My friend Chrissie is taking over a startup that Kyle and I had started in June but set aside because we got too busy, and she asked me to put together a reading list for first time entrepreneurs. So, here we go…
Marc Andreesen’s startup guide seriesOh no, I think he deleted them all! Here’s what I could find thanks to google and the internet archive. READ EVERY SINGLE ONE:- Part 1 - Why not to do a startup
- Part 2 - When the VCs say no
- Part 3 - “But I Don’t Know Any VCs!”
- Part 4 - The only thing that matters
- Part 5 - The Moby Dick theory of big companies
- Part 6 - How much funding is too much funding?
- Part 7 - Why a startup’s initial business plan doesn’t matter much
- Part 8 - Hiring, managing, promoting, and firing executives
- Eric Ries and Steve Blank’s customer development blogs
- Josh Kopelman’s blog, especially his post on the Penny Gap
- Most essays by Paul Graham, like yesterday’s essay on being Ramen Profitable and Startups in 13 Sentences.
- Umair Haque on helping your customers create value for themselves, instead of extracting as much from your customers as you can.
- Josh Porter’s blog on social web design, like activity-centered design, the social web usage lifecycle, etc. Actually, just go read his book.
- Definitely the book Founders at Work.
- Steve Barsh’s talk on de-risking.
- Fred Wilson’s A VC blog. Start with the Freemium post, if you’re brand new to the industry. Other excellent VCs to read are Bijan, Albert, and Brad.
- For all of your marketing needs, Seth Godin is your man.
Do you have suggestions for the reading list?
Update: @ianmcall astutely recommended Getting Real by 37signals.
