Built to Sell
by John Warrillow, Bo Burlingham · first published 2013
82% recommend18% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Story-format guide to building a business that runs without its founder and is positioned to be bought. Easy, quick entry point for founders, especially in services, and shows how buyers think.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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John Warrillow’s book Built to Sell has some good advise. My main takeaway: first ensure the company is optimised for sellability. And your question is answered too: agents. There are people and companies specialized in selling companies.…
on “Ask HN: What made your business take off that you wish you'd done much earlier?” ↗…JS by Michael Fogus - The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes - Why the Tories Won by Tim Ross - The Game by Neil Strauss (as a story of self-destruction and a guide on how not to treat women). - Built to Sell by John Warrilow - The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz I'm currently reading a handful of books on statistics and UX. This may change before the end of the year. I think there's a few…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2017?” ↗In a similar vein, Built To Sell (John Warrillow) was eye-opening for me when I first read it, focusing on building processes and systems so that you can remove yourself as a roadblock to increase chances of success. Almost an “if you…
on “What are the most indispensable books for indie hackers?” ↗Books like that are my favorite. Built to Sell by John Warrillow is a perfect example, and one that I really enjoyed. It teaches the reader how not to run a business via a fictitious story and really opened my eyes to all the things I was doing wrong…
on “What happens in an IPO? – Part 1” ↗You might want to have a look at the book "Built to Sell" http://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without/d... This book talks about one approach to converting an existing business into a more sellable one. Judging by some of the other posts, there's…
on “Ask HN: Should I sell or cash-cow my startup?” ↗Though many but a few recommendations: - Hooked - The dollar trap - Built to sell - Brain rules - The doctor in the house (Memoir of Malaysian PM, Mahathir) - 1984 by Orwell (Still reading)
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…folks doing the same thing, that is also very helpful to keep your head in the game. For others who are reading who may not be in SaaS yet, or who are in more services-oriented businesses, check out Built to Sell: https://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without/... Sales is a skill, like programming, running, or playing an instrument. Anything learn to do it, and if you can tie decent sales ability…
on “Ask HN: What is your “sales stack”?” ↗> John Warrillow’s book Built to Sell has some good advise. Just want to second this. I've read several books on this topic. Warrillow's is easily the best.
on “Ask HN: What made your business take off that you wish you'd done much earlier?” ↗For me, I'd be nowhere without these. In sort of curriculum order: - Built to Sell - really easy gateway - The E-Myth Revisited (withstand the writing style, glib observations) - The Business Model Generation book- massive leap in understanding after this - Traction (Gabriel Weinberg).…
on “Ask HN: What books helped you in your entrepreneurship journey?” ↗"Built to Sell" - quick read, but transformative for me because something about it clicked with me and got me to pivot from selling "work" to selling "products"
on “Ask HN: What books helped you in your entrepreneurship journey?” ↗…Chris Voss, on negotiation tactics. Much better than "Getting to Yes". The Genius of The Few by Christian and Barbara Joy O'Brien, an alternative take for garden of eden and Anunnaki compared to Sitchin Built To Sell by John Warrillow, on how to build a business you can exit with a profit. I read 30+ books in the last and this year so there are others but three is enough for this list.
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗It's aimed a bit more at small businesses, perhaps even service businesses, but I liked this book: "Built to Sell": http://journal.dedasys.com/2011/05/23/summary-built-to-sell-... It's a bit on the fluffy side, and I've summarized the main points which he lists at the end of the book.
on “How to Sell Your Company” ↗Two good books on the subject... First read "The E-myth". Then read "Built to Sell".
on “Ask HN: How do you scale a one person consultancy to an agency?” ↗I second this recommendation... I found that the story-based format of Built to Sell made it much more interesting than other business books, so while I can see the "fluffy" critique, I think the message stuck with me more than other books. It's worth reading to understand the context…
on “How to Sell Your Company” ↗There's a wonderful book about this, Built to Sell, written as a story but based on a business seller's experiences: http://www.builttosell.com/ It's a good read even if you're not thinking of selling because it covers creating efficient processes,…
on “How to Sell Your Company” ↗