The Startup Owners Manual
by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf · first published 2012
82% recommend18% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Step-by-step process for validating a startup through customer development, getting out of the building, and testing demand before building. Suits first-time founders who want a structured method.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The Startup Owner's Manual is what it says: a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to getting startups right. It walks entrepreneurs through the customer development process that gets them out of the building, where customers live, to develop winning products customers will buy"-- "More than 100,000 entrepreneurs rely on this book for detailed, step-by-step instructions on building successful, scalable, profitable startups. The National Science Foundation pays hundreds of startup teams each year to follow the process outlined in the book, and it's taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and more
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Try this: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/09... and/or https://www.amazon.com/Business-Model-Generation-Visionaries... and/or https://www.amazon.com/You-Build-Will-They-Come/dp/047056363... and this: https://www.amazon.com/Mom-Test-customers-business-everyone/...
on “Ask HN: How would you validate an idea for SaaS product?” ↗A friend I trust highly recommends "The startup owners manual" by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf. http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step...
on “Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read” ↗…customer development interviews, business model canvases and even "pivoting" as a means to this end. While the Ries book is useful, Steve Blank's The Startup Owner's Manual (http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step...) is phenomenal and the ideas there certainly "transfer very well outside the world of tech start-ups." Take what works, leave what doesn't, ignore the hype and think critically.
on “Too Many Pivots, Too Little Passion?” ↗…good resources: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/on-entrepeneurship/ - Mark Suster's blog is excellent, and his indexed start-up advice is an amazing resource to being with. http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step... - this book is very much in vogue at the moment. I have it, and it makes a lot of sense, and takes you one step at a time down the most important path of all - product development http://www.quora.com…
on “Ask HN: Learning About The Start-Up Process” ↗If you have no idea where to start, but you'd like to start a startup based off of the CRM, I'd start with http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html and http://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step--ebook/dp/B... and see if that knocks out any ideas. There are several possible ways, but with CRMs, it is difficult in my opinion because the ones willing to pay good money for a CRM are the ones…
on “Ask HN: Can we make money on CRM?” ↗The Startup Manual - will get you started. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-By-Step...)
on “Ask HN: What can you recommend to Read for future startup founder?” ↗…more than a buzzword, check it out. [1] https://www.amazon.com.au/Business-Model-Generation-Visionar... [2] https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/what-framework... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/09... [4] https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous...
on “Ask HN: Learning the business-side of things as a developer?” ↗This is a good, quick highlight on how to do it: https://playbook.samaltman.com/ If you want a full book, I recommend The Startup Owner's Manual: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/09... The latter is actually a step by step process, and it's worked very well for me. It answers what you should do before getting funding. Once you've built something people want, apply…
on “Ask HN: I'd like to start a company, where should I begin?” ↗Pricing for Profit Startup Owners Manual Made to Stick Getting Real (37signals first book)
on “Ask HN : What are some great books an aspiring entrepreneur should read?” ↗I recommend you read the first four chapters of The Startup Owners Manual by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf. In those chapters, they talk about the importance of understanding your users, not “build it and they will come.” I think if you understood people’s response to what you’ve…
on “Ask HN: I built it, nobody came, now what?” ↗…progressively. Without going into too much detail, I suggest reading "The Lean Startup" by Eric Reis and "Running Lean" by Ash Maurya. Optionally (especially if you intend to go the enterprise route) include "The Startup Owners Manual" by Steve Blank. Your first step will be to validate user demand. Make one or more landing pages, using your guesses about who would be interested and of compelling features, and see whether people even…
on “No Electron Alternatives” ↗…startup is to grow assets, not earn money, and then then sell those assets to someone who can make more money from it. A very different book to the usual, Startup Owner's Manual: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/09... It's a good book on validating what works and how ambitious to be. Much of it is in the form of checklists, which help you decide the next step. It's not a boring book, though. I haven't…
on “Ask HN: Best books to build up entrepreneurial mindset?” ↗…the company around it to move it further. Read up on the process. Here are 2 books that will get you started: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About... https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step-ebook... Good luck
on “Where to find a CEO for my startup?” ↗The startup playbook. All the basics: https://playbook.samaltman.com/ The Startup Owner's Manual: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Step-Step/dp/09... Nobody seems to recommend this because nobody has finished reading it, but it's meant to be acted on, not finished. There are literally checklists. It's also hard to get a soft copy,…
on “Ask HN: Must-Read Books for Startups?” ↗Both of Steven Blank's books come pretty close. (Four Steps to the Epiphany or The Startup Owners Manual) The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is also a great place to start.
on “Ask HN: Is there a "Business for Hackers" book?” ↗