The Sweaty Startup: How to Get Rich Doing Boring Things

Filled with common sense and practical, actionable, advice, Nick Huber’s book reveals that you don’t have to be a genius with a world-changing idea to build a business empire and become a multi-millionaire.

Business media, television and movies, and top college courses all tell entrepreneurs the same thing: To succeed in business, you need to have a revolutionary idea. To them, success is about changing the world through constant innovation. But the truth is, 99.999 percent of businesses that pursue this strategy will fail.

In The Sweaty Startup, Nick Huber shows us that you don’t need a ton of money, a brilliant new idea, complex technology, or extreme scale to succeed. There is another way to do business and find success by keeping things simple. Nick encourages readers to pursue opportunities with good odds, low risk, and moderate rewards that will set you up for a successful life, not just a successful business. Forget about mastering your craft, Huber advises. Focus on mastering sales, hiring, and delegation instead. It’s not about doing what you love or pursuing your passion. It’s about following the path of least resistance and executing on a proven idea in a proven market to win.

Bringing together the stories of dozens of successful businesses, including his own, Huber reveals an accessible but often-overlooked path to wealth and a life well-lived. To Nick, entrepreneurship isn’t about trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s not about new ideas, raising venture capital funding, or going on Shark Tank. Instead, it’s about doing common things uncommonly well. The Sweaty Startup is a refreshing and straightforward road map outlining his philosophy for a new generation of entrepreneurs.

© 2025 Harper Business (Audiobook): 9780063387645

Release date

Audiobook: 29 April 2025