The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less
- Downloads：8302
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-06 09:51:49
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Sahil Lavingia
- ISBN：034943140X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A new roadmap for building sustainable startups that last beyond the hype。
As more and more cracks form in the myth of the VC-funded， IPO-driven billion-dollar company--they're not profitable， and are unethically run to boot--entrepreneurs are seeking an alternative path to building useful， sustainable， and sane businesses。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur is the manifesto for a new generation of entrepreneurs who would rather build great companies than big ones。
In 2011， Sahil Lavingia left his position as the second hire at Pinterest to chase his own dream of founding a billion-dollar company。 His startup， Gumroad， was growing quickly and raising venture capital easily。 Gumroad， a platform connecting creators with sellers， seemed like it was on the road to unicorn status， with the fancy offices and rapid hiring to match。
Until one quarter， when growth faltered， and everything crumbled。 But Lavingia rebuilt Gumroad from the ground up。 In contrast to the waste and hypergrowth-for-growth's sake mentality that characterized his first attempt， he became a minimalist entrepreneur。 Weaving together his own experience at Gumroad with stories of other likeminded companies， he offers a new roadmap for entrepreneurs choosing to grow meaningfully over growing unsustainably。
Unicorns are not the best or only path for a startup。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how to resist investments that set you up to fail， run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work， develop and release products without failing fast or often， and how to get to profitability and stay there。
As more and more cracks form in the myth of the VC-funded， IPO-driven billion-dollar company--they're not profitable， and are unethically run to boot--entrepreneurs are seeking an alternative path to building useful， sustainable， and sane businesses。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur is the manifesto for a new generation of entrepreneurs who would rather build great companies than big ones。
In 2011， Sahil Lavingia left his position as the second hire at Pinterest to chase his own dream of founding a billion-dollar company。 His startup， Gumroad， was growing quickly and raising venture capital easily。 Gumroad， a platform connecting creators with sellers， seemed like it was on the road to unicorn status， with the fancy offices and rapid hiring to match。
Until one quarter， when growth faltered， and everything crumbled。 But Lavingia rebuilt Gumroad from the ground up。 In contrast to the waste and hypergrowth-for-growth's sake mentality that characterized his first attempt， he became a minimalist entrepreneur。 Weaving together his own experience at Gumroad with stories of other likeminded companies， he offers a new roadmap for entrepreneurs choosing to grow meaningfully over growing unsustainably。
Unicorns are not the best or only path for a startup。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur teaches founders how to resist investments that set you up to fail， run a tight ship amid the rise of the gig economy and remote work， develop and release products without failing fast or often， and how to get to profitability and stay there。
Reviews
Nishan De silva
，
If you're running a business and if you're after growth and if you're frustrated， this is the book you should read。 After running my business for years with anxiety， I finally felt calm after reading this。 If you're running a business and if you're after growth and if you're frustrated， this is the book you should read。 After running my business for years with anxiety， I finally felt calm after reading this。 。。。more
huwng
，
great framework to follow。
Brian Sachetta
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This one is a quick but effective look into starting a low-cost， MVP-style business。 On audio， it clocks in at just over four hours。 To be honest， I kind of found that refreshing。 It cuts out a lot of the fluff and just gets right into the meat of things。I also loved the fact that it’s written by an entrepreneur who has really "done it" before。 You know it’s legit since Lavingia has been in the trenches himself — and actually built a really solid business on top of this book's principles。Sure， i This one is a quick but effective look into starting a low-cost， MVP-style business。 On audio， it clocks in at just over four hours。 To be honest， I kind of found that refreshing。 It cuts out a lot of the fluff and just gets right into the meat of things。I also loved the fact that it’s written by an entrepreneur who has really "done it" before。 You know it’s legit since Lavingia has been in the trenches himself — and actually built a really solid business on top of this book's principles。Sure， it’s simple at times， but I don’t think that’s actually a detractor here。 Especially not in a short book that gives you what you need， then leaves you to it。 Definitely worth picking up。-Brian SachettaAuthor of “Get Out of Your Head” 。。。more
Jevgenij
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I really enjoyed this book: the first half of the book， where the author tells about starting a business is pure gold。 It answers a lot of questions regarding finding first customers， idea validation and so on。The second half is quite meh， felt like a lot of information was crammed into too few pages。
Xinyu Wu
，
An honest book about a memorable journey
Rodrigo
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# The good- A refreshing take on building companies; outside of the unicorn or nothing mentality which seems to dominate today。 - Pragmatic advice with some illustrative stories。 - Well organized chapters which allow you refer back to the book when needed if you want to follow Sahil's advice。 # The bad- Sahil tooted his own horn a bit too much towards the end。 - Although a good balance is difficult to strike， in some instances the examples given were too long。 # Overall I am glad people are writ # The good- A refreshing take on building companies; outside of the unicorn or nothing mentality which seems to dominate today。 - Pragmatic advice with some illustrative stories。 - Well organized chapters which allow you refer back to the book when needed if you want to follow Sahil's advice。 # The bad- Sahil tooted his own horn a bit too much towards the end。 - Although a good balance is difficult to strike， in some instances the examples given were too long。 # Overall I am glad people are writting about small companies。 Too much of the talent in the world is going towards trying to build huge companies or earn hundreds of millions; economies always stand on small to medium businesses; their decentralized nature is resilient。 。。。more
Himanshu Upreti
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"Most people don't start。 Most people who start don't continue。 Most people who continue give up。 Many winners are just the last ones standing。 Don't give up。"In the world of loss-making and venture capital-infused startups， 'The Minimalist Entrepreneur' provides an alternative and fresh perspective on how to build a sustainable profitable startup。 The book is a manifesto on how to get over the unicorn chase with a precarious 'growth at all costs' mindset。 It's a playbook for creators and founde "Most people don't start。 Most people who start don't continue。 Most people who continue give up。 Many winners are just the last ones standing。 Don't give up。"In the world of loss-making and venture capital-infused startups， 'The Minimalist Entrepreneur' provides an alternative and fresh perspective on how to build a sustainable profitable startup。 The book is a manifesto on how to get over the unicorn chase with a precarious 'growth at all costs' mindset。 It's a playbook for creators and founders looking to build companies of any size and scale from any corner of the earth after all， not every impactful startup needs to be a unicorn。Sahil is one of the entrepreneurs that I've been following for quite some time on Twitter now and I'm a big fan of his "build in public" approach。 He built the first version of Gumroad over a single weekend in 2011。 Gumroad is a digital marketplace that allows creators to sell digital products and memberships。 Gumroad had a roaring start but then stumbled along the way due to the chase for unrealistic high growth numbers。 By taking the 'the road less travelled' approach of downsizing and focusing on profitability， Sahil finally was able to turn the hull around。 His article "Reflecting on My Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company" which captures these ups and downs in his startup journey shot him into the limelight and resonated with many who failed in chasing and building the unicorn。This 200-pager book covers a plethora of startup wisdom and knowledge related to building community， finding product-market fit， selling to the first 100 customers， marketing company and yourself， and most importantly， building and codifying company culture。 The concepts of "time billionaire" and "ikigai" referenced in the last chapter of the book stood out for me。 Most of us are "time billionaires" having more than a billion seconds left in our lives but it's quite surprising how less we seem to value it。 The Japanese concept of "ikigai"， on the other hand， is the marriage of your passion with your profession， after all， our lives should be more than just working for money。I'd highly recommend this to anyone tinkering with the idea of diving into the entrepreneurship sea。 The learnings and the alternative approach outlined in this book as opposed to the razzmatazz glitzy perception that you might have because of the media bubble will give you a much better and wider understanding of how to build a company from scratch in today's tech-heavy world with a focus on sustainable profitability。 。。。more
Gaurav Mathur
，
5 star read in terms of fulfilling its goal / the problem it started out to solve。（Though one can’t say for sure before applying the ideas presented）But I align with Sahil’s vision and believe in products like Gumroad， hence I recommend this book for everyone， without reservations。Some key ideas to note:- Before you become an entrepreneur， become a creator- The trendline is simple: democritization。 Everything a software engineer can do today， everyone can do tomorrow。- The arc of humanity is in 5 star read in terms of fulfilling its goal / the problem it started out to solve。（Though one can’t say for sure before applying the ideas presented）But I align with Sahil’s vision and believe in products like Gumroad， hence I recommend this book for everyone， without reservations。Some key ideas to note:- Before you become an entrepreneur， become a creator- The trendline is simple: democritization。 Everything a software engineer can do today， everyone can do tomorrow。- The arc of humanity is in its infancy， and one of the major ways we'll continue to make progress is via mindful business creation。- Entrepreneurs can minimize complexity by turning customers into investors- Profitability = infinite runway- If you hire well， your employees will be better managers of themselves than you could ever be。- It is important to get good at shouting into the ether and letting people come to you。- On the internet， 1% create， 9% contribute， and 90% consume。- Build a product to solve your own problem， you will have at least one user - more than most startups ever get。- MVP = manual valuable process - how you help your users， repeatedly。 Start small， with pen and paper， and build the process before you build the product。- Most apps on the internet consist of 2 things - forms and lists。 。。。more
Rachelle
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The Minimalist Entrepreneur。。。 solid advice for people wanting to create or expand a business creatively in the world's technology heavy digital age。 Touching on people skills， unique yet proven strategies for successful plans， and creatively leveraging needs of consumers， this book brings a wealth of knowledge to the savvy investor or manager's table。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur。。。 solid advice for people wanting to create or expand a business creatively in the world's technology heavy digital age。 Touching on people skills， unique yet proven strategies for successful plans， and creatively leveraging needs of consumers， this book brings a wealth of knowledge to the savvy investor or manager's table。 。。。more
Naïma
，
I've been following Gumroad's trajectory over the last few months since reading "No Meetings， No Deadlines， No Full-Time Employees" https://sahillavingia。com/work by Sahil and it's really refreshing to see that what we consider a business owner or an entrepreneur is evolving。 There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book and he really captures the misconceptions we have about building a business。 Here's a quote that really resonated: “The real story of starting and then growing a business isn I've been following Gumroad's trajectory over the last few months since reading "No Meetings， No Deadlines， No Full-Time Employees" https://sahillavingia。com/work by Sahil and it's really refreshing to see that what we consider a business owner or an entrepreneur is evolving。 There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book and he really captures the misconceptions we have about building a business。 Here's a quote that really resonated: “The real story of starting and then growing a business isn’t really that thrilling most days。 Between start and success， it can be a slog。 It can take years。 And it often isn’t nearly as glamorous as you expect。 But you will have small victories and over time they will build into a sense of satisfaction and pride that comes from not giving up。”I encourage anyone who's considering becoming a creator/founder/entrepreneur to give this book a go！ 。。。more
Cesar Zurita
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It is great to see how this serial entrepreneur shares in a very honest way his experience building "Minimalist startups"。 This book contains a lot of small （and less small） ideas on how to lunch your business。 Very structured and straightforward。 Interfering to read about his vision of the "grow at all cost" startup tendency。 It is great to see how this serial entrepreneur shares in a very honest way his experience building "Minimalist startups"。 This book contains a lot of small （and less small） ideas on how to lunch your business。 Very structured and straightforward。 Interfering to read about his vision of the "grow at all cost" startup tendency。 。。。more
Luca Dellanna
，
A refreshing read， in a world where most entrepreneurs look for scale before fit， ends before means， and efficiency over effectiveness; especially since the path to scale， ends， and efficiency passes through fit， means， and effectiveness。I was pleasantly surprised by how practical the book was， took some notes while reading it， and will take action on them。I've been using Sahil's products for more than 4 years， so I can confirm that he both embodies his principles and that his principles do lead A refreshing read， in a world where most entrepreneurs look for scale before fit， ends before means， and efficiency over effectiveness; especially since the path to scale， ends， and efficiency passes through fit， means， and effectiveness。I was pleasantly surprised by how practical the book was， took some notes while reading it， and will take action on them。I've been using Sahil's products for more than 4 years， so I can confirm that he both embodies his principles and that his principles do lead to great outcomes。 Of course， not a book for everyone， but an important read for those who want to build a sustainable business that can become part of their lives。 。。。more
Jacob Acosta
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"Start。" "Start。" 。。。more
Jaysen Huculak
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Succinct advice and learnings from someone with direct Entrepreneur experience， venture capital experience and creator experience。 I appreciate the openness and transparency Sahil has run Gumroad with and it appears in his writings here as well。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur and Rework （Jason Fried， David Heinemeier Hansson） are probably my two favorite "how to build a business" books that align my values。 Succinct advice and learnings from someone with direct Entrepreneur experience， venture capital experience and creator experience。 I appreciate the openness and transparency Sahil has run Gumroad with and it appears in his writings here as well。 The Minimalist Entrepreneur and Rework （Jason Fried， David Heinemeier Hansson） are probably my two favorite "how to build a business" books that align my values。 。。。more
Dmytro
，
Sahil wrote an eye-opening book for somebody who does not want to participate in a rat race for raising investments and growing at all costs。 Conventional wisdom in Silicone Walley says that you need to find an innovative idea to build a successful business， pitch to VC funds， and grow as fast as possible to be the market's monopoly。 Sahil deconstructs it， shows that this is not the best way to grow for the most founds， and offers a new minimalistic path to build the business。 He proposes avoidi Sahil wrote an eye-opening book for somebody who does not want to participate in a rat race for raising investments and growing at all costs。 Conventional wisdom in Silicone Walley says that you need to find an innovative idea to build a successful business， pitch to VC funds， and grow as fast as possible to be the market's monopoly。 Sahil deconstructs it， shows that this is not the best way to grow for the most founds， and offers a new minimalistic path to build the business。 He proposes avoiding VC funding at early stages but investing time into the customer discovery process and building the business， not around you and your investors but the customers。 I mostly loved in this book the consistency with which the author shows how his own business operates based on the principles described in his book。 Recommend for everybody seeking to build the business to improve the lifestyle， not the other way around。 。。。more
Adrian
，
Good read。 Sahil clearly exposes the reader to a new way of building startups。 If you’ve always thought that the only way to build a company is to raise VC and go big。 Then， this book is required reading。
Holly Lynch
，
This is a straight forward， step by step guide on how to build a sustainable business with sound advice for each stage。 I loved it so much on audible that I bought a hard copy to reference。 Highly recommend for anyone looking to build even a small side business。
Jon Douglas
，
I enjoyed the book cover to cover with it’s stories（although commonly used in entrepreneurship）， illustrations， and blunt advice。I was hoping for something a little more in-depth about each major stage Sahil talks about。 The book reads like many other “start a SaaS business” books but has a bit more practical information on proceeding to the next stage。Thanks for writing it。
Naya Moss
，
Love this book！ It's a great read if you are seeking to lean approach to entrepreneurship and building。 It was also nice to hear insights into Sahil's journey， both the good and bad。 Not too many founders share their story of having to rebuild their companies after a "failure。"This book also has practical tips for keeping your team and operations small。 If you enjoyed books like Company of One， you'd enjoy this as well！ Love this book！ It's a great read if you are seeking to lean approach to entrepreneurship and building。 It was also nice to hear insights into Sahil's journey， both the good and bad。 Not too many founders share their story of having to rebuild their companies after a "failure。"This book also has practical tips for keeping your team and operations small。 If you enjoyed books like Company of One， you'd enjoy this as well！ 。。。more
Sonny Li
，
the last chapter hit a spot
Pranjul Vishwakarma
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