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The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company

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Now a decade after the Four Steps to the Epiphany
sparked the Lean Startup revolution, comes its sequel…
The Startup Owner's Manual

The Manual incorporates 10 years of learning and best practices
that have swept the startup world. It:

Incorporates the "Business Model Canvas" as the organizing principle for
startup hypotheses
Provides separate paths and advice for web/mobile products versus
physical products
Offers a wealth of detailed instruction on how to get, keep, and grow
customers recognizing the different techniques for web and physical channels
And teaches a "new math" for startups: "metrics that matter for fueling growth"

The Startup Owner's Manual is a step-by-step, near-encyclopedic reference manual or "how to" for building a successful, scalable startup.
Want to know what to do the first, week, month or year?
What's the right distribution channel for your product?
How to get traffic to your web site?
…and how to activate customers or users on arrival?
Who are the right "first customers," and why?
…plus many more great tips in nearly 500 pages, complete with index,
glossary, and Customer Development Checklists

It's the indispensible reference guide for any startup founder, entrepreneur, investor or educator.

608 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

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About the author

Steve Blank

26 books362 followers
Put to a vote, I might have been chosen “least likely to succeed” in my New York City high school class. My path has taken me from repairing fighter planes in Thailand during the Vietnam War, to spook stuff in undisclosed location(s), and I was lucky enough to arrive at the beginning of the boom times of Silicon Valley in 1978.
After 21 years in 8 high technology companies, I retired in 1999. I started my last company, E.piphany, in my living room in 1996. My other startups include two semiconductor companies, Zilog and MIPS Computers, a workstation company Convergent Technologies, a consulting stint for a graphics hardware/software spinout Pixar, a supercomputer firm, Ardent, a computer peripheral supplier, SuperMac, a military intelligence systems supplier, ESL and a video game company, Rocket Science Games.
Total score: two large craters (Rocket Science and Ardent), one dot.com bubble home run (E.piphany) and several base hits.
After I retired, I took some time to reflect on my experience and wrote a book (actually my class text) about building early stage companies called Four Steps to the Epiphany.
I moved from being an entrepreneur to teaching entrepreneurship to both undergraduate and graduate students at U.C. Berkeley, Stanford University and the Columbia University/Berkeley Joint Executive MBA program. The “Customer Development” model that I developed in my book is one of the core themes in these classes. In 2009, I was awarded the Stanford University Undergraduate Teaching Award in the department of Management Science and Engineering. The same year, the San Jose Mercury News listed me as one of the 10 Influencers in Silicon Valley.
I also followed my curiosity about why entrepreneurship blossomed in Silicon Valley and was stillborn elsewhere. It has led to several talks on The Secret History of Silicon Valley.
In 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed me to serve on the California Coastal Commission, the public body which regulates land use and public access on the California coast.
I am on the board of Audubon California (and its past chair) and spent several years on the Audubon National Board. I’m also a board member of Peninsula Open Space Land Trust (POST). In 2009 I became a trustee of U.C. Santa Cruz and joined the board of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV).

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5 stars
5,715 (45%)
4 stars
3,774 (30%)
3 stars
2,045 (16%)
2 stars
658 (5%)
1 star
363 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
Profile Image for Bob.
97 reviews
October 17, 2013
This book is dry and formulaic, but it has one basic insight that's worth repeating: don't bother making anything until you discover & understand who's going to buy. I gave it 3-Stars because it's not an inspiring book. However, if you're considering bootstrapping a product or company, this is a slam-dunk, 5-Star must-read because it will save you years.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs fancy themselves as undiscovered geniuses, but the reality is that bootstrapping a product or company is much more formulaic than inspired -- it requires lots of gumshoe work finding and listening to potential customers. Any clown can make something. It's the clowns who make something that people will buy that count.
Profile Image for Peter.
478 reviews2,574 followers
June 10, 2019
Startup
The Startup Owners Manual is a wonderful inspiring and informative book on how to start your entrepreneurial career. It doesn't cover the logistical or administrative tasks but it does focus on the most important aspect of how to achieve customer adoption and retention. In their terms how to discover customers and how to validate them. While every aspect of establishing a business is important, such as legal, finance, resources etc. if you don't have a path to customers you don't have a business.

The book is split into 3 Manuals:
The Startup Owner’s Manual Strategy Guide
The Startup Owner’s Manual for Web/Mobile Channel Startups
The Startup Owner’s Manual for Physical Channel Startups
“A startup is a temporary organisation in search of a scalable, repeatable, profitable business model.”
What differentiates startups from established companies is defined better here than I have seen it anywhere else. To understand and live this definition is so important for new companies and it requires a special breed of people that hunger and flourish in uncertainty.

This is an agile world where our goal is to build a Minimum Viable Product. The business and product in those early days go through the same experiences and are almost synonymous. The concept of Minimum and Viable are so difficult to balance but that is the secret.

Throughout the book, there are great formatting and visual techniques used to highlight major points. Graphics help emphasise key processes and examples are used to underpin an explanation. The step by step guide appeals to our process minds and helps us realise that while there is a lot of uncertainty there at least is an approach.
171 reviews
June 7, 2013
The text I use for my class. Not perfect (e.g. doesn't emphasize competition, risks and category and concept economic viability enough) but still the best entrepreneurial guide I have found so far. If you don't feel like wading through the text book, try Udacity.com and stream a series of short ENTR lectures, also done by Blank.
Profile Image for Joshua Pitzalis.
46 reviews6 followers
December 4, 2014
This is the best business book I have read till date.

It effortlessly dismantles the bullshit idea of a good entrepreneur as a modern day Indiana Jones hacking their way through a jungle of self-doubt armed only with an iron clad will and a penchant for making the right decisions at the right time. This books recast my understanding of the ideal entrepreneur as a scientist, methodical and precise.

The book outlines exactly what to pay attention to through each of the four stages of turning an idea into a sustainable business that earns 10x on its initial investment. To be honest, I didn't even know there were stages before I picked up this book, let along what to focus on in each one of them.

Zero bullshit, just super useful, highly-actionable advice from someone who sounds like they know what they are talking about. It's not a particularly enjoyable read but then again, its not the kind of book you read for enjoyment.

I intend to reread this incredible book at least once a year.
Profile Image for Dustin Raymer.
29 reviews
February 17, 2021
This would be a great book for people in the very beginning phases of their business. I do think there are other books out there that are better though for that stage. If you are already somewhat established and have a proven product and market, I would look elsewhere.
Profile Image for Tom.
28 reviews35 followers
December 25, 2012
Blank, Steven Gary, and Bob Dorf (2012), The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step-Guide for Building a Great Company, K and S Ranch, Inc. K&S Publishing Division. This is a brilliant book about a new approach for entrepreneurs to build lasting companies. It includes a four-stage model Steve Blank made famous called customer development, which complements the traditional product development model. Customer Development is comprised of four processes: 1. Customer Discovery: Who will buy my breakthrough innovation, and what do they need? 2. Customer Validation: Will our product satisfy that need better than all others? What assumptions am I making about my business model? Let’s get out of the building and test them! 3. Customer Creation: Who is buying the innovation and how do we create a scalable model to attract paying customers? 4. Company Building: How do we grow our company as we continue to innovate with new product ideas and iterate with our customers? The book is comprehensive (over 500 pages), but every page is worth reading.
Profile Image for TarasProkopyuk.
686 reviews100 followers
March 1, 2015
Мощнейшая книга!!!

Недавно прочёл более раннюю работу автора "Четыре шага к озарению". Теперь же дошла очередь и до "Стартап. Настольная книга основателя". В принципе должен сказать, что последняя книга усовершенствованная старая. Да и в новой версии спустя годы сделано множество поправок и автор сделал акцент на цифровой бизнес.

Чтобы снова не повторятся читайте о книге здесь - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Если не читали "Четыре шага к озарению" можете смело начать с этой книги. Если же читали, то всё равно очень рекомендую прочесть данную.

Лучшее книги о построении и развитии стартапа я ещё не видал! И даже если вы уже тот предприниматель или менеджер, который думает, что его сложно чем удивить - значит книга точно для вас!!!
42 reviews6 followers
December 2, 2022
It’s a must read if you are aiming to start a startup.. the book is dense and I wish they have made its two different editions.. one for physical products, and other for web/mobile ones..

If you are not super serious about startup then don’t read this. You may need to get excited by reading something like "Zero to One" first.
Profile Image for د.أمجد الجنباز.
Author 3 books784 followers
November 10, 2014
الكتاب الأهم في التخطيط للمشاريع الريادية
يحوي خطوات توجهك لتبدأ فكرتك الصغيرة، ثم تكبرها تدريجيا وبشكل مدروس إلى أن يتحول أعلى مشروع قاءم

ومؤلف الكتاب بروفيسور مشهور في ستانفورد، وله الكثير من الدورات المجانية أن لاين حول بدء المشروعات الصغيرة
Profile Image for Armanc Keser.
2 reviews
February 25, 2024
I don't own a Startup nor am I in a position of management of one, but I still found immense value in this book. Each chapter either validated or clarified my vague ideas around how companies should be led and operated. I recommend it to anyone who wants a framework to think about the companies they are working in, products they are using, or businesses they are curious about. This shouldn't only be seen as a way to make a company successful, but also as a way to understand if an existing company might be on a road to failure. I listened to it with the aim of taking the most important lessons in, and I am now hoping that I get to study, implement and wear out a physical copy when the right time comes.
Profile Image for Nathan.
42 reviews4 followers
August 31, 2014
Great companion to The Lean Startup and Business Model Generation. I found it to be more useful in B2B application than in B2C. The edition of the book I have, First Ed/5th printing, has both B2B and B2C content and the way to two are presented in succession within a single chapter does not make for the best read. But the author states early in the book that it is not meant to be read straight through, rather used as a reference - thus the name.

In any event, it's a great book on the subject - presented in a much more detailed, hands-on manner than The Lean Startup. This makes it less useful as a read-through intro/overview to the subject, but perhaps more useful as a guide once you are starting to practice Lean techniques.
Profile Image for Barry Graubart.
29 reviews12 followers
June 17, 2014
Simply THE best book on product strategy and market entry for startups.

I follow the customer development method closely in bringing new products to market.

My only criticism is that the book could have used a good editor. Steve writes more like a blogger than a book author and he frequently repeats concepts. But, that's a minor annoyance considering the value this book provides.

If you're a product manager or a leader of an early stage company, buy copies for your whole team and use it.
46 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2021
If there's only one book you read for building your startup, this is it. This book is the successor to the Four Steps to the Epiphany and walks you through with painstaking details everything you need to do at each step to be a successful startup. This book is also very complete, its prescriptive and full of great examples, checklists and other items to help you think through where you are. Several years ago, Dr. Blank's book changed my life in how I approach building startups and if you want to get a head start, get this book
2 reviews
May 20, 2018
This was a waste of time. Lean startup is a mindset, this approach is just to create a fad creator for the authors to generate more interest in the courses they offer. The premise that somehow within a few days you will have a great business model is an insult to every startup out there who have spent countless hours getting things right. A real business takes time to think through and most pivots happen organically not within a few days.
Profile Image for Bruno Rio.
174 reviews7 followers
March 10, 2021
Starting a business is no joke. To build a team, a business model and processes that will survive ourselves and any economic tide is very hard.

This book has a lot of good insights but it is too dry and procedural. It is never a one fits all formula. Also the book aesthetics tired me because of its excess of diagrams.

Could be summed up into half and then it would be much more useful...
Profile Image for Stefan Bruun.
279 reviews59 followers
September 12, 2020
Probably a really good place to start for people looking to start their first (tech) company, but nothing new for people who have worked across functions in a startup already. Still valuable as it raises a number of very valuable lessons that does bear repeating even if you've read them elsewhere (given the age of the book, they may even originate from it).
Profile Image for Tim.
14 reviews4 followers
January 31, 2014
Essential reading for startups. Gotta thank my friend Tiang Cheng for recommending it to me. Wish I read it a long time ago ;-)
62 reviews
January 3, 2021
Me he leído solo el 25% del libro pero ya sé perfectamente de lo que va. Este libro pretende guiar a emprendedores para que no comentan los errores tradicionales de lanzamiento basados en la redacción y cumplimiento de un plan de empresa. Basándose en los principios del "Lean Stratup", los autores promulgan conocer previamente al cliente y su aceptación del producto que ofrecemos. Para ello hay que "salir a la calle" y preguntarle en repetidas ocasiones sobre sus necesidades y cómo acepta nuestro producto. Para ello es de gran utilidad el uso del Lienzo del Modelo de negocio "Canvas". En base a ello se van elaborando diferentes "canvas" cada vez más perfeccionados y más cercanos a la realidad de lo que necesita el cliente.
Hay que producir un PVM (Producto Viable Mínimo) lo antes posible e ir mejorándolo paulatinamente hasta llegar a la versión definitiva. Entonces es cuando haremos el desembolso en Marketing y puesta en marcha de la empresa. Con esta metodología se huye del tradicional plan de empresa ya que los autores piensan que sus hipótesis raramente se cumplen y por lo tanto se ejecuta un plan erróneo. Así también se evita quemar todo el dinero disponible sin saber si se está usando de la manera justa.
Un gran ejemplo de aplicación de esta metodología es el Caso "Eventdeals" (de haber conocido esta metodología a los promotores de Eventdeals igual les habría ido algo mejor).
El libro es bastante práctico y da instrucciones claras y prácticas de cómo ejecutar la metodología propuesta.
Profile Image for Sicofonia.
300 reviews
November 13, 2020
This is one of the few occasions when I rate a book with resounding 5 stars.

Back few years ago when I got interested in product management I always wondered how Product Discovery would work in a B2B setting. I came across the Lean Startup book, read it, enjoyed it... but didn't get much practical stuff out of it.

Oh dear, I wish I had known that Eric Ries's master of ceremonies was a gentleman called Steve Blank.

The title of the book is quite simple yet ambitious in scope. Could I learn what it takes to develop a business from zero in just one book. After just reading the first couple of chapters and finding myself I was scribbling and dog-earing many pages I realized how good this book is.

It is literally what it says in the tin, with this book alone you will be able to set up a roadmap to attempt establishing a new business (be it physical or online). While it doesn't get into the nitty gritty technical details about how to do specifics such as instrumenting your app, prototyping tools or techniques; it will give a broad enough yet clear view of what steps you have to take.

Absolutely loved this book and I wish I had come across it earlier in my career. Totally recommend it.
Profile Image for Florin Roșoga.
Author 4 books142 followers
October 10, 2019
I read it entirely and will read it again, starting with the portions I need most. I think you have to read it several times and to apply.
Profile Image for Ashe Magalhaes.
131 reviews17 followers
January 26, 2022
Maybe I've read too many startup books but, while this book contains useful reminders, I didn't feel like I learned anything new/different.
Profile Image for Tyler Weeres.
12 reviews
February 24, 2022
A more modern take on The Four Steps to the Epiphany.

Very thorough - it's more of a reference handbook than a book to read front to back. I'll definitely refer to it constantly as I progress my startup through the process described.
Profile Image for Michal Bol.
17 reviews
July 15, 2019
Treat this as a reference book or a guide.
Otherwise it may seem boring
Profile Image for Ryan.
258 reviews53 followers
March 1, 2023
This book is nothing short of extraordinary.

Steve Blank provides a scientific, methodical, and clearheaded guide through not only the hazards and pitfalls that face every entrepreneur, but also makes good use of the countless failures that have come before, who have all collectively paved the way for this book in the form of object lessons and cautionary tales.

Using research, data-centric assertions, and a systemic view of what a startup is and isn't, Blank provides directions on the most optimal path that greatly increases the chances of an entrepreneur arriving safely and successfully at one's desired destination.

One of the very best business books I've ever read. If you plan on starting a business, this book should be considered absolutely mandatory reading.
106 reviews3 followers
February 19, 2023
great book

this is not an "easy read" it's pretty dry, but it does what it promises. It's indeed a manual, and no manual can flow as a fiction book afterall. this book is jam packed with wisdom that you can use to go from idea to a scale up. A term that that often people misuse thinking that just growing means being a scale up. Must read for anyone working in a startup or considering being a founder. Worth buying the physical version and fill it with notes, highlights and bookmarks. Recommended
Profile Image for Nate Desmond.
11 reviews69 followers
January 23, 2014
This book provides an amazing level of detail on running a successful startup. Perhaps more important than the 400+ pages of reading though, the checklists in the back can be pulled out as needed for specific startup tasks.
8 reviews5 followers
February 8, 2017
Basics, basics, basics. When i've read at 450th page that ltv has to be bigger that cac that was enough.
But some "todolists" are always worth remembering, and actions worth revising, but u can find those at the very end, so dont have to go through the whole thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews

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