What do you think?
Rate this book
Startup Playbook
http://playbook.samaltman.com/
..
We spend a lot of time advising startups. Though one-on-one advice will always be crucial, we thought it might help us scale Y Combinator if we could distill the most generalizable parts of this advice into a sort of playbook we could give YC and YC Fellowship companies.
Then we thought we should just give it to everyone.
This is meant for people new to the world of startups. Most of this will not be new to people who have read a lot of what YC partners have written--the goal is to get it into one place.
There may be a part II on how to scale a startup later—this mostly covers how to start one.
..
We spend a lot of time advising startups. Though one-on-one advice will always be crucial, we thought it might help us scale Y Combinator if we could distill the most generalizable parts of this advice into a sort of playbook we could give YC and YC Fellowship companies.
Then we thought we should just give it to everyone.
This is meant for people new to the world of startups. Most of this will not be new to people who have read a lot of what YC partners have written--the goal is to get it into one place.
There may be a part II on how to scale a startup later—this mostly covers how to start one.
Unknown Binding
247 people are currently reading
962 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
August 5, 2021
Short (1 hour), impactful read. Would recommend if you’re a founder who’s running a stable business, but isn’t growing very fast
December 31, 2019
Краткий конспект лекций YC о том, как сделать успешный стартап
September 17, 2024
I like AI, and also openai, I don't like Microsoft however, and I understand the risk of merging with unethical companies. I still support openai, but I don't support Microsoft.
May 22, 2017
Condensed business, startup wisdom
I ended up highlighting a good chunk of the text. So many things to embrace. Very useful now that I'm hunting for no.1 Great Idea and soon 2. Great Team
I ended up highlighting a good chunk of the text. So many things to embrace. Very useful now that I'm hunting for no.1 Great Idea and soon 2. Great Team
January 2, 2020
Очень рекомендую книгу всем, кто делает свой ИТ продукт. Это как поговорить с хорошим ментором, убедиться, что вы все делаете правильно!
May 20, 2021
This is a very insightful read from Sam Altman. It provides everything that ycombinator has been doing for a very long time by testing and experimenting with a lot of startups. It is a gem for startup founders.
December 7, 2019
Ngắn gọn chứa nhiều thông tin cơ bản về khỏi nghiệp, may mắn tìm được bản dịch tiếng việt, các bạn có thể tải về tại đây
https://bit.ly/34ZIItf
https://bit.ly/34ZIItf
April 29, 2022
It's more of a blog post than a book, so it's very short, which is good. It tells about all the constituents of the startup: idea, team, product itself, CEO's work.
I think the post is very helpful if you're creating your own startup or you're working in one.
I think the post is very helpful if you're creating your own startup or you're working in one.
September 15, 2016
Condensed primer
December 12, 2016
To have a successful startup, you need: a great idea (including a great market), a great team, a great product, and great execution.
Y Combinator has graciously distilled their advice on these areas into their Startup Playbook. For me, it's _the_ definitive document that someone interested in starting a startup should read. It's short, easy to read, and most importantly, it makes sense.
Y Combinator has graciously distilled their advice on these areas into their Startup Playbook. For me, it's _the_ definitive document that someone interested in starting a startup should read. It's short, easy to read, and most importantly, it makes sense.
November 18, 2015
Quick read with a lot of actionable info
This book is a condensed version of his How To Start A Startup class at Stanford. Lots of great advice without the fluff and ego stories. Highly recommended.
This book is a condensed version of his How To Start A Startup class at Stanford. Lots of great advice without the fluff and ego stories. Highly recommended.
November 27, 2015
A great and very fast read. This book from Y Combinator's Sam Altman condenses his class "How To Start A Startup" at Stanford. Read it if you are new(or even if already experienced) to the subject!
December 17, 2015
Short but a great read!
Companies of any size can benefit from much of the information given. Sad it was such a short read but it was delightful and insightful nonetheless.
Companies of any size can benefit from much of the information given. Sad it was such a short read but it was delightful and insightful nonetheless.
January 30, 2019
Really valuable quick read. Everyone who's thinking about a startup, has to read it as it takes only few hours but gives great picture of how a startup works.
July 8, 2020
It contains brief lessons about startups. I liked the matter-of-fact tone and no non-sense advice. The biggest takeaways for me are below.
1. Building something customers "love" should be the primary aim of every startup. Without building such a product (or service) you can't achieve success. All the successful companies are the ones that are loved by their customers(most if not all)
2. Hiring is the most important thing once you have achieved product-market fit. Great companies are built by great people. So if you can hire the best talent you are setting yourself up for success.
3. Doing things that don't scale, i.e trying to really understand the problem customers are facing. If it means physically sitting in their office so be it. You have to understand the problem inside out.
4. Have clear answers to what you are doing and why you are doing it. This shows clarity of purpose.
5. Fast execution is a necessary condition for success. There have been no "slow execution" success stories.
Maybe this might need re-reading after a few months or years. But a good starting book.
1. Building something customers "love" should be the primary aim of every startup. Without building such a product (or service) you can't achieve success. All the successful companies are the ones that are loved by their customers(most if not all)
2. Hiring is the most important thing once you have achieved product-market fit. Great companies are built by great people. So if you can hire the best talent you are setting yourself up for success.
3. Doing things that don't scale, i.e trying to really understand the problem customers are facing. If it means physically sitting in their office so be it. You have to understand the problem inside out.
4. Have clear answers to what you are doing and why you are doing it. This shows clarity of purpose.
5. Fast execution is a necessary condition for success. There have been no "slow execution" success stories.
Maybe this might need re-reading after a few months or years. But a good starting book.
March 3, 2020
Great way to start for sure, a lot of valuable pointers. It also references some useful articles to complement your learning.
One thing that did disappoint me though is the lack of a bibliography. He certainly has a big one, but why not share it? This would have probably been the most valuable good of this book. I almost gave 4 or 3 stars because of it, what saved my rating is that the cost-benefit is very high.
Another factor to consider is that this is a great summary of what is discussed in countless hours of lectures in Y Combinator's website and YouTube channel.
One thing that did disappoint me though is the lack of a bibliography. He certainly has a big one, but why not share it? This would have probably been the most valuable good of this book. I almost gave 4 or 3 stars because of it, what saved my rating is that the cost-benefit is very high.
Another factor to consider is that this is a great summary of what is discussed in countless hours of lectures in Y Combinator's website and YouTube channel.
April 16, 2024
Succinct clear headed advice
Without over-detailing would be entrepreneurs Sam provides clear advice on what to expect and the dominant factors that impact startup success from his broad and engaged experience.
A great short read - likely something you should read moments before you take the plunge and then every quarter after that until the advice is either discounted or permanently embedded.
Without over-detailing would be entrepreneurs Sam provides clear advice on what to expect and the dominant factors that impact startup success from his broad and engaged experience.
A great short read - likely something you should read moments before you take the plunge and then every quarter after that until the advice is either discounted or permanently embedded.
May 9, 2020
Six Stars
This is the best quick read on startups, management and being a CEO I’ve read in a long time. It hits home with direct, no BS suggestions and focused actions to take. People and Product are the key to success, coupled with focused and relentless execution. A great read. A must read.
This is the best quick read on startups, management and being a CEO I’ve read in a long time. It hits home with direct, no BS suggestions and focused actions to take. People and Product are the key to success, coupled with focused and relentless execution. A great read. A must read.
January 14, 2022
This is a great concise book laying out important things to have for a startup. It gives measurable definition on what is good product, market fit and how the growth looks like, etc. Could almost use it to ask whether one early stage company is on the right track or something is broken and need to dig deeper.
January 17, 2017
Good introduction
Starting a business is like having your first language vet interest: everything is fabulous until you realize he/she needs constant work and attention. This book gives pointers to make that task easier to accomplish.
Starting a business is like having your first language vet interest: everything is fabulous until you realize he/she needs constant work and attention. This book gives pointers to make that task easier to accomplish.
August 20, 2017
Meh...
If you have have no idea where to start, this is a good overview. It would have gotten one star but there are a few golden nuggets of quotable advice in here worth knowing and remembering.
If you have have no idea where to start, this is a good overview. It would have gotten one star but there are a few golden nuggets of quotable advice in here worth knowing and remembering.
August 4, 2018
A condensed course on almost everything one needs to consider when choosing and creating a startup venture. Written in an easily consumed format with the sound of one who has walked these steps personally. There is a lot of valuable information and resources included in this book.
April 26, 2020
Short, concise, good read
The book covers a good overview on the important aspects of a company. Do not expect detail explanations on every strategy. Good enough to get an understanding of how things work, how founders lives are.
The book covers a good overview on the important aspects of a company. Do not expect detail explanations on every strategy. Good enough to get an understanding of how things work, how founders lives are.
September 20, 2022
must read for startup founders
This short book is focused on how to start a startup. It includes links for interesting blog posts because you must dive further into certain topics. Recommended. Btw… it’s free!
This short book is focused on how to start a startup. It includes links for interesting blog posts because you must dive further into certain topics. Recommended. Btw… it’s free!
December 27, 2023
Great insights. short read
Great insights. short read. Very direct prose. Reader must now use this short insights to think and apply to the project they are working on( or will work on).
Great insights. short read. Very direct prose. Reader must now use this short insights to think and apply to the project they are working on( or will work on).
January 24, 2018
Great insight to the tools and resources you need to consider when starting up. If you are a newbie to the Startup or Entrepreneurship game this is definitely something to dive into .
March 24, 2018
This is so short that it's barely a book, it's a nice little pamphlet with useful advice for first-time founders of startups.
December 4, 2018
One of the simplest, clear and most thoughtful advise on starting up. This book cuts through all the clutter and provides with a bare bones framework on starting a startup.
January 17, 2019
Great read
This small Playbook is a great start for the entrepreneur. When combined with all the videos - it’s more then enough resource to get you started!
This small Playbook is a great start for the entrepreneur. When combined with all the videos - it’s more then enough resource to get you started!
January 29, 2019
The book includes nice points and good suggestions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews