Business

The Black Swan Nassim Nicholas Taleb ★★★★★ The point of the book is well worth knowing and understanding, though I think you could get the point with a very well made 10 minute video. Crossing the Chasm Geoffrey A. Moore ★★★★★ It's hard to believe this was only released in 2012, because it instantly became part of the common language of tech startups everyone. It was brought up so frequently that by the time I read it in… Do More Faster Brad Feld, David Cohen ★★★★★ Once upon a time, the idea of a startup accelerator was new, uncommon, even unique. YC and Techstars were the originators of this model. I moved to Boulder to be part of the tech startup world here,… The Founder's Dilemmas Noam Wasserman ★★★★★ I had the pleasure of seeing Noam speak at Techstars in Boulder, and I was deeply impressed by his research. If you are in the startup world, this is a must-read. Forget the link-bait articles and… The Long Tail Chris Anderson ★★★★★ Reading this in 2006 when it came out or even in 2009 when I picked it up, it felt like the inevitable future of the internet. "Mass Customization" was the trend of the day. I remember being… Measure What Matters John Doerr ★★★★★ I was all gung-ho on OKRs for a while and when this book came out, I picked it up right away. While the stories are great, I kind of wanted more out of it. Really what the book did for me was whet my… The Power of Habit Charles Duhigg ★★★★★ What's interesting about this book is that it's the why behind the how. If you want the "how" then read Hooked. But the "why" these things work, and why we have habits and what we do with or without… Screw It, Let's Do It Richard Branson ★★★★★ Richard Branson is one of those guys that everyone wants to be or wants to know. He does cool shit, does it his way, and doesn't seem to be a dick about it—from the limited I've read about him. I was… Start with Why Simon Sinek ★★★★★ An absolute must-read. There are very few non-fiction books I recommend unequivocally, and now that I think about it, this might be the only one that I recommend without preamble or qualification. I… Startup CEO Matt Blumberg ★★★★★ I really want to be able to strongly recommend this to most of the startups I work with on a daily basis, but it's not for early stage startups. I have to keep in mind that this series of startup… The Lean Startup Eric Ries ★★★★★ Reading this for the first time in 2013 felt like reading the secret code for how all businesses will be run in the future. And it is. It's a must-read for the startup world. It's such an important… The Rise of The Creative Class Richard Florida I picked up this book because Brad Feld referenced it once or twice in Startup Communities. Five and a half years later, I'm trying to write a review for it. I vaguely recall nodding my head quite a… The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell ★★★★★ The Tipping Point is research and stories about what happens after you follow the advice in Made to Stick. If you want the how, read the latter. For the "what" read the former. That's not a… Venture Deals Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson ★★★★★ Note: this review is for an older edition of the book—they're on the third edition now. I don't offer many conditional reviews, but this review is predicated on the fact that you want to learn more…