[staunch]

I know it's a lame choice, given that we're on HN, but it's true: I'd give Paul Graham's startup essays to myself 10 years ago (5 years early).

I had already started small businesses and knew I wanted to do a web software company, but I just didn't have a mental framework to work from.

Paul Graham's startup essays (and later many other sources) gave me an idea of how to go about making a startup work.