Inspiration and advice for web start ups
A collection of some blog posts and resources I have found useful about starting up a business on the web...
- This is a really interesting post by Ev Williams, already an experienced web entrepreneur when he wrote it, but before Twitter began its ascent...
Evan Williams | evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups
Focus on the smallest possible problem you could solve that would potentially be useful. Most companies start out trying to do too many things, which makes life difficult and turns you into a me-too. Focusing on a small niche has so many advantages: With much less work, you can be the best at what you do. Small things, like a microscopic world, almost always turn out to be bigger than you think when you zoom in. You can much more easily position and market yourself when more focused. And whe...- ReadWriteWeb is a level-headed source of news and analysis on all things web. This guide "How to Build a Startup" is a simple, brilliant resource for entrepreneurs...
Startup 101: Introducing Our Serialized "How to Build a Startup" Book"Startup 101" is a serialized book about the thrills and spills of starting a Web technology venture. It will be a regular feature in our new channel ReadWriteStart, ...- I really love this post from educator and entrepreneur Ewan McIntosh. It summarises some lessons from start up expert Doug Richard...
School for Startups' lessons for 4iP - 38minutesThe lessons learned by a startup in LA which took a different look at the dry-cleaning business have much in common with the kind of startup mentality that cou…- Ewan's post also has this video from Guy Kawasaki about his The Art of the Start book, which is my favourite piece of writing about starting things, bar none. It inspired me years ago and it inspires me now...
- Even if you've written plenty before, it's always helpful to have a reminder of what needs to go into a business plan. Who better to turn to for advice than Sequoia Capital, one of the most influential VCs in Silicon Valley?
Writing a business plan - How to write a business plan - Submit a business plan - Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital's advice on how to write a business plan to raise venture capital. Writing a business plan is an important step towards launching your business and getting investors.- If you're a web start up and not obsessively measuring against objectives, you might as well not bother...Dave McClure's a VC and founding partner at 500 Startups. His advice on measurement for web start ups (with a pirate spin) is a brilliant framework for anyone starting anything on the web. The slides are here but you can also watch a video of his energetic presentation.
- Marc Andreesen is one of the smartest people in the web business. Invented the first mainstream web browser, Netscape, and is on the board of Facebook, eBay, HP etc. and is an investor in Twitter, Skype and Netvibes among others.This post is a useful perspective on how his VC firm, Andreesen Horowitz evaluates CEOs...
How Andreessen Horowitz Evaluates CEOs // ben's blog
I mean damn, did you even see the test You got D’s, motherf*$@%&, D’s! Rosie Perez —Kanye West, Artist: Kanye West Track: Good Morning Album: Graduation Released: 2007 Label: Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam No position in a company is more important than the CEO and, as a result, no job gets more scrutiny. Sadly, little of this analysis benefits CEOs as most of the discussions happen behind their backs. This post is a step in the opposite direction. By describing how Andreessen Horowitz evaluates C...- If you'd like some further reading (in long form) then Kevin De Baere recommends this list, compiled by serial tech entrepreneur Steve Blank (who also has a list of useful start up tools and blogs)...
Books for Startups « Steve BlankEnter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (36) Business Model versus Business Plan (19) California Coastal Commission (4) Customer Development Manifesto (26) Peninsula Open Space Trust (1) Secret History of Silicon Valley (22) Mentors, Coaches and Teachers The LeanLaunch Pad at Stanford – Class 5: Customer Relationship Hypotheses Risk and Culture in Silicon Valley Flowery Words – True...- The last word, however, goes to Tom Hulme, Design Director at IDEO London, who has compiled a list of resources for start-ups that is the most comprehensive I've seen. Below is the Wired UK article about his collection, which links out to a PDF version and his Google Docs work-in-progress which anyone can add their suggestions...(Thanks to Josh Russell for this recommendation!)
A crowdsourced selection of useful tools for startups (Wired UK)Tom Hulme has pulled together some of the tools he finds most useful at the startup stage of a business
