Start Small, Stay Small
by Rob Walling, Mike Taber · first published 2010
76% recommend22% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Practical guide for developers bootstrapping a small, niche software product solo: covers market research, marketing, validating demand, and outsourcing. Suits risk-averse side-project builders and freelancers.
Common criticism: Some find it dated, with tools and practices that are no longer relevant
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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I really enjoyed Rob Walling's book "Start Small, Stay Small", and of course everyone here knows patio11. I'm trying to follow their path with a project of my own, LiberWriter: http://www.liberwriter.com So far, so good, I'm having a lot of fun with it, it's…
on “Ask HN: Successful Outsourcing for MicroISV's” ↗A great book on this subject is “Start Small Stay Small” by Rob Walling : https://sivers.org/book/StartSmallStaySmall Rob was running ten simultaneous businesses by himself, (and he has a few kids), diligently managing and tracking his time to run each one…
on “Things they don’t teach you running a business by yourself” ↗One of the big ah-ha moments I had while reading Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling was that most developers have an aversion to carrying technical debt because they've experienced managers that never allow them to pay it back later. But when it's your startup (or small…
on “How a startup can survive technical debt” ↗Have you read Rob Walling's "Start Small, Stay Small"? It's the best book of practical advice I've read on the subject in a while. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YH9MMI?ie=UTF8&tag=...
on “Ask Patrick McKenzie (patio11) anything” ↗That's awesome. A couple responses to yesterday's thread regarding bookmarked hn quotes really opened up my eyes regarding building and maintaining side projects. I picked up a book, "Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup" which has been informative (if a little dated). This article is a great supplement to that book, and is inspirational to a 9-5'er like me. [0]https://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching...…
on “I Sell Onions on the Internet” ↗build something and launch it. charge money for it. publish about it. repeat. check out @indiehackers and @levelsio, and the book "start small stay small" by rob walling
on “Ask HN: What's the best way to become an independent software developer?” ↗…information without having to use my eyes. Also, I can listen to it when I'm doing house chores, working out, or going for a walk. One of the guys from the podcasts (Rob Walling) has written a book, "Start Small, Stay Small", that is pretty good: http://www.startupbook.net/ Here's the TOC: 01 | The Chasm Between Developer and Entrepreneur 39 | Why Niches are the Name of the Game 91 | Your Product 113 | Building…
Thanks for writing it up. I enjoy reading "success stories for the rest of us" sorts of things by people who aren't already famous, backed by VC's, etc... Rob Walling's book, "Start Small, Stay Small" has some pretty good advice for those of us in that boat: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YH9MMI?ie=UTF8&tag=...
on “Building a Web Application that makes $500 a Month – Part I” ↗Here's some thoughts I've written on the subject: http://dylanized.com/some-ninja-tips-for-outsourcing-web-dev... I also I recommend Rob Walling's book "Start Small Stay Small", at startupbook.net
on “Ask HN: Can HN share their experience with "off shoring" web development?” ↗You should check out Rob Walling's "Start Small, Stay Small" if you haven't already: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YH9MMI/?tag=dedasys-20 It's a guide to "startups" for the rest of us, where "startup" is something small and bootstrapped that, however, makes money…
on “My Journey Starts Here” ↗The best book that has ever imho been written on bootstrapping: Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup by Rob Walling and Mike Taber ISBN 0615373968
on “Bootstrapping 101 – How To Start Your Online Venture With Very Little Capital” ↗Rob Walling also wrote a great book on the subject, called “Start small, stay small”. I recommend it even you don’t join the fund; it helped me in my current startup.
on “TinySeed – A Startup Accelerator Designed for Bootstrappers” ↗…design your products and roadmaps due to financial limitations. On that note, TinySeed is open for applications until 2/15 :) https://tinyseed.com/ (I'm not affiliated with them, but I read Rob Walling's "Start Small, Stay Small" and it was the best book out of 70ish books I've read in two years)
on “Jason Fried: “Venture capital money kills more businesses than it helps”” ↗…business books, Traction[1] is a must-have in my opinion as a developer. You'll learn a lot about marketing, which is often the problem most developers face when launching their first company. I also love "Start small stay small, A developer’s guide to launching a startup with no outside funding" by Rob Walling. If you need solid advice in terms of code & technology choice/architecture to launch a startup, you should read Hello…
on “Ask HN: Learning the business-side of things as a developer?” ↗I am reading his book now and it is superb. I think if you get his book along with Rob Walling's start small, stay small you have the equivalent of a bootstrappers MBA.
on “Lean Startup 101 by Eric Ries: How to Build a Better Startup” ↗