THE MBA STARTUP READING LIST
A
collection of books that every MBA student recruiting for startups should have
read to interview well and perform in hisher role.
1 The Hard Thing
About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz Genre Management
In
his book, Horowitz, cofounder and partner at Andreessen Horowitz and one
Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected entrepreneurs, provides
insight into the challenging moments of running and leading a business, like
hiring and retaining the right people, laying employees off, and managing the
politics that come with trying to simultaneously please investors, managers,
executives and co-founders.The common theme throughout is that the hard thing
to do and the right thing to do are usually one and the same.
2 Inspired: How To
Create Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan Genre Product
While
there are many fantastic books out there on product development, Inspired is
recommended for several reasons. First, the book has been around for about
seven years and therefore presents a proven perspective on product
development.Furthermore, Cagan lays out concepts in a clear, intuitive manner
while delivering content that is highly practical and aimed at those operating
in the real world. The book also covers all the nonproduct challenges that
product managers face, such as managing the often opposing goals of
engineering, sales, design, marketing, executives, customers, and other
stakeholders.
3 Data Smart: Using
Data Science to Transform Information into Insight by John Foreman Genre Data
Foreman
is the Chief Data Scientist at MailChimp and his book Data Smart really is the
data science guide for MBAs. For starters, t teaches modern statistical
approaches and algorithms using Excel. And it takes content that can often be
challenging and technical, and makes it accessible and understandable. Foreman
focuses on the practical applications of data science techniques, rather than
the theory behind them, giving the material a certain dimensionality that is
often lacking in more technical sources.Importantly, Data Smart contains enough
instruction to start running actual analyses right out the gate.
4 Crossing the
Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers by
Geoffrey A Moore Genre Growth
This
is one of those books that everyone in Silicon Valley has read more than once.
Moore shows how successful technology product adoption follows a pattern called
the Technology Adoption Life Cycle.Beginning with the innovators and early
adopters in a particular market, a deadly chasm separates the early majority,
late majority and laggards.
After
laying out this framework, Moore goes on to explain how companies have
successfully “crossed the chasm“ before and why those that failed, did so.
The
third edition of the book has been updated to include more recent examples of
high-tech companies that made this transition, such as Salesforce, VMware, and
Mozilla.
5 Venture Deals: Be
Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson
Genre Finance
In
Venture Deals, Feld and Mendelson explain the ins and outs of venture capital
from the perspective of the entrepreneur, demystifying the term sheet and
explaining the tradeoffs between economic value and control.
In
addition to covering the technical aspects of venture, the book covers the
various participants in the fundraising process and how the capital structure
of a venture backed firm is meant to align and protect their respective
interests.
|
businessinsider
in
|
ETP 16NOV15
No comments:
Post a Comment