing activity for accomplishment. If you do read these, keep in mind the entire time you're reading these you're not working on your startup. In other words, be very cognizant of the fact that you may very well be procrastinating.
- csa 10y ago
  While I agree with your general sentiment (a lot of the readings on this list strike me as being startup porn), there are some readings -- and these could be in a list -- that are good for an early startup founder to read in moderation. Topics would include "fundamentals" like different ways to talk to customers or different ways to test product-market fit (possibly in a very efficient way). These may seem very obvious to people who have done them or know someone who has, but they are not obvious to a lot of people. I will also add that once product-market fit is achieved and the business is officially a thing, there are a wide range of readings that would be useful for a (relatively) new founder. Topics would include things like sales, fundamentals of management (this topic is really not obvious or widely known to a lot of young, gifted people who are often founders of decent startups), and basics of business operations. Granted most of these things can be found on one's own, but a tight, curated list (this one does not seem to be one) would certainly have some value. Note to the budding startup founders out there: Reading in moderation is fine. Always read for a purpose. Stay away from the startup porn -- it will take you down a path of failure.
- eddd 10y ago
  One chapter per 10% growth of the company. Product always goes first.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- bnegreve 10y ago
  To be fair, reading comments on the internet is also a waste of time.
zk00006 10y ago
Who has time for that while running startup? I'd say: don't read, do your business.
- AznHisoka 10y ago
  or read about your industry trends. Not general startups.
- snickmy 10y ago
  Those books have been suggested/given to me by Unicorn founders. There is a moment, as C*O, that you need to mature. Turning your 'garage' project into a scalable and structured company. Those reading gives you good direct insight by people that have been there before. We just need to stay humble and remind ourself that there is always opportunities to learn from others. Not just by our own mistakes.
ing33k 10y ago
the list also has links to tech blogs maintained by Startups.
wslh 10y ago
This is stupid and the startup community should mature beyond inspirational sources. Making your own company is really hard and I am not talking about creating a company like Facebook or Google, I am talking about creating something that gives you a 10x over a salary without being your own slave. If that is really hard you can't imagine how difficult (removing luck) is to achieve hypergrowth in an ethical way.
drinchev 10y ago
Thank you. Pretty good list of dev blogs to put on my RSS feed. For the inspirational books / articles, I usually get too excited and loose my reality check when I read them.
- snickmy 10y ago
  For the inspiring books, I tend to divide them in two categories. 1- the really inspiring one, which I read when I'm in a 'low' period. 2- the gems books, or in other words, those who have some key gems related to specific processes or pivotal moments in a startup life. Those are extremely good as 'go to' resources, when you are living the exact same moment in your own venture.
neurobuddha 10y ago
A real entrepreneur wouldn't bother reading these books. They'd be too busy working on their idea and learning firsthand. I've read two titles from this list (The Lean Startup and Trust Me, I’m Lying) and halfway through both realised I knew it already. No book has all the answers. It's better to attack a business idea intelligently in your own unique way.

100 points by snickmy 10y ago

Euclid Baby Rudin Collected speeches of De Gaulle and many biographies The Bible The Bhagavad-Gita The Iliad Thucydides Xenophon Chaos and Pain training manual

votr 10y ago
'Chaos and Pain training manual' What's this?
- hahagavkdr 10y ago
  Powerlifting training manual by Jamie Lewis

projectramo 10y ago

Startup books are like books about screenwriting: the common wisdom is you learn the most by actually doing it. Reading about it without doing it is like reading about the piano or programming without actually doing it. Now, once you've started the most useful book or resource has to do with the problem you face. If you have customers but need to raise money, its one kind of advice. If you have a customers but the product isn't working, its another sort of advice. If you don't have customers, well, that's the hard part.

mettamage 10y ago
The way you related it to programming gave me a whole new perspective. Books and coaching have a role to play in programming, for example. Most of the time it is to accelerate learning it. Yet, you do need to have some momentum to begin with by having an own project. I never looked at it so clearly with regards to startups.

n72 10y ago

The great majority of people shouldn't read these — not because they're not good books or don't increase one's chances of startup success (they may or may not — I have no clue), but because the great majority of people will think they're doing startup stuff by reading them. It's confusing activity for accomplishment. If you do read these, keep in mind the entire time you're reading these you're not working on your startup. In other words, be very cognizant of the fact that you may very well be procrastinating.

csa 10y ago
While I agree with your general sentiment (a lot of the readings on this list strike me as being startup porn), there are some readings -- and these could be in a list -- that are good for an early startup founder to read in moderation. Topics would include "fundamentals" like different ways to talk to customers or different ways to test product-market fit (possibly in a very efficient way). These may seem very obvious to people who have done them or know someone who has, but they are not obvious to a lot of people. I will also add that once product-market fit is achieved and the business is officially a thing, there are a wide range of readings that would be useful for a (relatively) new founder. Topics would include things like sales, fundamentals of management (this topic is really not obvious or widely known to a lot of young, gifted people who are often founders of decent startups), and basics of business operations. Granted most of these things can be found on one's own, but a tight, curated list (this one does not seem to be one) would certainly have some value. Note to the budding startup founders out there: Reading in moderation is fine. Always read for a purpose. Stay away from the startup porn -- it will take you down a path of failure.
eddd 10y ago
One chapter per 10% growth of the company. Product always goes first.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
bnegreve 10y ago
To be fair, reading comments on the internet is also a waste of time.

zk00006 10y ago

Who has time for that while running startup? I'd say: don't read, do your business.

AznHisoka 10y ago
or read about your industry trends. Not general startups.
snickmy 10y ago
Those books have been suggested/given to me by Unicorn founders. There is a moment, as C*O, that you need to mature. Turning your 'garage' project into a scalable and structured company. Those reading gives you good direct insight by people that have been there before. We just need to stay humble and remind ourself that there is always opportunities to learn from others. Not just by our own mistakes.

ing33k 10y ago

the list also has links to tech blogs maintained by Startups.

wslh 10y ago

This is stupid and the startup community should mature beyond inspirational sources. Making your own company is really hard and I am not talking about creating a company like Facebook or Google, I am talking about creating something that gives you a 10x over a salary without being your own slave. If that is really hard you can't imagine how difficult (removing luck) is to achieve hypergrowth in an ethical way.

drinchev 10y ago

Thank you. Pretty good list of dev blogs to put on my RSS feed. For the inspirational books / articles, I usually get too excited and loose my reality check when I read them.

snickmy 10y ago
For the inspiring books, I tend to divide them in two categories. 1- the really inspiring one, which I read when I'm in a 'low' period. 2- the gems books, or in other words, those who have some key gems related to specific processes or pivotal moments in a startup life. Those are extremely good as 'go to' resources, when you are living the exact same moment in your own venture.

neurobuddha 10y ago

A real entrepreneur wouldn't bother reading these books. They'd be too busy working on their idea and learning firsthand. I've read two titles from this list (The Lean Startup and Trust Me, I’m Lying) and halfway through both realised I knew it already. No book has all the answers. It's better to attack a business idea intelligently in your own unique way.