# It Took 4 Years to Sell My Startup

3 Hacker News commenters recommended It Took 4 Years to Sell My Startup and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Candid, earnest account of a four-year startup sale; readers liked the chapter content. Most common caveat: the prose styling reads as LLM-generated and is tiring to get through.

## Why people recommend it

- Candid, earnest account of selling (1 comments): "This seemed very candid and earnest" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46935036))
- Content of chapters enjoyable (1 comments): "I really enjoy the actual content of the few chapters I read so far, but the styling is 100% LLM" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46936556))

## What people warn about

- Styling reads as LLM-generated (3 comments): "I really enjoy the actual content of the few chapters I read so far, but the styling is 100% LLM" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46936556)) "the styling is 100% LLM, and it's so hard to get through multiple pages of the same exact mannerisms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46937384)) "LLM writing reads like shitty blogs turned into books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942711))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people.md): 106 recommend
- [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning.md): 13 recommend
- [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman.md): 11 recommend
- [Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london.md): 9 recommend
- [Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitchen-confidential.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=It+Took+4+Years+to+Sell+My+Startup&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "It Took 4 Years to Sell My Startup", https://hackerapproved.com/p/it-took-4-years-to-sell-my-startup/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).