Entering StartUpLand

Jeffrey Bussgang, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who teaches at Harvard Business School, writes for the people who join startups rather than found them. A young company has only one or two founders, he points out, yet it depends on the employees who do the daily work that makes it grow. Bussgang takes the typical startup organization apart role by role, covering product, sales, growth and marketing, so readers can judge whether a startup suits them and which seat fits best. Executives from a range of startup functions tell their stories and explain what their jobs involve. The guide also offers a method for finding and assessing young companies, and for positioning oneself to land a place in one.

Eric Ries endorsed it as required reading for anyone joining a startup, comparing its place for joiners to that of The Lean Startup for founders. Brad Feld praised it as a rare guide for joiners, and Mattermark co-founder Danielle Morrill said she wished it had been available to her, her coworkers and her employees over the past decade.