

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

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.<p>That being said:<p>What are some books that can reiterate the tangibility of becoming a successful entrepreneur?<p>Biographies, essays, novels, whatevz. Something to put some fire in the belly.
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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.

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Jig
Listen video interviews of some founders at <http://mixergy.com/>

Founder At Work is really really useful. It is startup biable. If you read it
then surely you will get inspired <http://www.foundersatwork.com/>

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AmberShah
Books: Crush It Founders At Work Sway Fascinate Everything here:
<http://steveblank.com/books-for-startups/>

Podcasts: Mixergy This Week in Startups Startups for the rest of us

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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.

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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.

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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.

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shaunxcode
Lately I have been reading the biography of Grace Hopper which is essentially
about the genesis of programming/programming languages/compilers etc. Super
motivating to read about the passion and belief that was required to create
out of the ether an entirely new world. [http://www.amazon.com/Invention-
Information-Lemelson-Studies...](http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Information-
Lemelson-Studies-Innovation/dp/026201310X)

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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.

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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.

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oziumjinx
Ayn Raynd - Atlas Shrugged Founders at Work The Innovators Dilemma Lucky or
Smart (quick read) Unleashing the Idea Virus

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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/>

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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.

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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.

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warmfuzzykitten
Any book big enough to use for a pillow.

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pclark
I've been loving Grumby recently.

