Reading Path
Build Your First Business
From validating your first idea to building something that could actually last.
3 books · ~27 min total
The goal
Move from a vague idea to a testable business direction with a written operating discipline.
Best for
- First-time founders
- Side-project builders
By the end you'll
- Name the assumptions your idea depends on.
- Know when to iterate and when to bet on a genuinely new idea.
- Have a small set of principles guiding day-to-day decisions.
Why this order
Start with the operating loop (Ries), zoom out to what kind of company is worth building (Thiel), then encode what you learn into written principles (Dalio).
- 01The Lean Startup
The Lean Startup
by Eric Ries
A discipline for building companies under extreme uncertainty — one validated experiment at a time.
Read summary - 02Zero to One
Zero to One
by Peter Thiel
Notes on startups, or how to build the future by creating something genuinely new.
Read summary - 03Principles
Principles
by Ray Dalio
Life and work principles for navigating reality and getting what you want out of it.
Read summary
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