High tech startup
by John L. Nesheim · first published 1992
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide covering the path from early planning to funding and IPO. Well suited to startup founders, especially those preparing for investor meetings and building financial projections.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…of the answers are "it depends", or there's more than one right answer. I'd suggest you consider reading The Art of the Start[1] by Guy Kawasaki, The Four Steps To The Epiphany[2] by Steve Blank, and High Tech Startup[3] by John Nesheim. Between those, they cover a big chunk of the basic stuff you need to know. The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup[4] also has a good…
on “Ask HN: How do you startup? ” ↗You might like the book High Tech Startup by Nessheim. It's basically a collection of statistics about startups.
on “Ask PG: Can you please provide statistics of YC funded cos?” ↗…who really did find the process of writing a business plan to be personally helpful, whether or not a potential investor likes the result. So here's my .02. I'd start with John Nesheim's books, both "High Tech Startup" and "Unfair Advantage." I'd also check out his blog and his reading list. Somewhere in there he has a template that many successful tech companies have found useful for their own business plans. He…
on “Ask YC: Writing a business plan?” ↗For startups, -Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki -Blue Ocean Strategy -High Tech Startup by John Nesheim -The Power of Unfair Advantage by John Nesheim -Crossing the Chasm These are all helpful for startups.
on “Ask YC: What are some the best business books?” ↗…first startup company, we only had about 2 weeks to prepare for our first VC presentation. I needed a quick way to build a professional-looking spreadsheet with projections. John L. Hesheim, author of High Tech Startup, sells a spreadsheet template for $25 on his website. I entered our numbers and specifics into the spreadsheet and it did the trick. I highly recommend it to anybody building a business plan.
on “Building Professional Financial Projections” ↗…first startup company, we only had about 2 weeks to prepare for our first VC presentation. I needed a quick way to build a professional-looking spreadsheet with projections. John L. Hesheim, author of High Tech Startup, sells a spreadsheet template for $25 on his website. I entered our numbers and specifics into the spreadsheet and it did the trick. I highly recommend it to anybody building a business plan.
on “Building Professional Financial Projections” ↗High Tech Startup is a fantastic book that takes you from the kitchen table to IPO. http://www.amazon.com/High-Tech-Start-Revised-Updated/dp/068...
on “Ask HN: Learning about funding basics” ↗…quite possible that you will be using contractors. If you do then make sure the written agreement terms are solid and unambiguous. - Read books like Deal Terms, Term Sheets and Valuations, Venture Deals, High Tech Startup, Founder's Dilemma, Fools Gold etc.. and become very familiar with the concepts and terms. I can't stress this enough -- be well informed! - Thoroughly understand cap tables and how they change over time/events.…
on “Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?” ↗…(kim and mauborgne) -- these two books give you a little bit more of a framework to evaluate where your idea adds value and give you examples of how/why some successful companies have been successful - high tech startup by nesheim -- a little dated, but lots of info - negotiation/people books: getting to yes (fisher, ury) and getting past no (ury), influence by cialdini (useful for more than just startups) - maybe…
on “Startup founders, what books did you find most helpful?” ↗It's a series of posting on what has and has not changed since the previous edition of "High Tech Startup" was published in 2000. Very much from the VC point of view. Two things stand out: there are no new ideas and it is much more competitive now. I think he is wrong about no new ideas, but I can see the…
on “Nesheim Updates "High Tech Startup"” ↗