Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup

Start Small, Stay Small is a step-by-step guide to launching a self-funded startup. If you're a desktop, mobile or web developer, this book is your blueprint to getting your startup off the ground with no outside investment. This book intentionally avoids topics restricted to venture-backed startups such as: honing your investment pitch, securing funding, and figuring out how to use the piles of cash investors keep placing in your lap. This book assumes: * You don't have $6M of investor funds sitting in your bank account * You're not going to relocate to the handful of startup hubs in the world * You're not going to work 70 hour weeks for low pay with the hope of someday making millions from stock options There's nothing wrong with pursuing venture funding and attempting to grow fast like Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Facebook. It just so happened that most people are not in a place to do this. Start Small, Stay Small also focuses on the single most important element of a startup that most developers avoid: marketing. There are many great resources for learning how to write code, organize source control, or connect to a database. This book does not cover the technical aspects developers already know or can learn elsewhere. It focuses on finding your idea, testing it before you build, and getting it into the hands of your customers.

Customer Reviews:

Possibly the Best Book on Developer Startups Ever Written

By Randall Degges - October 15, 2010

I'm a programmer. I really love writing software, both personally and professionally. I've always wanted to start my own software business, but have never had the willpower in myself to make it happen.

Rob's book has totally changed that.

This book is an excellent resource for any developer who wants to start their own business. I feel like Rob was writing directly to me when he wrote this, as he answers my questions one at a time in order, and leaves me wondering nothing.

The book contains practical advice for planning your business, starting it, marketing it, and running with it post-launch. It also discusses what to do once you've grown your business (do you want to automate it? sell it?).

After reading Rob's book, I couldn't help but feel empowered. The practical, logical advice presented in this book is a great tool for any programmer who wants to start their own business. Follow these principles, use your skill set, and you can't go... read more

To all developers: stop developing

By Hans van Leuken - November 15, 2010

The main thing I got from the book: stop writing code.

The author explains in a convincing way why an Internet startup is not about coding but about founding a great niche, building a product that executes at a plateau and make it run automatically. And repeat this proces to be serial startup founder. Nr 1 lesson: Out-source your manual tasks to virtual assistants.

The book goes into depth, how to build sustainable traffic for your website and how to validate your businessplan before spending months building.

The book is written in a blog-like reader friendly style. Short paragraphs and without unneccessary fluff.

A Must Read For Getting Your Software Product Started Strong

By Jeremy - June 24, 2010

If you've ever looked into turning a software idea into a viable product, this book is a great guide. Clear and simple descriptions with a little humor mixed in make it easy to turn a few pages into action items. You'll read through once to know what you are in for and then use the book as a constant reference to keep you moving in the right direction. This book won't tell you what the right decision for your product is, but it will help force you to ask yourself good questions to make decisions with better information. With so many unknowns in launching your own product, it makes it a little less scary to have a simple blueprint to follow to make sure you stay focused, spend your time wisely, and don't miss important facets to make your product successful. Even if you decide to wait on launching your own product, the advise in the book will be helpful as a consultant, employee, and even in your life outside of work.