The Startup Owner's Manual

The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company

By: Steve Blank, Bob Dorf

Narrated by: Matthew Boston

Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

More than 100,000 entrepreneurs rely on this book for detailed, step-by-step instructions on building successful, scalable, profitable startups. The National Science Foundation pays hundreds of startup teams each year to follow the process outlined in the book, and it's taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and more than 100 other leading universities worldwide. Why?  

The Startup Owner's Manual guides you, step-by-step, as you put the Customer Development process to work. This method was created by renowned Silicon Valley startup expert Steve Blank, cocreator with Eric Ries of the "Lean Startup" movement and tested and refined by him for more than a decade. This guide will help you:  

• Avoid the nine deadly sins that destroy startups' chances for success  
• Use the Customer Development method to bring your business idea to life  
• Incorporate the Business Model Canvas as the organizing principle for startup hypotheses  
• Identify your customers and determine how to "get, keep, and grow" customers' profitably  
• Compute how you'll drive your startup to repeatable, scalable profits.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Steve Blank (P)2020 Gildan Media

Nothing to learn from this book

I plowed through 3 hours 17 minutes before switching it off. Blank writes for large, well-funded startups with many employees that have a new technology and are trying to find customers who'll buy the technology. I started my company thirty years ago to solve the biggest problem in my life. I avoided new technology and built my products with established technologies. I kept expenses down. I'm not rich but I've seen many better-funded competitors come and go. Blank's advice is obvious and repeats himself to make a book out of basic advice.

THE AUDIOBOOK IS AMAZING BUT IT IS MISSING PARTS

Let me just be very clear: I like Steve Blank and his work. This is review is not about the concept of the book or Steve Blank.

This review is about the quality of the audiobook and missing parts. I have the physical book and noticed the audio is missing some major sections from the actual book (e.g., for chapter 4, the audiobook is missing sections on 'value proposition hypothesis' for physical products and jumps right into mobile products. Ironically, it tells you to refer to the physical product section to review some of the content that would be similar for mobile products (even though the section I am referred does not exist in the audiobook!). I came across few other scenarios where the audiobook directly skips over, which you wouldn't have known unless you have the physical book. This audiobook is not advertised as an abridged audiobook so that leads me to believe that the publisher did a very poor job of releasing an unfinished product and not following through with what was promised to the customer (which goes against everything that is taught in the book - ironically!)

DO NOT GET THE AUDIOBOOK. GET THE BOOK INSTEAD.

Good content, poor execution

The information in this book is good, but I don’t think an audiobook is the best format. If possible, I suggest reading along with a hard copy if you’re going to listen. The visual format helps.

The narration is bad. His cadence is sporadic, clunky, and painfully slow! I listened at 1.6x for a better flow.

Bad narration

I didn’t like the narration. Feels like autogenerated voice. Very monotone and difficult to follow

No BS in this one! Perfect!

Hard to read, but remember - this is a manual full of canvas to use. It will not be a start-up "mentality / go get it" BS book. I will use all the info from this book during my new company creation.

It really gives you tips very helpful

Instructive and very helpful. But it is narrated like an instruction manual instead of a book. Despite that, it is a great read

It’s a must-read for the founding team

The narration is somewhat rushed and monotonous so it’s hard to focus. Would have appreciated if the pauses between the sentences were longer so one had some time to digest.