I wouldn't have thought to nominate a book before, but these types of 'products' seem to be showing up more and more these days. Noam Wasserman's book is, to my mind, assigned reading for anyone considering starting a company. It has a comprehensive analysis of thousands of startups over more than a decade and goes through illustrative cases. Seriously, worth a day's read.
Jupe
GuruHotel
Teleport