
Ask HN: What are your must-read essays for indie entrepreneurs - shovel
The internet is noisy, books are usually 200 pages too long and the most important ideas can be condensed into the essay format. Can you help curate the best?
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gringoDan
These are a bit on the philosophical side, but nonetheless must-reads:

1\. On the Shortness of Life, Seneca

2\. The Risk Not Taken, Andy Dunn

3\. How to Start a Startup, Paul Graham (read all of PG's essays)

[1] [https://tripinsurancestore.com/4/on-the-shortness-of-
life.pd...](https://tripinsurancestore.com/4/on-the-shortness-of-life.pdf) [2]
[https://medium.com/@dunn/the-risk-not-
taken-40cf0a8919cb](https://medium.com/@dunn/the-risk-not-taken-40cf0a8919cb)
[3] [http://paulgraham.com/start.html](http://paulgraham.com/start.html)

~~~
sova
"On the shortness of life, by Seneca" Wonderful. Haha Happy people in the
world are making a positive impact.

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allenleein
As a tech startup founder,I found these extremely useful:

1\. Strategy to Master the odds

2\. Zero to One(5 Stars)

3\. YC Startup Library

[1] [https://functionalflow.github.io/brains/2018/04/strategy-
to-...](https://functionalflow.github.io/brains/2018/04/strategy-to-master-
theodds)

[2] [https://github.com/functionalflow/brains/blob/master/Zen-
Of-...](https://github.com/functionalflow/brains/blob/master/Zen-Of-
Founder/Zero%20to%20One.pdf)

[3]
[http://www.ycombinator.com/resources/](http://www.ycombinator.com/resources/)

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cylinder
Dude just grow and run your business, cash flow is everything, not sure what
an essay is going to do for you.

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stockkid
I quite enjoyed Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham. It's been a while since I
read it, but two things that I still remember are:

* As a hacker, you are more valuable than your organization might lead you to believe.

* You can still and you should pursue side projecst despite being employed.

~~~
seanhunter
It's worth reading
[http://idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm](http://idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm)
as a counterpoint to "Hackers and painters"

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Nelkins
What is an "indie" entrepreneur? And what other kind of entrepreneurs are
there?

~~~
rahimnathwani
I think they mean one without external funding.

