In this article, we share the exciting book launch for Many, Many Hats: The CEO Strategy’s Guide to Startups by Max Polec.
About Many, Many Hats
I’ve been in the startup space for well over a decade. I started my first business at 15, a landscaping company, out of necessity so I could afford to attend the University of Pittsburgh and become a first-generation college student.
That’s where my journey began and I’ve worn many, many hats since from startup employee to co-founder, accelerator director to ecosystem builder, and now as trusted coach.
This book is an act of reflection to look back and share the best practices I’ve learned that have served me and the hundreds of founders I’ve worked with well.
Who this book is for
This book was written to give you a few takeaways regardless of whether you are a first-time founder, seasoned entrepreneur, startup employee, or team member at an entrepreneurship support organization.
I believe that the many, many hats I’ve worn and the many, many founders I’ve worked with help to highlight stories and key principles that may serve you well. Here is an outline of the sections covered in the book:
- About Max: Or why you should consider believing the opinions I share.
- Your Why: How can you be successful with your goals if you don’t know what they are and what drives you?
- Productivity: How to get not only a lot done, but also the most important things done.
- Customer Discovery: Don’t play yourself. Use a structured framework to build a product that your target customer actually needs and will pay for.
- Problem Validation: How to narrow your niche down into a problem that is real and worth solving.
- Traction: How to begin finding the ill-defined product-market fit and feel true progress in the direction you are building.
- Growth: How to use marketing and sales experiments to begin, build, and scale revenue for your startup.
- Fundraising: I’ve raised $26M+ in growth financing the past 5 years and share what I’ve learned.
- Leadership: Leaders can be ceilings or multipliers. Here I’ll share an introduction on how to bring out the best in yourself, your team, and your startup.
- Reflection is a Superpower: If you don’t pause to reflect, document, and learn, you will be doomed to unconsciously repeat the same cycle over and over limiting your success.
How to get your copy
I’ve had countless people support me so far in this journey that we call life. This book is a way for me to give back to the startup community. I don’t want to make a single dollar from selling this book. Instead, I want to use this as an opportunity to do good.
If you are interested in getting your own digital copy of Many, Many Hats, please do the following:
- Go to The Arc Alliance’s website.
- Donate $25.
- Screenshot your donation receipt.
- Reach out to me via email at max(at)theceostrategy.com and share your donation receipt. Since I will be manually reviewing the emails, please have “Many, Many Hats” in your subject line.
- I’ll personally send you your own digital copy to read.
Early Book Reviews
"Many, Many Hats is a refreshingly honest and actionable guide for entrepreneurs. Max's emphasis on defining your why and treating reflection as a superpower stand out as practical tools for navigating the chaos of building a business. This book is a must-read for startup founders and leaders seeking clarity, purpose, and tactical advice to grow personally and professionally. Max doesn’t just offer insights — he inspires action." - Venu Kunche, Product Manager at EVConnect
"Many, Many Hats is an actionable guide for startup professionals navigating the complexities of their evolving roles. The book offers clear frameworks on prioritizing urgent problems, avoiding time-wasting customers, and focusing efforts on one channel at a time. With real-world insights and actionable advice, it helps readers streamline their approach, avoid burnout, and create more impactful results. This is a must-read for anyone in a client-facing or cross-functional role looking to sharpen their decision-making and optimize their workday." Rana Mohamed, Senior Partnership Manager, Braintrust
“Many, Many Hats is a straightforward read on the best leadership practices for those new to the startup journey. Max grounds his insights with real experiences as a startup operator, founder, and supporter. This is a practical toolbox, ensuring founders formalize better decisions about the company building process in the early days and beyond.” - Sephora Saint-Armand, Assistant Director, Pava Center for Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins University
"Many Many Hats is an informative and easy read for the aspiring or current entrepreneur. In this book, Max lays out simple steps for every leg of the startup journey. This iterative approach to creating a startup is a gem that I will continue to reference as my company grows." - Aidan Palladino, Founder of Team Sync
"My favorite part from Many, Many Hats is in the way Max emphasizes ways founders can test hypotheses & assumptions during the building process. There is no clear path to success in startups. Max does a great job of providing frameworks that allow founders to carve their own way. I think the value of testing is widely understood but the challenge of testing at the earliest stages is a real one, I'd recommend this to founders who are early in their journey as they are creating systems of growth." - Charles Mansfield III, Startup Ecosystem Manager at InnovatePGH
“Entrepreneurship is a total trap for first-time founders. A lot of entrepreneurial education curriculums from business schools and similar institutions are prone to misleading young entrepreneurs into chasing false economies - big VC raises, shiny PR, etc. Reading Many, Many Hats is the quickest way to skip being a first-time founder - Max will set your priorities straight through immersive yet concise storytelling, sharing his diverse experiences as a startup leader." - Luca Wrabetz, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh
"Many, Many Hats: The CEO Strategy’s Guide to Startups" by Max Polec is a masterful and pragmatic guide for startup leaders, packed with actionable insights that resonate with both emerging and seasoned entrepreneurs. Drawing from extensive hands-on experience across diverse roles in the startup ecosystem, Polec expertly distills complex concepts into digestible strategies for managing productivity, customer discovery, traction, and growth, among other essentials. The book is particularly compelling in its grounded, real-world approach—providing readers with tools to navigate the relentless challenges of startup life while inspiring confidence and resilience. For any entrepreneur looking to build a thriving, sustainable business, "Many, Many Hats" is an indispensable resource." - Louis Mennel, CEO of Carbon Compost