Resources

Growthhackers

The leading online community for learning and sharing about growthhacking - effective online marketing techniques that drive effective, scalable and sustainable growth. 

 

Product hunt

Product Hunt is a curation of the best new products, updated every day. Discover the latest mobile apps, websites and technology products. 

 

One Month 

One Month is an online accelerated learning platform featuring technology related courses. One Month currently provides online tutorials for Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSS, Growth Hacking, iOS, Stripe, Web Security and Programming for Non-Programming. 

 

General Assembly

General Assembly is the leading global provider of full-time immersive programs, long-form courses, and classes and workshops relevant to the digital economy - from web development and user experience design, to business fundamentals, to data science, to product management and digital marketing. 

 

Mixergy

Mixergy is a website where featuring detailed interviews and courses with proven entrepreneurs about their journey of building successful products. Entrepreneurs who've been on Mixergy include the founders of Y Combinator, Groupon, Sun Microsystems and Wikipedia.

 

CDixon.org

Accessible and broad based blog covering information from the perspective of one of the US's most successful VC's.

 

Jobs To Be Done Cards

An alternative (in the same spirit) to the Customer Development interview is the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) method to support exploration and understanding of customers/users underlying needs. These cards are a brilliant tool for guiding teams through the process.

 

App UI Kit

Beautiful and useful UI Kit from Invision for Photoshop and Sketch.

NNGroup.com

Arguably the leading consultancy in the field of user experience. Their website has numerous UX resources and analysis. 

 

Boxesandarrows

Boxes and Arrows is a peer reviewed journal devoted to the practise, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business.

 

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is a question and answer site for developers. An invaluable resource for root cause analysis and advice.

 

Quora

Quora is a question and answer site with deep engagement from leading entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley digital leaders .

 

SteveBlank.com 

Steve Blank is a Silicon Valley based entrepreneur, academic and author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany - considered the father of the Customer Development methodology which launched the Lead Startup movement.

 

Mary Meeker

A must read. the 2015 edition of Mary Meeker's Internet Trends report. Key insights include: Mobile ads still have space to grow; millennials most value training and development in the workplace; and China local food delivery is one of the fastest growing on-demand services. 

 

Canva

Very simple tools for graphic design, a great alternative to Adobe products for simple design needs.

 

Canvanizer

Very useful site with desktop applications for authoring and sharing your Business Model canvas (and multiple variations).

Y Combinator

Some of the best articles about product development and start up life from Paul Graham and other YC Partners. The Startup Playbook and Why To Not Start A Start Up are required reading for all entrpreneurs in this space. 


Reading List

The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank

The definitive source on the Customer Development process that would spawn Eric Ries's Lean Startup. In the book Blank identifies his views about how entrepreneurship can be actively managed instead of an art to be passively experienced. 

 

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

In the book Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing startups and getting desired products into customers' hands faster.

 

Value Proposition Design by Alexander Osterwalder

The follow up to the eponymous Business Model Generation. In this book Osterwalder details how to use the "Value Proposition Canvas" a practical tool to design, test, create and manage products and services customers actually want. 

 

Hooked. How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

A guide for product managers, entrepreneurs, designers and marketers on building habit forming products.

 

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

An exploration of how we thinkl a detailed, yet accessible, description of the psychological mechanisms involved in how we make decisions.

 

Boo Hoo: A Dot.com Story from Concept to Catastrophe by Ernst Malmsten

Everything you could want to know about the first Dot Com Crash wrapped up in a compelling, often funny (and cringe worthy) account of the rise and crash of one company.

 

The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen

Focusing on "disruptive technology" Christensen shows why most established companies miss out on new waves of innovation. 

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P.Brooks Jr.

Classic collection of essays on the challenges and pitfalls to be avoided within software development. A must read for anyone planning, managing or funding any significantly sized project that has software development as a component. 

 

Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions by Tim Ash

A solid "deep dive" into the practical strategies to drive better audience engagement and conversion across your website landing pages. 

 

Rework by Jason Fried

From the team behind 37 Signals (Basecamp etc.) comes a fresh new look at management and culture for businesses in the digital economy.

 

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

Classic book about how design serves as the communication between user and object, and how to optimise that communication so that the experience of using the object is pleasurable. A must read if you're interested in User Centered Design. 

 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker

Another classic from the greatest popular writer on Management. 

 

Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf

Gothelf does an effective job of answering the question. How do deliver UX within a framework that maps effectively to Lean customer development and agile ways of delivering software?