Single Founder Handbook

A step-by-step guide for bootstrapped software entrepreneurs

4 followers

A step-by-step guide for bootstrapped software entrepreneurs

4 followers

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Squirrel

When I visit this page I get the feeling the book seller is really interested in making money above all else. I mean, I love reading biz books, but I'm wondering why I need to buy this one for 40$ or more? Why wouldn't I just go buy Eric Ries new book for half the price? I'm only going to say this because I bought a few products from Product Hunt before and ended up feeling a bit duped. Why did I feel duped? Because my wallet is super loose when I'm here, because I trust this community. I bought a couple of books from here and really didn't love them. The selling of products on Product Hunt should be limited because it could really degrade the overall value of the site. That's why Starbucks doesn't sell sandwiches anymore... they made a lot of money from sandwiches, but they realized in the long run it was degrading the coffee experience, which is where their true value is. They knew in the long run it would hurt them. That being said, if you offer a special deal for Product Hunt users, I'd be willing to read it and review it :)

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11yr ago

Startups 4 the Rest of Us

Maker

@kurtybot Thanks for sharing Kurt. Could you elaborate on why you get that impression? If it's solely based on the price, then I would argue that the price is partly a function of reach. If I were going to sell hundreds of thousands of copies like Eric Ries, then I could justify charging $10 for it. But at the same time, if someone buys it and doesn't think it was worth it, it would literally take a single email to me asking for a refund and they'd get it. You can test me on that if you like, but I've had zero refunds to date. Price is also a function of value. Judging from the feedback I've heard from the readers who were part of the private launch last month, the book is packed with valuable insights. It was designed that way in fact. I'm not a huge fan of books that overpromise and under deliver or are filled with fluff. This isn't. I was told less than an hour ago by someone that it's "dense", and not in a bad way. Also, I don't know if you noticed but rather than offering just a special deal for people coming from specific sites, I offered one to everyone for 20% off until the end of the public launch which is tomorrow. Someone commented elsewhere that they felt the book was a good distillation of 5 years of the Startups for the Rest of Us podcast, which is probably not terribly far off. I think if you gave it a chance, you'd think differently about the book. And again, if you decide it wasn't worth it because it was too light on useful content, just ask for a refund. :)

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11yr ago

yclas

I agree, seems a bit expensive. But I can not comment the quality without reading it first which I wont do sorry. What I can do is recommend other nice reading and cheaper: - Anything You Want – by Derek Sivers (awesome book) - Rework (from the basecamp guys) - The $100 Startup (loads of tips and great to start) Hope is useful to someone ;)

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11yr ago

Startups 4 the Rest of Us

Maker

@deambulando I haven't read the $100 Startup, but I did enjoy the other two you mentioned. I would add Traction from Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares to that list, along with The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. The Personal MBA is probably one of the better general business books I've read in the past several years, while Traction is much more focused on helping you decide where to spend your marketing efforts by finding the place you're getting the most traction with the audience. Both are well worth it.

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11yr ago

yclas

@singlefounder I read The Personal MBA while studying project management on Berkeley was good ;) thanks

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11yr ago

Polarized - A Systemic Issue of Fear

@singlefounder Mike, the book looks really helpful, but in checking out one of the sample chapters, the full justification of the text often times has unpleasant large gaps between words.

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11yr ago

Startups 4 the Rest of Us

Maker

Thanks Alex. I looked at it again and there are a few places where it's fairly obvious but that's what happens when the text is justified. It looks significantly worse if it's not justified though.

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11yr ago