What book - if any - should a beginner read?
- posted by: user2212461 on 2014-09-07
- tagged:
learning
- score: 5
I am planning to start a product company lateron. If I would want to prepare as a university student (CS) for starting my own company, what book should I read or other useful introduction such as videos do you recommend?
I am aware that many practical parts I wont be able to grasp from a book but is there any book that you as an entrepreneur thought you should have read in advance?
Answer 644
- My personal recommendation is not to get advice from a book (see below), but if I had to recommend some I would recommend:
Sumo Business Blueprint which maps out steps to see if you'll be successful before starting. I also liked 4 Hour Work Week. However, they both strongly underestimate the amount of work and time needed to be successful. It's much harder than those authors claim, but unlike others, they give practical advice, IMHO.
Instead of reading- start hanging out with a local startup incubator and go to startup meetups on Meetup.com. Every year, business advice, and how startups are funded, changes a lot. I'll explain below:
- I have found that business people and startup guys who rely on books over physically engaging the startup/business community are the worst off. And, they come with outdated concepts.
- However, if I had to recommend a learning resource, I'd recommend anything published in the past 2 years, no later, by someone who personally founded a similar business to yours. (No professors, managers, investors, employees.) This will be hard to find, but worth it.
- Beware of outdated business books, and outdated business people. Business has changed drastically in last 10 years.
- Even in tech, the landscape changes every few years. So, a book written 4 years ago needs to be taken with a grain of salt. For example, in 2010, banner ads produced no results, so the advice would have been: Don't advertise with banners. Then, in 2012, thanks to retargeting, banners became very effective. This, of course, can change.
- Startup strategies change and improve every year. Right now, I'd say incubators are the best way to launch. (And, getting into one is basically the best way to see if you have a good business going.) However, with incubators now jam-packed with applicants, I could see this changing in the next 10 years.. Top incubators typically accept startups with lots of momentum already.
Answer 714
- posted by: Neil on 2014-09-13
- score: 1
My advice is to think every aspect of running your company up from scratch. Don’t look to business books. Do what you think makes sense and focus on defining and solving each problem you encounter.
Perhaps a good book on problem solving techniques would serve you much better.
Answer 650
Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
you can find lectures he gave on youtube.
All content is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.