All 5 books are written by Billions and Trillion dollar Startup founders
As the title sounds, Zero to One is very compelling. Zero means the industry has vast opportunities to grow. It’s a monopoly business model. You have only two options for any business opportunities. Either you will go from zero to one or choose to go 1 to n (Infinity).
Author Peter Thiel says: “Do not copy the same company in the same industry,”
The famous proverb in the book is The next Bill Gates will not build the operating system. The next Larry Page and Serge Brin will not make the search engine again. On similar notes, you learn about other businesses too.
How to Read:
- Read ten pages every day. Once you read ten pages, thoroughly analyse the lesson you have learnt.
- If you are a first-time entrepreneur, read once a month after one year. You can re-learn twice and thrice in a year.
- The first time it will take seven days. Once you revise, it will take an hour.
Who will Read:
- First-time entrepreneurs,
- College/ School graduate,/I will teach the book lesson to my daughter when she will be in high school.
Lesson:
- It is up to you either you will go the 0 to 1, or you will choose to go 1 to n (infinity)
- Never copy the business. Copy their business model and apply it in a different industry. I used approached Microsoft operating system method.
- It gives my startups 100X edge. Our competitor never thinks about that, and I will be the leader.
- If you are not paying for the product, you are the product
- The author says only technology products will go from 0 to 1, but many billion dollars founders disagree.
- Billion Dollar startups must choose to go 0 to1. In history has many examples.
2. The Lean Startups by Erick Rice: How constant innovation creates a radically successful business.
The author Eric Rice is involved in lean manufacturing startups: then he developed the lean startups’ technique as an MPV model. Personally, the author failed in his first startup; then, he wrote this book.
If you have an idea, you start testing your product as an MPV model for a small number of people. It saves your time, energy and money. All ideas are illusions until they do not test on the ground.
Ideas are nothing. It is simply your brain is dreaming about it if you do not take action. If your ideas worked, then go for the fund and scale it. I tested my online food tech startups for 100 people for three months. I Got massive results.
How To Read:
- Read 20 pages every day. Some stories and examples may bore you.
- Try to finish this book; a lot of people only read half of the book.
Who will Read:
- First-time Entrepreneurs must-read.
- College graduates/ High school students. Those who do not want to waste their precious time and money.
- Product Manager/ Leader
Lesson:
- MVP- Minimal viable product work for every startup. Do not bother about someone stealing your idea. If you feel some can steal your idea. The first time everyone thinks like that, but it’s not the reality. Still, you have a fear that some can steal your ideas, change your path.
- The author focused on the practical implementation less in innovation.
- The book is filled with fascinating stories and practical implementation. Some stories may irritate you. But it’s worth reading ahead.
- The MVP model will save your money as well as investors money, time and energy.
- Build a measure-feedback loop for every startup
3. The $100 startups by Chris G
A must-read for every startup’s founder, go for this book if you are struggling with which ideas you should work on and which one not to. It contains more than 50 startups case studies. it will be an eye-opener for you
How to read:
- Read with pen and notes; you need to jot down a lot of valuable things. A few of my friends have not completed the book because they felt bored.
Lesson:
- Do not procrastinate, and do not overthink the ideas. Just start now
- Start- early, Start-now with low risk
- Always struggling to what to sell and what to buy
- Full of motivational with more than 50 Practical example
- Follow your passion and create a new future.
4. Biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson:
Not only for tech or non-tech founders, but this Biography is also for everybody on this planet. If you want to think like Steve Jobs, act like Steve Jobs, or build an empire like Apple. He always thought beyond time. If you are using Apple products, you know what value their products added to customers’ lives.
How to Read:
- Read and re-read thrice in a year its the more than 600 pages. If you are a naive reader, you might feel bored. As a beginner, read ten pages every day.
Lesson:
- Belief in yourself first
- As an entrepreneur, you must visualise the future.
- Innovation, simplicity and customers delight are your first job if you want to build world-class products.
- Never compromise your ethics, even if you will face fire from your own company.
5. Biography of Elon Musk By Ashlee Vance:
I read this book four years ago, around 2017, the most exciting, unpredictable, extraordinary life and quest for the future you can discover in this book.
If you want to read a single Biography in your life, read this. He is the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and many more. In addition, he is planning to establish a human colony on Mars.
An average person like you and me is not able to think what Elon Musk can do next. After reading this book, I set my company vision for currently running startups. If Elon Musk can think beyond the planet, why not you and I? Think and act at least for our near and dear ones. Money comes as a by-product currently; he has dethroned Jeff Bezos from the no. 1 richest person.
How to read:
- Read ten pages in the morning and ten pages in the evening every day. If you are not an avid reader, you might find it challenging to finish this book. But you must complete the book, even though you might not fully understand it in the first read. Try to re-read at least three times.
Lesson:
- Be persistent: Success will not come with a single attempt; you must be persistent in your mission.
- Be resilient: Never give up.
- Obsession is the root of grand success. Be obsessed with your mission and vision. Without obsession, you can not change the world.
Conclusion: You can read all these 5 books for entrepreneurs in the given sequence. It does not matter you are a tech or non-tech founder or an entrepreneur; all these books can change your belief and mindset. All five books help me a lot in finalising my startup name and vision. Add your favourite read in the comment section.
The article is originally published on the author’s Medium Profile. Thank you for reading.
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