Problem Hunting: The Tech Startup Textbook

Yes, I said it. This is an amazing book for any aspiring entrepreneur or product manager! There are so many amazing stories and examples here, which make the idea of entrepreneurship not as scary as it may be.Brian takes a very humanistic approach to explaining his journey, and it’s absolutely magical. A great read if you are looking to start a business, have started a business, and yes for product managers.Once you pick up the book, you won’t stop until you’re done. I’ve read it twice. Do yourself a favor this holidays and gift it to yourself or anyone you love!

I really enjoyed reading this how-to guide on tech startups. As a none-expert looking to learn, I found this book easily accessible for any reader. I appreciated Brian’s practical tips, real life examples, and down to earth writing style. I enjoyed how the book covered a variety of startup considerations from finding an idea to team culture to fundraising and more! Unlike some educational books, the style of writing in this book is conversational rather than dense and complicated and consequently I wanted to keep reading and didn’t want to put it down. Highly recommend!

One of the few books I've run across as a founder that lays out a clear no-bs framework of how to start and scale a company. Highly recommend!

A practical guide for entrepreneurship... but an alternative title could've have been inspiration to stay focused and keep pushing forward! The book goes through detailed step-by-step advice for various stages of building a tech company. And while most of that knowledge is relatively straightforward... it is essentially highlights of a startup textbook that didn't seemingly exist until I read this book. Seeing how Brian weaves his own journey with TapCommerce and then Attentive into the book is eye opening; and for someone starting a Tech startup, this book is a must read. Even for someone building a business not in the tech sector... it is just an incredible reminder to always be focused on keep pushing forward.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, the handful of similar booksI’ve read have always been much more theoretical/top down and I personally find less helpful. I particularly love how this book is written pretty much solely with concrete examples. For example, Brian puts the high performing outbound email the Attentive team used to get their meetings, the cold email he uses to get his early funding (and spoiler it’s not to spend all your energy solely msging the VC but actually to the founders of the companies the VC has invested in to get an intro booooom haha). I mean just using solely this fundraising idea to be more successful fundraising pays for the book infinitely over.One of my other favorite parts is when Brian shares the interview questions his team would ask, such as “how would you rather your performance on a scale of 1-10” and anything less than 8 counterintuitively actually being the “correct” answer over a 9 or 10 because it shows the individual is more receptive to feedback and ways to improve. And then Brian will provide his follow up question and then a SECOND follow up question of what would you change next time” which really gives more context to how the candidate thinks. This is an example of what I mean by this book is written as granularly possible and thus, personally what I find most helpful.Books are such a beautiful thing, how wonderful it is to get all this value condensed in such an easy to read book. What a treat, thank you Brian Long!

Working at Attentive Mobile pre-Series A was nothing short of the most exhilarating roller coaster adventure of my life. I had the privilege of experiencing Brian Long’s relentless pursuit of greatness and his calculated approach to problem-solving firsthand. At first, I’ll admit, it took me a while to fully grasp his unique approach. But what stood out was his uncanny ability to consume data points from every division of the company and articulate them in real-time, whether in internal meetings or client conversations.Reading “Problem-Solving” was like reliving that incredible journey, but with a newfound depth of understanding and appreciation. One of the most impactful takeaways for me was realizing how Brian’s holistic understanding of the company’s operations empowered him to have meaningful conversations with clients and prospects. This wasn’t just about solving problems; it was about understanding needs at a granular level, which in turn allowed us to build meaningful products and carve out a new category in the industry.This book is more than just a read; it’s a blueprint and a methodology that has the power to change the trajectory of future entrepreneurs who embrace it. It’s a treasure trove of insights that Brian has generously shared, and I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside him. As I venture into my next chapter, I’m confident that the wisdom packed into these pages will continue to provide immense value.If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or someone keen on understanding the mechanics of problem-solving in a fast-scaling company, this book is your golden ticket.