Why Startup Guide went online after producing books for four years

2 min read
28 Feb 2019

ounder and CEO of Startup Guide, Sissel Hansen, tells the story behind the company’s decision to produce content online after publishing books for four years.

A common question people have asked us over the years is whether any content from our books can be found online. Well, four years since Startup Guide was born, the answer is finally yes (better late than never, right?).

Since 2014, we’ve been making books that help entrepreneurs navigate and connect with different startup scenes across the world. Now we’ll be continuing to do just that, only with a media website as well.

We’ve learned a lot over the past four years and after spending quite a bit of time thinking about whether or not to go digital at all, we now feel confident exploring new formats and reaching out to a wider audience.

Nobody believed we could start with a physical product and launch a digital product years later, rather than the other way around, but here we are, sharing with you all something that has taken a lot of hard work among several team members to create.

At the beginning of 2017 we were actually working on a platform – called Startup Everywhere – in which you could learn how to turn your startup idea into a reality with the help of top notch resources, local advice and tracking tools.

While we were developing the platform, we noticed that inspiring founder stories and educational and inspirational content play a huge role in a person’s startup journey. So it felt like a natural step for us to focus on this and see how we could continue to help people build their business ideas with content that’s online.

Our playbook section of the website, which delves into the stages throughout the entrepreneurial journey like ideation and fundraising, was actually partially inspired by the original platform.

Whether it’s through books or online content, I believe what Startup Guide was set on the earth to do is ensure that people are happy doing the work they do and able to change the world through that work.

In my part-time jobs in the past which I took on to earn a bit of cash, I kept looking at the clock asking myself when my shift would be over. But if a small percentage of the world’s population were doing jobs they actually enjoyed (for instance at companies they founded themselves) while changing the world for the better in some way, I’d be happy. For me, this is what Startup Guide is all about.

Essentially, we hope that this website will grow alongside our guidebooks and stores. Most importantly though, we hope that it will continue to guide, empower and inspire you to start your own business wherever you are in the world.

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