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Ask HN: The Best Books to Keep the Entrepreneurial Mindset?

15 points by agentargo ↗ HN
I am currently an intern at Qualcomm and went to the HQ for a speech by the founder (Irwin Jacobs). I went in feeling optimistic and excited to learn the growth of a large company like QC from a startup to a Fortune 500 company. The speech wasn't all that enlightening, mainly about how they stuck to CDMA in the face of a growing GSM market and their main goal has always been to try and push innovation (FLOtv?), but afterward I slowly but surely harbored a feeling of foreboding that I do not have the drive or capacity to sail the entrepreneur ship. In other words, I collectively lost my shit.

That being said:

What are some books that can reiterate the tangibility of becoming a successful entrepreneur?

Biographies, essays, novels, whatevz. Something to put some fire in the belly.

16 comments

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pclark
I've been loving Grumby recently.
processing
Creators & Casualties of the Age of the Internet by Kieran Levis - The chapters on Steve Jobs alone will put some fire in your belly.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh - reading this now...inspirational.

krmmalik
Books are great, but in all seriousness Mixergy.com is where you should look to park yourself at least twice a week.

There's no better starter of fire in the bellies than that place.

scorpioxy
I am not sure how to say this, but books aren't exactly what you need. You can read a few, and sure they might help, but you won't get what you want.

If you're the type of person who goes to a lecture to see how a big company became a big company and survived the problems, then you sort-of already have what it takes.

I've read a ton of books until I got the most important message from all of them. Stop reading books and go create, experiment and see how it goes.

agentargo
Well that's the issue is that I am constantly experimenting (tasterator.com fmstalker.com), but feel like I am lacking direction.
sayemm
"The Map of Innovation" by Kevin O'Connor is hands-down the best startup book I've ever read.

http://amzn.to/9yN58l

It's very comprehensive; he provides key insights on how to spot the right trends, execute, and the right qualities to look for when recruiting. His track record at DoubleClick speaks for itself.

exline
"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki is a good read.

+1 to mixergy.com. There are a lot of very good interviews there.

oziumjinx
Ayn Raynd - Atlas Shrugged Founders at Work The Innovators Dilemma Lucky or Smart (quick read) Unleashing the Idea Virus
wj
Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Podcast

It is not a book but is free on iTunes. I've lost count on how many times I've recommended it. Almost every speech leaves a "fire in the belly." There were two speeches about negotiations (not the Steve Young one) that were probably the most helpful to me but they all are good. Start at the beginning and work your way up.

stevederico
Books: Crush It, Art of the Start, What I wish I knew when I was 20, Founders at Work, Reality Check, 4-Hour Work Week.
HeyLaughingBoy
Build something and try to sell it.

Better yet, do the above in reverse! Then write a book on what you did.

The best book I read on entrepreneurship was by Yvon Chouinard who started Patagonia. Don't remember the title, but I'm fairly sure it wasn't Let My People go Surfing since I read it over 10 years ago.

bpourriahi
I think the solution to this problem is:

- Listen to motivational audio daily/religiously.

Earl Nightingale Zig Ziglar Brian Tracy

This site has a pretty good selection for reference: http://www.nightingale.com/