The $100 startup
by Chris Guillebeau · first published 2012
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Collects case studies of people who started small one-person businesses with little money. Its practical examples show how to start something of your own without waiting for capital.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Here, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead a life of adventure, meaning and purpose--and earn a good living. Still in his early thirties, Chris has traveled around the world--and yet he's never held a "real job" or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back. In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment, and he's focused on the 50 most intriguing case studies. Here, distilled in
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There is a really good book out there on one person startups called the $100 startup by Chris Guillebeau - it gives loads of examples of startups around the world, which were started by one person (http://amzn.to/1Kb63VH)
on “Ask HN: Examples of sucessful one person startups?” ↗In my side projects, I am influenced by a book I read few years ago: The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. I only do projects that have potential to bring revenue. I use the following milestones to decide whether to keep project alive or not. Once a project is cash flow positive (ramen…
on “Ask HN: Describe the perfect side project” ↗…from application of Pareto principle, I took away the idea that books provide the best bang for your buck for knowledge density. The 4 Hour Work Week - great inspiration to start your own thing. The $100 Startup - like the 4HWW but with more details.
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…2) Creativity Inc How can creativity be nurtured and promoted. 3) Range I am one of those people who like to do multiple things and mostly mix my different passions and make something new. 6) The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau Startups don't need to be started with a lot of money. People are making it big. 7) Originals by Adam Grant Lessons from others that it is okay to think differently and it is okay…
on “Some popular self help books” ↗$100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. Really good at stripping away many of the reasons I had been holding onto to not start something on my own. The book is agnostic about how you raise capital. It gives you the pros…
on “Ask HN: What are your recommended reads for bootstrapping a business?” ↗Non-tech books, I read and liked in 2013: Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau Anything Your Want by Derek Sivers The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar Are You a Stock or a Bond? by Moshe Milevsky The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks Antifragile by…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2013” ↗The $100 Startup book addresses this kind of questions quite well. It's essentially a list of study cases of people that built side businesses (some of them becoming their main sources of income or even small very profitable…
on “Ask HN: How do I add $100k to my 2014 income?” ↗I'll also recommend "The $100 Startup": http://www.amazon.com/The-100-Startup-Reinvent-Living/dp/030... It was a little bit too self-help-y in tone for my taste, but it didn't feel scammy like "4 hour work week" (and the book mentioned in…
on “The Millionaire Fastlane” ↗…traditional silicon valley definition of startup, the ones like you describe can be labeled something like lifestyle businesses, solopreneur ventures, etc. I think people like Chris Guillebeau (The $100 Startup), Jason Fried / DHH (blogs and books), and Marco Ament are successful people to read that are also good examples of starting businesses this way. Maybe even Tim Ferriss (4HWW).
on “It's harder to get into YC if you’ve been through another accelerator” ↗…wanted. I put in far too much time on these projects only to hear crickets at launch. Here are a couple of books that I found helpful for getting me to approach things from a different perspective: $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau Will It Fly by Pat Flynn This is Marketing by Seth Godin
on “Ask HN: HN complains, I propose solutions, nobody cares. Why?” ↗…social media-led stuff, paid blogging - those are the usual routes that spring to mind. Some cross over. Good places to start learning: "Four Hour Work Week", as mentioned, and Tim Ferriss' blog. "The $100 Startup" - book. Smart Passive Income - blog Viperchill - blog ProBlogger - blog. Ignore the guest posts, read stuff by the founder Darren Rowse.
on “Ask HN: How do I make a lot of money quickly?” ↗…starts to generate as much as your day job, then make the transition. Survivorship bias will skew the success of startups. Success is far less common than what I originally thought. Take a look at the $100 Startup book it has some good points to consider.
on “Ask HN: Quitting Job to Launch a Startup” ↗…Millionaire Rich Dad Poor Dad Bootstrappers Bible Startup Nation The Lean Startup 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Ideavirus Traction - Gabriel Weinberg The Hard Thing About Hard Things The $100 Startup The Customer Funded Business Alibaba - The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark Don't Make Me Think - A Common Sense Approach To Web Usability Hooked Shoe Dog Side Hustle Start With Why The…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗The $100 startup.
on “Ask HN: What interesting books are you reading now?” ↗Hyperion by Dan Simmons The $100 Startup
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗