Tech Startup 3.0

What are the five most important books for your tech startup bookshelf?  Without a doubt the books that have helped us most in our last company and the ones that are helping in this new startup, HelpBurner are:

Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

This book summarizes what you need to be doing before you launch your startup and also what you should be doing post-launch and on an ongoing basis.  These guys really get the way marketing has changed from old-school (outbound) to new-school (inbound).  Not only that, they tell you how you can get the results you need from inbound marketing in a clear step-by-step approach that makes it easy for the busy startup company.

by Seth Godin

Probably the most important book for any tech startup is this one.  It’s the one you need to read and understand before you build your product and company.  If you’re already some way down the road then this book becomes even more important and helps you re-focus your product offerings and company to succeed.  To summarize Seth –

“Summarize your business by being remarkable”

The Web Startup Success Guide and MicroISV Sites that Sell (e-book) by Bob Walsh

These books provide great information for anyone in a tech startup and are must-reads.  Whilst I much prefer and found the content in MicroISV Sites that Sell to be much better, Web Startup Success Guide is still worth having at your fingertips.  Sites that Sell guides you through the process of distilling your product ideas so you can communicate them quickly and easily as benefits to potential customers.  Most tech heads realize this is sometimes a complicated process (to change our heads from features to benefits) and Bob does an excellent job of guiding you through it.

What 99% of Startups Should be Doing to Succeed

OK, so this one isn’t a book but it is really important (and interesting) – This is one video every single small business / SOHO owner should watch at least once.  It doesn’t matter if you know all this stuff already or if you’re already successful – this is a great motivational piece that spells out what 99% of entrepreneurs  should be focusing on.

David’ core message is: forget trying to be the next Facebook or MySpace… focus instead on choosing a niche market which has a real problem that your business can solve well.  Simply put, yours odds of success are far far higher.

David is an owner of 37signals, one of the most successful web 2.0 companies and their ideas and principals have shaped a lot of what we see today in the web SaaS (software as a service) type business space.  While this video is discussing technology businesses, the message is the same across the board – it doesn’t matter if you’re in real-estate or software.

Here is the link to the full-size original: David Heinemeier Hansson at Start-up School 08