Tagged in Startups We love Startups here at XNV, so we share tips, ideas, and the latest news.
Abundance - The Future is Better Than You Think30 September, 2013
We're used to hear about doomsday news every day, and we have literally become accustomed to the "fact" that we are a hopeless generation, that will soon become extinct by either famine, lack of water, a dreadful disease epidemic, terrorist attacks, or something worse. People just don't realize how much better off is the world we live in today than it was a few decades ago, for the most part. Reality is that positive and encouraging news do not sell as much as doomsday news. It is just how our b
Adriano Marques
Reality Check - The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition25 September, 2013
This book is surprisingly entertaining, and covers pretty much everything you need to deal with a startup. It covers pretty much all the way from inception of the idea, going through raising capital and marketing, and ending up important subjects like hiring and social responsibility [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_responsibility]. I like it that it is a very sincere book, and that it features several interviews Guy conducted with various professionals in the area. Also like the Fake Steve
Adriano Marques
The Wealth of Networks - How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom15 September, 2013
I've said that before [https://www.xnv.io/posts/wikinomics-how-mass-collaboration-changes-everything], and I'll say it again: you know when a book is outdated when it keeps referencing MySpace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace] and as a model for Social Networks [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network]. Unfortunately, this is not the only downside of this book. It is too tedious, full of long sentences that explains deeply everything that is being stated. It makes so many references th
Adriano Marques
The Innovator's Solution - Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth17 August, 2013
This book's message could be easily summarized by saying that there are only two kinds of companies: the ones that disrupts, and the ones that are being disrupted. There is no middle ground, and companies that have once disrupted, will soon going to be at the loosing side of the game. Christensen and Raynor do an impressive job in bringing up real world example of disruptions, and the common thinking behind the managers in both companies - the disruptor and the disrupted - that led them to ultim
Adriano Marques
Parkinson's Law02 August, 2013
Quick and easy read. This book is short but full of pearls. Published in 1957, but still very much current when it comes to predicting, understanding, and managing human beings. One of this author's famous quotes is "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Full of interesting anecdotes, it is a very colorful and memorable book. It is not sophisticated, and show some outdated facts and data, but the substance will never be outdated. I recommend!
Adriano Marques
The Long Tail - Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More06 July, 2013
Even if you don't plan to read it, you can't get away without understanding the phenomenon described by Chris Andersen [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Andersen] in his book The Long Tail [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail] and expect to thrive in the age of the Internet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet]. And this is no exaggeration -  the long tail is a social phenomenon enabled by the internet and it extends beyond the realm offline retail stores, predicting customer behavior ac
Adriano Marques
Wikinomics - How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything10 June, 2013
You know when a book is outdated when it mentions MySpace [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace] as the leading Social Network [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network], and makes short references to Facebook [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook]. This book was once very relevant, but now it is so outdated that I wouldn't recommend its read unless it undergoes a major review. Time has only made this subject even more relevant, and understanding it is a requirement for leveraging the giga
Adriano Marques
Lucky or Smart? Fifty Pages For The First-Time Entrepreneur28 May, 2013
Quick read, features some relevant lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneur]. I somewhat enjoyed the book, but wasn't much impressed by it. Maybe it would be more useful if I've never read any other entrepreneurship or business book before. One other negative detail, in my opinion, is that author tries to teach you lessons using examples from his experience as entrepreneur in the early 90's when internet wasn't anywhere near what it currently is today and use
Adriano Marques
Start With Why - How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action25 May, 2013
If you've ever started a business, or tried to sell something, you'll certainly recognize the patterns described by Simon Sinek [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Sinek]. We think of the what to describe a product or service. Same while trying to influence people to adopt a certain behavior. Thinking about the what, and explaining the what just feels natural, logical, rational. The why is implied, and you expect people to figure their own whys to make good use of your whats. The book teaches
Adriano Marques
Things I Learned About Life and Entrepreneurship While Learning How to Shoot with a Bow23 April, 2013
I've just begun practicing, and did some classes to learn proper bow [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_and_arrow] handling, form, aiming and shooting. It may seem easy to shoot with a bow - after all, it is just a bow and an arrow! anyone could shoot with it - but it turns out that handling it properly isn't as easy as it seems. The Dominant Eye A dominant eye is the eye which is preferred by your brain for seeing things, in a similar way that you have a preferred arm and hand for dealing with
Adriano Marques
Review: Content Rules - How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, eBooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.15 April, 2013
Creating a personal blog seems to be some sort of rite of passage that most internet users have gone through. Keeping up with it, is yet another rite that only a very small percentage of them manage to pass. I am still trying to keep that up, and I have to admit that it is challenging to create the habit to post relevant content often. This is where this book comes in handy - it takes you by the hand and gives awesome ideas on how to elaborate interesting content and keep up with your blog, pod
Adriano Marques
Work like you Sleep07 May, 2011
Ok, I'm not going to tell you to work like you sleep in the sense of how much work you get done out of your sleep time. Actually, there is a much more interesting perspective to that relation. After watching this TEDx Midwest talk, I just confirmed what I always believed to be true but in a very well explained manner: Interrupting work is just like interrupting your sleep. With a 4 months old baby boy, I just realized how bad it is to your attempt to get some rest when you are interrupted 3 or
Adriano Marques
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