Find Your 9others: The questions to ask yourself as you start up and scale up by Katie Lewis & Matthew Stafford

The authors of Find Your 9others, Katie Lewis and Matthew Stafford, draw upon their experiences hosting over 5,000 entrepreneurs at 500 events across more than 45 cities since 2011. The book presents ten key questions to guide individuals in starting and scaling their own ventures, emphasising the importance of building a supportive network.

The book offers valuable guidance for entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the challenges of starting and scaling a business.

Do Penguins Eat Peaches?: And Other Unexpected Ways to Discover What Your Customers Want by Katie Tucker

Do Penguins Eat Peaches? aims to demystify market research tools and techniques for smaller businesses with limited budgets and teams, guiding them on how to effectively understand their customers' needs. Author Katie Tucker is a product leader with over twelve years of experience in delivering products and services. In 2020, she founded Product Jungle, assisting businesses in understanding their customers better.

Investable Entrepreneur: How to Convince Investors Your Business is the One to Back by James Church

Author James Church, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Robot Mascot draws upon his extensive experience to guide entrepreneurs in effectively communicating their business ideas to potential investors.

The book discusses 'The Six Principles of the Perfect Pitch', a process designed to enhance the clarity and impact of business pitches, increasing the likelihood of securing investment. It emphasises the importance of clear communication, addressing a common issue where promising business ideas fail due to poor articulation.

The Venture Mindset: How to make smarter bets and achieve extraordinary growth by Ilya Strebulav & Alex Dang

The Venture Mindset draws inspiration from the unique approaches of VCs to decision-making and innovation, aiming to provide a playbook for organisations to adapt and thrive in rapidly changing environments.

The book discusses nine distinct principles derived from the venture capital mindset, guiding readers on identifying and capitalising on emerging opportunities, making informed and timely decisions, fostering innovation within organisations, developing a robust pipeline of ideas, and encouraging a culture where failure is viewed as a learning opportunity. The principles are designed to help leaders and founders achieve extraordinary results.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is considered a classic within the personal development genre, and a favourite of many startup founders.

The book follows the journey of Julian Mantle, a high-powered lawyer who suffers a heart attack due to his stressful lifestyle. He then embarks on a spiritual journey to the Himalayas, where he learns life-changing wisdom from monks.

The book introduces principles for living a fulfilling and purpose-driven life, focusing on themes such as mindfulness, discipline, gratitude, and personal mastery. Some of the key lessons include: the importance of having a clear purpose in life, the power of positive thinking and visualisation, the benefits of adopting daily habits like meditation, self-discipline, and continuous learning, and the significance of balancing personal and professional life.

Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup by Bill Aulet

In Disciplined Entrepreneurship, Bill Aulet, professor at MIT Sloan School of Management and Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, presents a structured, step-by-step approach to building a successful startup.

The book is based on his experience teaching entrepreneurship and guiding founders. It breaks down the process of launching a startup into 24 clear steps, grouped into six themes:

• Who is your customer? – identifying and understanding your target market
• What can you do for your customer? – defining the problem and solution fit
• How does your customer acquire your product? – establishing a go-to-market strategy
• How do you make money off your product? – developing a revenue model
• How do you design and build your product? – prototyping and product development
• How do you scale your business? – expanding beyond initial customers

The Lean Startup by Eric Reis

The Lean Startup has become a foundational guide for startups aiming to navigate uncertainty with agility and efficiency. At its core, The Lean Startup emphasises validated learning, where businesses test ideas through real-world experimentation rather than relying on assumptions. Ries introduces the Build-Measure-Learn cycle, which encourages entrepreneurs to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to gather early customer feedback. This approach minimises waste, accelerates learning, and helps founders decide whether to pivot (change direction) or persevere (refine and scale).

The book challenges traditional business planning, arguing that startups should be treated as experiments, adapting their strategies based on data-driven insights rather than rigid forecasts. This mindset has influenced not only startups but also large corporations seeking to foster innovation.

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