My interpretation of n72's comment: These books aren't worth reading because they make you focus your time and mental energy on activities that make a good star

My interpretation of n72's comment: These books aren't worth reading because they make you focus your time and mental energy on activities that make a good startup, rather than activities that make a good product. There's a temptation, when you're an early-stage startup with little direction, to start "playing house"[0]: Trying make your startup look and feel like all these other successful startups you've seen, and, by reading more books, getting positive feedback for doing those things. There's obviously value in wisdom gained from those who've walked down this road before. But it's not worth obsessing over how to make the perfect startup. It is worth obsessing over how you can be delivering more value to your customers. [0] PG's term http://paulgraham.com/before.html http://paulgraham.com/before.html