Ten recommended reads for tech entrepreneurs who want to build a great product
So you’ve got a great idea for a tech startup, now you need to build your product and your business. As an entrepreneur you’re going to need to understand what makes a great product so you can find the right team to deliver it for you.
Here are ten essential books that will help you get started.
1 The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
If you aren’t following the principles set out in this book, your business will probably fail. It’s as simple as that.
2 Hooked by Nir Eyal
I cannot recommend this book enough — essential reading for anyone who wants users to keep coming back to their app.
3 The Designful Company: How to build a culture of nonstop innovation by Marty Neumeier
“Traditional managers have relied on a two-step process to make decisions — ‘knowing’ and ‘doing.’ Yet in today’s innovation-driven marketplace, managers need to insert a middle step, called ‘making’. Making is a phase in which assumptions are questioned, futures are imagined, and prototypes are tested, producing a wide range of options that didn’t exist before.”
4 Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
This is THE essential book on how to design brilliant web applications. Everyone should read this book — CEOs and designers alike.
“Absolutely everyone should read this book. The internet would be a far better place.” — Amazon reviewer
5 HTML and CSS — Design and build websites by Jon Duckett
This book provides a great overview of how a website is constructed, how to work with typography and layout and how to prepare images and other media for the web. It’s important to understand the basics even if you are not planning to learn to code.
6 Adaptive Web Design — Crafting Rich Experiences with Progressive Enhancement by Aaron Gustafson (free download)
‘Progressive enhancement’ is the gold standard of how to approach web design. This book explains what it means and how to do it.
7 Interaction Design Best Practices by UXPin (free download)
Another free download that will help you understand the basics of brilliant user interaction design and create user experiences that feel ‘fluid’ and ‘lifelike’.
8 The Guide to Prototyping Process & Fidelity by UXPin (free download)
A nice introduction and overview to prototyping — how to create your first prototype and what to include in it.
9 Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug
Everyone who’s building a web site (or a web or mobile application, or desktop software) can — and should — be doing their own testing. Rocket Surgery explains everything you need to know to start testing.
10 The Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane
Every app needs good content. This brief guide quickly and expertly demonstrates not only how to apply a content strategy, but how to do it well.
Have you read any brilliant books about product design lately? Let me know your recommendations!
