What is "Startup Methods"

The purpose of software engineering is not writing (or generating) code, but actually building software that works for end users/customers, which makes the effort of building a software product a hard and multi-disciplined problem spanning across different areas like product strategy, product management, design, programming, marketing etc.

"Startup methods" is a collection of methods, techniques and best practices across different areas that can help you on your startup building journey. It is curated by a team that designed and developed 100+ startups.

Building startups is harder than it looks like and very few people had the chance to observe more than a few different companies being built from scratch.

As we were lucky to work on so many products we felt it was our obligation and responsibility to share what we have learned, hoping it will help founders build better companies with happier teams, users and customers.

We decided to write this book only because this book was not written by someone else already, and it was hard for us to find this kind of information in one place. We needed this book ten years ago when we founded our company, and we hope that others will find it useful.

Finally, this book is very much needed in the era of AI, to structure and clarify your thinking and to use the AI tools most efficiently to create differentiated and valuable world-class products. The quality of your thinking will affect your AI tools inputs and their effectiveness.

How to get most value from this book

The book is organized by methods (e.g. "product strategy and management"). Each method contains a set of techniques (e.g. PRDs, Product Vision etc.).

For each technique we focus on practical, actionable advice. Each method has real-world examples, tips for implementation, and common pitfalls to avoid.

You don't need to read this book end to end. Feel free to read the parts that matter for your startup/product stage and to explore it over time again and again as a reference or cookbook.

The information in this book will expand your knowledge, and help you avoid common pitfalls that sink many startups into the ground and it will accelerate your learning curve by leveraging proven techniques used by some of the best software engineering teams in the world.

We believe knowledge is power, and we wnat to help you maximize your limited resources for optimal impact.

This book is designed for builders who want to build better companies, smarter and faster.

What you'll learn

In this book, we'll show you:

Is this book for you?

You're a founder or early-stage employee at a startup or maybe you're an experienced entrepreneur/manager looking to refine your processes and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving startup landscape.

You might even be a product manager, a designer or an engineer that wants to learn more about the techniques and methods required to build great products.

If this sounds like you, then startup methods is going to deliver tremendous value.

Remember: Building a product is hard, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Stand on the shoulders of giants by learning from those who've blazed the trail before you.

Let's get started on your journey to mastering startup methods and building the company of your dreams.

The list of methods in this book is a curated list that we believe is sufficient for most teams. If you believe something is missing or could be described better we are open to receive feedback.

It is not a prescription

The methods described in this book are not a prescription and you might dislike or disagree with many of them. The goal of this book is to share a reasonable set of methods and techniques that you should know about as a product builder.

You can follow them blindly or adapt them to your needs. What is important is that you learn about them and understand them, and then you can decide if they are useful or not in your context.

All of these methods were created/invented for a reason, and there is no downside in knowing more, and then reducing to what you actually need.

"To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day." - Lao Tzu