Recommended Reading and Listening for Startups

If you're just getting started in the worlds of Product Design, Entrepreneurship, and general making, we recommend working your way through the content below. There's no need to consume them in any order, just start with whatever interests you most.

The Makers List

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The Makers List

Published 

June 10, 2022

Recommended Reading and Listening for Startups

Top Makers List

See the year's best no-code agencies who build websites, mobile apps, web apps, and more. Thoroughly researched by our experts.
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Top Makers 2022

User Research

Just Enough Research by Erica Hall

A very practical guide for generative user research. The best products are based on a deep understanding of customer needs and Hall covers some of the most helpful methodologies for gaining insights through user research.

Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug

The quintessential guide to evaluative user research. When you have a design or product experience you'd like to test to get feedback, Krug's classic can walk you through some reliable and efficient ways to get answers.

Design

Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

This foundational design book is an eye-opener for anyone who just thinks of design as "making things pretty". Norman presents the case for how design influence the world around us.


Sprint by Jake Knapp

A practical guide for executing the design process for individuals and especially for larger organizations. If you know you've got big problems to solve, and don't quite know how to get started solving them, this book should help.

Startups

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

This is another foundational book on the list. If you're going down the startup route, it should be at the top of your reading list. Ries brings together principles from lean manufacturing and agile software development to help startup founders drive better decisions faster.

Startup School by Seth Godin

If you're just getting started with a startup, or even as a freelancer or small business owner, this is a great resource to help you solidify your approach, learn about business building, and identify strategies for building a brand and audience.

Business / Finance

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

A real practical guide to running a profitable business. Michalowicz really challenges the assumptions and common financial approach of a lot of startups, prioritizing profit from the get-go, and growing a business in a sustainable way. Not for every business, but worth the read.


The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Ravikant's distillation of principles for wealth creation is one of the most valuable things you can learn.


Marketing

Tribes by Seth Godin

The world is made up of groups of people connected by ideas. These "tribes" can be big or small, and when you're building a business it's important to understand how to share your passion, develop and audience, and create your tribe.


Influence by Robert Cialdini

In business, and just life, it's incredibly valuable to understand the underlying principles of persuasion that affect our decision making. Influence should be required reading for anyone in sales and marketing.

Blogs / Videos

Paul Graham on Startups
Nielsen Norman Group on User Experience Design
Brian Balfour on Growth and User Acquisition
Gibson Biddle on Product Strategy
Coaching No Code Apps on No Code App Development

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