Ask HN: Essential books for starting/running a web company | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Essential books for starting/running a web company

12 pointssam_in_nyc9 comments

I'm a pretty bright, college educated kid... but unfortunately I lack the knowledge and experience of running a company -- skills that I'm going to need very soon.

In under a month I'll be launching my web service which I know will be huge. There's no lack of motivation or willingness to continue working hard, but there is a serious lack of knowing how to set-up a business. I need to know how to compensate early employees, freelancers, cofounders, when there's no funding (something I'm dealing with right now), what I should be journaling during this process, and any other caveats of the web start-up industry.

Ideally this book will be written by someone in the internet industry who has plenty of experience. Basically, a concise, well-written book by a CEO turned VC would be ideal...

My main issue right now is that I've done all the development of this thing (took several months) and am going to be getting a couple of cofounders / early stage people to help me out.. which is not hard at all once they see the demo of it. But before I seal the deal with any of them, I want to be sure that there's something set up that's fair to all parties.

Somehow this request for a book has morphed into the true problem I'm having... but a book recommendation would still be great!

The essays I've been writing about startups are most of what will eventually be roughly what you're looking for.

Link at the bottom of the main Hacker News page

http://ycombinator.com/lib.html

that includes most of what pg is mentioning in reply to the submitted question.

Thanks, I never noticed this! It'll definitely keep me busy in between coding.

I've read most of these. When I first found them a couple years ago, I forgot how, it was such a relief to read articles written by a hacker. Kind of like finding a band that you really, really like.

I'll give them a second look, now that my vision has become a product.

Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston

http://www.foundersatwork.com/

I honestly could not get into this book. I mean I bought and own it but I guess the conversation approach just didn't work for me - the stuff people talked about came across as promotional/PR work rather than honest advice.

When you are not profitable you pay people as little as possible and deal in cash. Give work to friends and friends of friends at below market rates. Do not give out equity or anything that requires paying lawyers to do things. Don't make promises you cannot cash.

Don't get trapped by socialized norms of what it means to be a founder or how one goes about starting a company. Simply launch the business and iterate towards profitability - identify issues and fix those one-by-one. If you need cash to fix some problems, that's a challenge in and of itself. Get a job. Unless you are getting a lot of cash taking investment can be a bad move - see the point above about lawyers.

In my experience dealing with other people is time-expensive and making commitments to others significantly reduces flexibility in how products can be positioned and sold. You will know how valuable your company is after you understand the problems and time needed to execute. And then you will understand that the notion of fairness is defined by what different parties bring to the table. If you can quantify this and know its value then you know your limits for negotiating. Treat people with respect but ensure you get results for what you give up and that you're trading resources for something that will get you growth and profitability.

Check out some books from Nolo Press.

Lucky or Smart by Bo Peabody

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