I'm looking for a step-by-step guide on how to create a successful startup, from start to finish.<p>For instance, the first step could be "find a problem", the second step "validate your idea", third step could be "create MVP", then "get feedback", etc. etc.<p>I guess some sort of methodology that if you follow causes you to very likely succeed (or the opposite, e.g. skipping one step would make your startup fail.
The How to Start a Startup videos from YC are good<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5q_lef6zVkaTY_cT1k7qFNF2TidHCe-1" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5q_lef6zVkaTY_cT1k7q...</a>.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries probably is as close as it gets to what you’re describing.<p>Anything more specific can’t take variations in context and market development into account.<p>There’s no cookie cutter way of creating a successful startup from scratch.<p>If you have an existing network and if you’ve done it before then the chances are higher that you can reproduce successful outcomes. Still, there are quite a few examples of entrepreneurs who’ve created a successful startup but weren’t able to achieve similar results with their following endeavours.<p>Uncertainty and the search for a business model are the very nature of startups. Reproducible results come with established models.
There isn't a guide that is definitive on the outcome. There are guidelines, but even if you follow them it doesn't make success of a startup.<p>If you want the short story on startup success it can be summed up in one word overall, Execution.<p>Most startups fail because of poor execution and by making more mistakes than not. If you can outlast your mistakes (which everyone will have) and execute on each stage you succeed.
The playbook is the closest thing to a checklist: <a href="https://playbook.samaltman.com/" rel="nofollow">https://playbook.samaltman.com/</a><p>A good deal of it is still relying on your own hustle and skill at solving problems. But these are really good, repeatable things to watch out for. Paul Graham's essays are also a must read, but they're less actionable.
I think you have to stitch together the pieces from different guides/courses. For instance, I just released a React + Firebase course to ramp up your business [0] with a minimal tech stack. That's one piece you can use to "create [a] MVP". But all the other pieces you have to get from other books/courses/guides. I guess there is no guide yet covering it all except for a basic overview.<p>- [0] <a href="https://www.robinwieruch.de/the-road-to-react-with-firebase-book/" rel="nofollow">https://www.robinwieruch.de/the-road-to-react-with-firebase-...</a>
You need paying customers of some sort. If there's no monetization scheme, it isn't actually a business.<p>Also, on HN at least, most people talking about a <i>startup</i> are talking about something with strong growth that will get big fairly fast. They aren't talking about mom-and-pop shop levels of business success. So you could look into <i>growth hacking</i>.<p>There's no cut and dried formula here. You can read what other successful people say and try to educate yourself, but there is no slam dunk "Do x, y, and z and Profit!!!"<p>Paul Graham's essays are pretty popular around here, and with good reason.
Anyone selling/providing such a guide is probably deluded or, in worst case, a crook.<p>There could certainly be a guide to “creating a startup”. The “successful” part makes it a bit hairy though.
No guide can guarantee a successful startup. There are so many factors that you can and cannot control, even you have built a successful startup, the chance of building another one is not much greater.<p>I strongly recommend two books:
- Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World
That's hard because after "get feedback" it branches out into too many directions. The only common things are bureaucratic. For ex: keep all your startup transactions in a separate bank account and credit card. Everything else product-side comes down to two steps:<p>Solve problems as they arrive, and hire people who've solved the problems already so you don't have to repeat work.
Since no one mentioned it so far I’m happy to recommend “Disciplined Entrepreneurship”, which I found more useful than Eric Ries’ book and very actionable. And above all, it really is a step by step guide:<p><a href="http://disciplinedentrepreneurship.com/" rel="nofollow">http://disciplinedentrepreneurship.com/</a>
For finding and validating an idea, you can read Lean Customer Development: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Customer-Development-Building-Customers-ebook/dp/B07582F7BB" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Customer-Development-Building-Cu...</a><p>I highly recommend this book.