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Hi there đ
This week, Iâm re-reading the book Play Bigger, which is all about category creation. Iâm really enjoying it (again), and I thought what better time to dust off my list of other business-book favorites â or as theyâre known around my household: âboring books.â I promise theyâre not really that boring! I think youâll find a lot of them original, fresh, and interesting.
Wishing you a great week ahead,
Kevan
My favorite business books (uncommon picks)
In what I hope is a soon-to-be-outdated list â I am certain there are favorite business books out there that will fast become my favorites once someone introduces them to me â here are a few of my favorite business books that Iâve read over the past years.
What are your favorites? Iâd love any new ideas of what to read. Feel free to hit reply to let me know.
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
Written by the vice chairman of the famous Ogilvy agency, this book unpacks the mystery behind marketing and paints a compelling picture of why some marketing works and some doesnât. Itâs an awesome education into the psychology of why people buy.
The advertising agency J. Walter Thompson used to set a test for aspiring copywriters. One of the questions was simple:
âHere are two identical 25-cent coins. Sell me the one on the right.â
One successful candidate understood the idea of alchemy. âIâll take the right-hand coin and dip it in Marilyn Monroeâs bag. Then Iâll sell you a genuine 25-cent coin as owned by Marilyn Monroe.â
Obsessed by Emily Heyward
Heyward is the co-founder of Red Antler, an agency that helped launch huge DTC brands like Warby Parker and Allbirds. She basically gives us her playbook, and itâs incredible.
One of the surest ways to guarantee that coveted authenticity is to make sure that whatever youâre claiming as your brandâs higher-order purpose actually aligns with what your product does. Your brand strategy is rooted in an emotional idea, but itâs an idea thatâs supported by your functional benefits.
Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
A brief read with tips and tricks on how to think and behave like an original entrepreneur.
Business is not about money. Itâs about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
The Pmarca Blog Archives by Marc Andreessen (free download)
A collection of Andreessenâs best blog posts, this book covers topics like team-building, startup growth, and career advice.
Donât worry about being a small fish in a big pond â you want to always be in the best pond possible, because thatâs how you will get exposed to the best people and the best opportunities in your field.
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
A deep dive into the adoption lifecycle of a tech product, with a particular focus on the chasm between early adopters and early majority.
The fundamental principle for crossing the chasm is to target a specific niche market as your point of attack and focus all your resources on achieving the dominant leadership position in that segment.
We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
Iâve read a few of Godinâs books (there are tons of âem), and this one is my clear favorite. Itâs probably not his most popular, but it definitely has that Godin sensibility: snappy, quirky, and different.
We donât like the advertising thatâs not for us, not about us, not interesting to us. But talk to me, directly to me, about something relevant and personal, and I love you for it.
Growing Up Fast by Jascha Kaykas-Wolff and Kevin Fann
This book would make a good companion piece to any Lean Startup work. Itâs about the different mindset required to move quickly, innovate, learn, ship, and grow within marketing.
In proper combination, innovation creates marketing opportunities, which create innovation, which creates marketing opportunities, which create innovation, which creates marketing, and on and on.
Managing Humans by Michael Lopp
Lopp is the author of Rands in Repose, a very popular blog about people management. He is an engineering manager, but most of his stories apply universally to anyone who manages humans.
Whether someone is bored or not, you always need to be able to answer two questions regarding each person on your team:
1. Where are they going?
2. What are you currently doing to get them there?
Monetizing Innovation by Madhavan Ramanujam and Georg Tacke
This book was my introduction to monetization strategy, and I continue to see its building blocks in all the SaaS pricing and packaging strategies today.
What are your competitors doing? The reason to ask this question is not to mimic your rivalsâ monetization approaches but to set yourself apart. Wherever possible, use your monetization model to create a competitive difference.
Play Bigger by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, and Kevin Maney
This is the book I told you about earlier. It covers all the different aspects of category creation and breaks down case studies of companies like Salesforce that built category-defining businesses.
The story about your business is more important than the facts about your business
About this newsletter âŚ
Each week, I share playbooks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the startup marketing world. If you enjoy whatâs in this newsletter, you can share some love by hitting the heart button at the top or bottom.đ
About Kevan
Iâm a marketing exec who specializes in startup marketing and brand-building. I currently lead the marketing team at Polly (weâre hiring!). I previously built brands at Buffer and Vox.
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