This episode is going to be a small experiment. In this Christmas special, I'm introducing you to 5 of my personal and my podcast guests favorite business & startup books. Hence, I give you a crowd-sourced reading list from some of Europe's top up-and-coming entrepreneurs and VCs. I'm convinced that these books can help you to bring your business / startup to the next level, or to get motivated to "take the leap" yourself! It's also the perfect activity to read on a cold wintery day at home.

Since it’s Christmas, I'm also doing a little giveaway and will send to some lucky winner a book of his or her choice from this list. All you got to do is to review the Leap Takers Podcast on Apple Podcast (or your favorite podcast app), give it a 5 star rating, and send me proof (screenshot / link) to remo.kyburz1[at]gmail.com.
I'll then randomly draw a lucky winner. Deadline is January 1st 2021.

This is just a little thank you & Christmas gift from me to the listeners of the Leap Takers Podcast. 🎁
Thank you for your continued support and I hope you get some benefit and motivation from listening to this podcast.

I'm wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021!

Remo

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes and share resources & tips for anyone interested in entrepreneurship in Europe.
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If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

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Links:

• Leap Takers Podcast — Leap Takers Podcast Website. View previous guests on the podcast, with a focus of up-and-coming entrepreneurs and VCs in Europe. Check out the show notes for their favorite books and resources to support aspiring entrepreneurs in Europe.
• Principles: Life and Work - Ray Dalio — Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.
• The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses - Eric Ries — Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
• The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future - Chris Guillebeau — Lead a life of adventure, meaning and purpose—and earn a good living.
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers - Ben Horowitz — Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike - Phil Knight — In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
• Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh — In Delivering Happiness, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the different lessons he has learned in business and life, from starting a worm farm to running a pizza business, through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more.

In this episode we talk about how Holger and his co-founders came up with the idea for Blinkist, how they took the leap and started the company, his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on how to find your perfect co-founder / first employees, the most important marketing channels for startups, as well as the importance of designing a unique corporate culture (such as the one of Blinkist), and much more..

Please follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and my Website, where I post new episodes, share cool stuff & interesting articles I found, and blog occasionally! Sign-up for the mailing list to stay in the loop!

Show notes:
03:13 -- Who is Holger
04:40 -- Startup idea generation and how the concept of Blinkist was born
09:01 -- How Holger and his co-founders took the leap and started Blinkist
09:50 -- Pursuing a startup idea full time vs. side hustle
10:59 -- Initial financing choices at Blinkist
12:36 -- Characteristics of a great startup founding team
18:12 -- How to find your perfect co-founder outside of your personal network (e.g. technical co-founder)
20:30 -- Blinkist’s company culture and why Holger places immense value on culture
24:42 -- The Blinkist operating system
27:07 -- Tips on maintaining a corporate culture while you grow as a startup
29:16 -- How Blinkist grew to the first 1000 clients and discussion of marketing strategies
32:46 -- Alternative marketing channels leveraged by Blinkist
34:41 -- Holger’s book recommendations for new startup founders
37:31 -- General book recommendations of the Blinkist founder
39:14 -- Holger’s best investment
40:42 -- Hobbies and habits to decompress from the startup life
41:40 -- Favorite travel location
43:09 -- Advice for university graduates about to start their career
46:23 -- What does courage mean to Holger

Resources mentioned:

• Blinkist
• Wunderlist
• Holacracy
• Outbrain
• Revcontent
• Facebook Advertising
• Taboola
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers - Ben Horowitz
• The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever - Michael Bungay Stanier
• Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell - Eric Schmidt
• Who - The A-Method of Hiring - Geoff Smart
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari
• Ready Player One: A Novel - Ernest Cline
• Dune - Frank Herbert

If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast or in your favorite podcast app.

Special Guest: Holger Seim.

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