How do you learn about the business aspects of running a startup?
pj: The best way is to have no fear.  Do your best to treat people right and build something with a vision of the future.  Figure out what is impossible and do that.  People may not want it right away, but concentrate on building something they not only want, but are willing to pay for.Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Financial times. Read as much of them as you can.As far as books go, I recently put together a business reading list, here are some that you may find interesting:The E-Myth revisited  (note: this is e as in entrepreneur, not e-commerce, basically it's about building a franchise and enabling yourself to focus "on the business," that is, making it better, advertising, managing, rather than "in the business" which for programmers would be programming...)Built to last : successful habits of visionary companies (note: some of them have failed)Confronting reality : doing what matters to get things right (haven't started reading this one yet, funny huh)An empire of wealth : the epic history of American economic power  (haven't started)Good to great : why some companies make the leap--and others don't (some weren't so great)An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations, by Smith, Adam, 1723-1790. (goodness, this is 300 years old and still dead on and an easy read)Microtrends : the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes (haven't started reading yet)Negotiate like the pros : a top sports negotiator's lessons for making deals, building relationships, and getting what you want (good book, especially if you know anything about sports, which I don't, but still enjoy reading)Who : the A method for hiring (This is a good one for helping to find talented people to join your team, short easy read)Why we make mistakes : how we look without seeing, forget things in seconds, and are all pretty sure we are way above average (haven't started reading yet)