Sary's notes on The $100 Startup

I learned to think in terms of how I could get what I needed by making something and selling it, not by cuting costs elsewhere or working for someone else. This distinction was critical, because most budgets start by looking at income and then defining the available choices. I did it differently-starring with a list of what I wanted to do, and then figuring out how to make it happen.

1- Renaissance: I succeeded as a cartoonist with negligible art talent, some basic writing skills, an ordinary sense of humor and a bit of experience in the business world. The "Dilbert" comic is a combination of all four skills. The world has plenty of better artists, smarter writers, funnier humorists and more experienced business people. The rare part is that each of those modest skills is collected in one person. That's how value is created.

Ch.2: More than anything else, value relates to emotional needs. Many business owners talk about their work in terms of the features it offers, but it's much more powerful to talk about the benefits customers receive. A feature is descriptive; a benefit is emotional.