The Founder's Dilemmas
Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup (The Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
by Noam Wasserman
Should I read this?
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Business Planning, Business Plan, and Best Startup Books.
Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: should they go it alone, or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business More than just financial rewards are at stake. Friendships and relationships can suffer. Bad decisions at the incep...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Business Planning, Business Plan, and Best Startup Books.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Leo Polovets
“@patrick_oshag 500page book on common challenges that founders face (and how to solve them).”
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. Recommended by 60 sources.
“A blunt, conversational tour through the worst parts of building a company. Horowitz shares personal stories from his own startup failures and recoveries, offering practical wisdom on layoffs, pivots, CEO loneliness, and managing when times are bad. The value is in the honest, experience-based insight you won't get from business school. The limitation is its narrow focus on venture-backed tech startups—if you're not in that world, some advice may feel irrelevant. Reads like a wise mentor telling you what nobody else will.”
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Jay AbrahamHow recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
The Founder's Dilemmas
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