10+ best Book Review every Startup Founder should Read b4 . . .

“I would continuously search for new ideas. I read every book & magazine I can. Heck, $3 for a Magazine, $20 or less for a book. Only one good idea that led to a new Customer or great Solution paid for itself many times over.” Mark Cuban, Shark Tank

Book Review Topics: $100 Startup. Lean Startup, Creativity, Hooked, Zero-to-One, E-Myth Revisited, 4 Steps, Disrupted, the Content Trump (no, Trap), True Grit (not the Movie)

As a Startup Founder you don’t have the time to start looking for books, reading reviews and figuring out what books you need to read to help you succeed. I’ve made a list of the 8 best books for you. These books are often written or recommended by entrepreneurs & following their wisdom from experience, will help you lead your Startup to success.

#1. The $100 StartUp by Chris Guillebeau is an easy-to-read book. It’s filled with inspiring stories of entrepreneurs who have found ways to turn their life’s passions into income. Primarily aimed at Startups, it also motivates Small Businesses to think creatively, encouraging them to push beyond their perceived limits.

#2. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries begins with the experiences he’s had “sitting in a dorm” and “inventing the future. His premise is that startups can organize the development of their product in a much better way than they currently do. They should do this by treating their startup like an experiment.

#3. Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace, is a fascinating in-depth look into the world of Pixar. Named one of the best books of 2014 by The Huffington Post, Financial Times, Success, Inc. and & Library Journal, Creativity Inc. will give you insight into what it takes to continuously break the mold to persistently create amazing products.

#4. Hooked by Nir Eyal, should be a required reading for all Startup Founders looking to build a product that will heavily engage users. Understanding how our emotions play a major role in driving our behavior is one of the more fascinating discussions in the book. If it is properly applied to a product, a new habit can be formed and with it a potential startup success.

#5. Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters, stems from a course about Startups that Thiel taught at Stanford University in 2012. This book is the meticulous notes of one student (Blake Masters), revised for a wider audience. Recommended by such entrepreneurs as Mark Zuckerberg & Elon Musk, it will challenge the way you think and force you to answer questions that will help push your Startup forward from Zero to One.

#6. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber was written to help startups develop in a predictable & productive way of starting & running a business. It dispels many “myths” entrepreneurs have about building a business and provides them with powerful insights that will help them through the stages of infancy and through adolescence to maturity. It is both an entertaining read and valuable guide that will help Startup Founders understand that building a business is a never-ending quest to learn more and be more than they originally thought they could do.

#7. The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank, is a tough – but necessary – read that will teach you that products are an illusion of startup success. Blank then go on to impart the most fundamental questions a Startup Founder can ask himself – “Who are my customers?, ”How do I reach them? This informative & valuable book will provide you with concrete examples & skills that will give you insight into the Sales & Marketing required to build a successful startup.

#8. Disrupted: My Year in the Startup Bubble by Journalist, Novelist, Screenwriter, & “Fake Steve Jobs creator”, Dan Lyons brought his multi-talented A-game to this bold, forthright look at the world of tech startups. From the moment his boss and old friend, Abby, unceremoniously fires the 50-something Lyons from his beloved job at Newsweek, it’s hard not to root for him. Where he actually lands is at inbound marketing & sales SW company HubSpot, where most employees are half his age. In this New York Times best seller, he recounts his year at the startup with laugh-out-loud descriptions and important observations about culture, while also sharing his own lessons about re-inventing one’s career in the technology age.

#9. The Content Trap: A Strategist’s Guide to Digital Change by Bharat Anand. If you think a book about “content” is a snooze, think again. This Harvard Business School Professor makes the case that we all create content. But what we’re prioritizing needs an overhaul. He discusses how to create connections through content, rather than spending time & resources on having the best content. He shows us with vivid stories and examples how the digital age has brought unprecedented opportunities for those who can master those connections to bring enormous benefits to their businesses and brands. The Wall Street Journal called it “. . . a call to clear thinking & re-assessing why things are the way they are.”

#10. The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, is about his journey to success. While he doesn’t impart any secret formula, he does share details of his struggle. Understanding the need to separate facts from fiction (perception) and the understanding that “There are no short-cuts to knowledge” are two important lessons that can be found in this important book. He shares profound insights into what it takes to build a successful Startup and he does it with tremendous flair, making this book such a delightful read.

#11.true Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. For years, her true research on GRiT— “The tendency to sustain interest in & effort toward very long-term goals + self-control” have offered valuable insights into why some people are able to stick with their vision while others let goals and plans fall by the wayside. This highly book landed on the New York Times best-seller list when it was released. This thorough examination of the power of GRiT is an inspiring look at the true “secrets” to success.

Comments: Do you read any Startup Books that really impressed you?

from Wise Stamp & Fast Co. 11/18 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz

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