Sahil Lavingia

A new roadmap for building sustainable startups that last beyond the hype. As more and more cracks form in the myth of the VC-funded, IPO-driven billion-dollar company--they're not profitable, and are unethically run to boot--entrepreneurs are seeking an alternative path to building useful, sustainable, and sane businesses. The Minimalist Startup is the manifesto for a new generation of entrepreneurs who would rather build great companies than big ones. In 2011, Sahil Lavingia left his position as the second hire at Pinterest to chase his own dream of founding a billion-dollar company. His startup, Gumroad, was growing quickly and raising venture capital easily. Gumroad, a platform connecting creators with sellers, seemed like it was on the road to unicorn status, with the fancy offices and rapid hiring to match. Until one quarter, when growth faltered, and everything crumbled. But Lavingia rebuilt Gumroad from the ground up. In contrast to the waste and hypergrowth-for-growth's sake mentality that characterized his first attempt, he became a minimalist entrepreneur. Weaving together his own experience at Gumroad with stories of other likeminded companies, he offers a new roadmap for entrepreneurs choosing to grow meaningfully over growing unsustainably. Unicorns are not the best or only path for a startup. The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how to resist investments that set you up to fail, run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work, develop and release products without failing fast or often, and how to get to profitability and stay there.

How Great Businesses Do More with Less

The Minimalist Entrepreneur

Shashank SN

You do not need a team, money, or a degree to start building. You don’t need to ship or to code to make your idea come to life— at first.

Dhrumil Patel

Most people don’t start. Most people who start don’t continue. Most people who continue give up. Many winners are just the last ones standing. Don’t give up.

You don’t learn, then start. You start, then learn.

Amelia Hruby

matej yangwao

** spoiler alert **
           Probably major takeaway, your business will grow as long as you remain honest with yourself.

If you're first time entrepreneur this book 📚 will offer you quite fresh and comprehensive overview to mitigate first-time founder's blind spots.

Don't forget to have hard conversation and raise concerns often, to plan for the worst.

Okay I learned about the rushed launch of Quibi and Eko case, probably because of the pre-maturity of the product.

For content creation one needs to do obvious dance, educate, inspire with stories and meme way up.



>According to Matt Murphy, the managing director and partner of Menlo Ventures, approximately 70% of startups fail. Also, about 5% of venture capital-backed companies deliver ten to one-hundred-fold returns to balance losses and make everything worthwhile.

>When starting a business, you don't learn before you start; you start, then learn as you go.

>Often, those who succeed do so because they're focused on a community that the founder knows well. This process requires authentic relationships, time, and the willingness to serve.

>to create a profitable business, you really have just two options: find an idea you're in love with, or fall in love with a profitable idea.

>Creating a product is a process of discovery, not mere implementation. Technology is applied science.

≥It's always good to test your product with some early adopters to see what they think. Once you have enough steady customers, you are a product-market fit.

>Some entrepreneurs are afraid to create educational content. They feel people will no longer pay them if they share their specialized knowledge for free, a legitimate concern.

>Creating educational content positions you as an authority who knows what you’re saying. People will come to you because they believe you're the expert. And in fact, those who deem your content useful will share it with their audience. But this doesn't negate the fact that you should also have premium content only available to paying customers.

>Inspiring people by telling them your story makes them your fans, not just customers.

>Hire slowly, not ambitiously. Hiring is complex and requires great care in startups because it simultaneously deals with product development, sales, and marketing.

>Ultimately, the best candidates are the ones who plan to replace you. Always try to hire people better than you to be sure of the value they'll bring to the company.

>Investing in relationships matters when building your business. However, please do not start relationships with people unless you trust them. Hold firmly to your values and ascertain what you want to build and how you want to build it. And no matter your relationship with your partners, do not ignore the possibility that one of you may leave; so, plan for it.

>Have hard conversations early, and have them continuously. Ask questions like what does a happy relationship look like? Are we on the same page? What does success for this business look like? How fast do we want to grow?

>Beginning a minimalist business is not without its challenges, but anyone can succeed with dedication and the proper steps. Building a minimalist business requires starting with great ideas and then picking the right community to serve.

>As you continue to put in your best to make your startup grow, your life and work will grow together. You'll have a purpose that unifies everything you do and get paid to do what you love. Your business will grow as long as you remain honest with yourself.

I worked at a startup that teaches people to launch - we did/taught a lot of what this book says, IT WORKS. A fantastic resource for anyone that wants to make something that people need and doesn’t know where to start. 

Abdullah Raza

Sahil, the author, is the founder of Gumroad (e-commerce platform for creators), and this book is about his learnings growing, failing and growing again. It is not specific to Gumroad, and several other entrepreneurs' experiences are part of the story. It is refreshing that it is not the silicon-valley-bro-mantra of "work-hard", but a much more sound approach to building a sustainable business from a founder perspective. More towards "lifestyle business" rather than VC-grinding. Surprisingly good.

Stefan Pettersson

Good book about building own company in sustainable way. The author covers all most important topics from defining the idea and finding niche until process of exiting. On the other hand there is nothing special to compared other books about Bootstrapping. 

Michał Paczków

I really appreciate how this book refutes the VC/lifestyle business binary & provides a path forward for profitability & slow growth. Some of the guidance felt pretty tech-focused, but I appreciated the author’s attempts to bring in examples from other types if businesses. The advice to focus on customer & sales before marketing felt really valuable in today’s  works that is so content-marketing focused!

'Pay attention' - Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp, bestselling author of ReWork A revolutionary roadmap for building startups that go the distance Cracks are forming in the myth of the VC-funded, IPO-driven billion-dollar company. They're unprofitable, unethical and unsustainable - so why bother chasing unicorns? The Minimalist Entrepreneur is the manifesto for a new generation of founders who would rather build great companies than big ones. Packed with hard-won, battle-tested lessons from Lavingia's own journey of building Gumroad, The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how to start from anywhere to build any kind of software-enabled business. You will learn how to: resist investments that set you up to fail; run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work; develop and release products without failing fast or often; get to profitability and stay there. The Minimalist Entrepreneur offers essential knowledge for every founder aspiring to build a business worth building.

How Great Founders Do More with Less

Shantesh Patil

There are many start your own thing playbooks out there. Somehow this one felt almost relaxed and calming. 

Instead of making the idea of starting something on your own feel like a sometimes-insurmountable challenge, for the first time I began to feel like it is something achievable

I always felt I lacked the right mindset to start something of my own. This book won't make me start anything but reassured me in its simple messages that is a viable reality.

Mohammed Yarroum

ozlemx

Henri Bredt

Anton Sten

Tamer Avci

“Pay attention.”—Jason Fried A revolutionary roadmap for building startups that go the distance Now more than ever, you don’t need a fancy office, Ivy League degree, or millions of dollars in venture capital to launch a business that matters for the communities you care most about. Software, the internet, and remote work have made it possible for entrepreneurs to start for free, make a customer of anyone, and grow a profitable, sustainable company from anywhere. Packed with hard-won, battle-tested lessons from Lavingia’s own journey of building Gumroad, a platform for creators to sell their work, The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how to: • start then learn • build a community, then solve a problem for them • charge for something even before you’ve built anything • avoid running out of money and, more importantly, energy • run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work • own a business without it owning you back. The Minimalist Entrepreneur is the manifesto for a new generation of founders who would rather build great companies than big ones. This is essential knowledge for every founder aspiring to build a business worth building.

The Minimalist Entrepreneur How Great Businesses Do More with Less

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