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Ask Slashdot: What Are Your Favorite Books On Entrepreneurship?

Posted by BeauHD on from the book-worm dept.

An anonymous reader writes: There are excellent well-known books like Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, but I find some of the lesser-known books about tech entrepreneurship very interesting, like A Triumph of Genius about Edwin Land of Polaroid or Riding the Runaway Horse about An Wang of Wang Laboratories. Also, there's Fast Forward by Lardner about VHS/Betamax. What books regarding entrepreneurship would Slashdotters recommend?

11 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Re: After over thirty years of start-ups... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This. Just make it long enough until you can get bought out.

  2. Well obviously there's only one answer by tylersoze · · Score: 4, Funny

    Trump: Art of the Deal

  3. Space Merchants by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    that and the Art of the Deal. More or less the same thing really.

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  4. Where the Wild Things Are by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 2

    Everything I needed to know for owning and running my own business was there.

    Being an entrepreneur is about being willing to fail, and recovering after you realize you made a mistake.

  5. Don't read a book by DogDude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't read a book. Go start a business. "Entrepreneurship" books are largely useless, in my opinion (as a successful entrepreneur).

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    1. Re:Don't read a book by El+Cubano · · Score: 2

      Don't read a book. Go start a business. "Entrepreneurship" books are largely useless, in my opinion (as a successful entrepreneur).

      While I can definitely respect the sentiment, I also like to do a bit of research on things before jumping in. Talking with entrepreneurs (both those are/were successful and those who weren't), I did like The Opportunity Analysis Canvas as a way to help one see the opportunity in the first place (something with which I continually struggle).

  6. My Favorite by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 2

    Your checkbook.

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  7. Re:After over thirty years of start-ups... by Zaelath · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Completely relevant recent XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1827/ (Survivorship Bias)

    i.e. there's plenty of people that have done the same initial things as anyone who wrote these books and didn't get lucky. You might as well read a book on how someone won the lottery.

  8. High-tech Ventures by Gordon Bell by wlj · · Score: 2

    The examples are a bit dated but people keep making the same mistakes ... My main take-away is pretty simple: build a team and manage your costs. The more of your company you manage to hold on to, the more control you keep while you are there and the more you get when you leave.

  9. Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Drucker by nuntius · · Score: 2

    "Innovation and Entrepreneurship" by Peter Drucker really makes you think about what your product aspirations should be.

    I'm also fond of "Almost Perfect" http://www.wordplace.com/ap/
    and "Peopleware" by DeMarco and Lister
    and "The 10 Day MBA" by Silbiger

    IMO, a successful entrepreneur needs some basic business sense in addition to whatever product the idea might be.
    Reading some boring books and trying a few low-risk ventures can prep you for the big swing.

  10. How it goes wrong:Commodore, A Company on the EdgE by mccalli · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This one is a great book about the early days of getting computer companies established. The significance of Commodore is often overlooked these days, but at the time they were trouncing the likes of Apple.

    Unfortunately, Jack Tramiel never really evolved into a big company player and kept small practices like starving suppliers etc. going. The later nepotism didn't help much either. This is a fascinating book of how a company that should have become what Apple is today, with tech way ahead of its time, fell into ruin. Well worth the read.