Download or read book Why Startups Fail written by Tom Eisenmann and published by Currency. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

Download or read book UNSCRIPTED written by MJ DeMarco and published by Viperion Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2017-05-23 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if Life Wasn't About 50 Years of Wage-Slavery, Paying Bills and then Dying? Tired of sleepwalking through a mediocre life bribed by mindless video-gaming, redemptive weekends, and a scant paycheck from a soul-suffocating job? Welcome to the SCRIPTED club— where membership is neither perceived or consented. The fact is, ever since you’ve been old enough to sit obediently in a classroom, you have been culturally engineered for servitude, unwittingly enslaved into a Machiavellian system where illusionary rules go unchallenged, sanctified traditions go unquestioned, and lifelong dreams go unfulfilled. As a result, your life is hijacked and marginalised into debt, despair, and dependence. Life's death sentence becomes the daily curse of the trivial and mundane. Fun fades. Dreams die. Don't let life's consolation prize become a car and a weekend. Recapture what is yours and make a revolutionary repossession of life-and-liberty through the pursuit of entrepreneurship. A paradigm shift isn't needed—the damn paradigm needs to be thrown-out altogether. The truth is, if you blindly follow conventional wisdom pushed by conventional people living conventional lives, can you expect to be anything but conventional? Rewrite life’s script: ditch the job, give Wall Street the bird, and escape the insanity of trading your life away for a paycheck and an elderly promise called retirement. UNSCRIPT today and start leading life— instead of life leading you.

Download or read book Built to Sell written by John Warrillow and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-12-24 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Run your company. Don’t let it run you. Most business owners started their company because they wanted more freedom—to work on their own schedules, make the kind of money they deserve, and eventually retire on the fruits of their labor. Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because their business relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless. But the good news is that entrepreneurs can take specific steps—no matter what stage a business is in—to create a valuable, sellable company. Warrillow shows exactly what it takes to create a solid business that can thrive long into the future.

Download or read book The Gift of Job Loss written by Michael Froehls and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Froehls, PhD, a former McKinsey consultant and successful global executive, turns conventional wisdom upside down - he suggests that you should overcome your reflex to immediately look for the next job after losing one. Don't miss out on your chance to do things you never had time for while being employed. Why not pursue a few activities that really matter to you before continuing your hard 30- to 40-year-long working life? What not realize some lifelong travel dreams, improve your health, invest in family and friends, fire up your love life, acquire new job skills, or check out a different location for a better career?In this book, you will find practical advice on how to take advantage of your opportunity without regret. Written from a business perspective with philosophical underpinnings, enriched by personal stories and serious thought-provoking questions, The Gift of Job Loss will help you:* - Understand the "Job Seeker Industrial Complex" and its influence on you* - Revitalize your life via 7 no-regret and up to 8 optional activities* - Identify personal and professional strategic options hitherto unavailable* - Optimize your "game of life" - living now vs. living in the future* - Analyze the implications of an economic recession vs. boom for your time off* - Plan your own step-by-step course of action - whether you are about to be let go, just got laid-off, or are still "safely" employedAfter losing his corporate job, Michael decided to sidestep the recession by doing what he advocates in this book. Headhunters, former colleagues, and friends called his move and timing one of the smartest decisions anybody could make - though few would dare because of convention and apprehension. If you face job loss, reading this book should help you overcome any despair and make you see your situation in a much more positive light.

Download or read book Never Get a Real Job written by Scott Gerber and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-12-07 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Rather, he is a hard-working, self-taught 26-year-old hustler, rainmaker, and bootstrapper who has survived and thrived despite never having held the proverbial "real” job. In Never Get a "Real" Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business, and Not Go Broke, Gerber challenges the social conventions behind the "real" job and empowers young people to take control of their lives and dump their nine-to-fives—or their quest to attain them. Drawing upon case studies, experiences, and observations, Scott dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business on a shoestring budget. The proven, no-b.s. methodology presented in Never Get a "Real" Job teaches unemployed and underemployed Gen-Yers, aspiring small business owners, students, and recent college graduates how to quit 9-to-5s, become their own bosses, and achieve financial independence.

Download or read book That Will Never Work written by Marc Randolph and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company-all revealed by co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph. Once upon a time, brick-and-mortar video stores were king. Late fees were ubiquitous, video-streaming unheard was of, and widespread DVD adoption seemed about as imminent as flying cars. Indeed, these were the widely accepted laws of the land in 1997, when Marc Randolph had an idea. It was a simple thought—leveraging the internet to rent movies—and was just one of many more and far worse proposals, like personalized baseball bats and a shampoo delivery service, that Randolph would pitch to his business partner, Reed Hastings, on their commute to work each morning. But Hastings was intrigued, and the pair—with Hastings as the primary investor and Randolph as the CEO—founded a company. Now with over 150 million subscribers, Netflix's triumph feels inevitable, but the twenty first century's most disruptive start up began with few believers and calamity at every turn. From having to pitch his own mother on being an early investor, to the motel conference room that served as a first office, to server crashes on launch day, to the now-infamous meeting when Netflix brass pitched Blockbuster to acquire them, Marc Randolph's transformational journey exemplifies how anyone with grit, gut instincts, and determination can change the world—even with an idea that many think will never work. What emerges, though, isn't just the inside story of one of the world's most iconic companies. Full of counter-intuitive concepts and written in binge-worthy prose, it answers some of our most fundamental questions about taking that leap of faith in business or in life: How do you begin? How do you weather disappointment and failure? How do you deal with success? What even is success? From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable, but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time.

Download or read book Ask a Manager written by Alison Green and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Download or read book How to Get Rich written by Felix Dennis and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-06-12 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncover the secret to financial success with advice from self-made millionaire Felix Dennis. Felix Dennis is an expert at proving people wrong. Starting as a college dropout with no family money, he created a publishing empire, founded Maxim magazine, made himself one of the richest people in the UK, and had a blast in the process. How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn’t selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship, and to share lessons he learned the hard way. He reveals, for example, why a regular paycheck is like crack cocaine; why great ideas are vastly overrated; and why “ownership isn't the important thing, it’s the only thing.”

Download or read book It s Your Biz written by Susan Wilson Solovic and published by AMACOM/American Management Association. This book was released on 2012 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making sound investments is tough enough without having to worry about unscrupulous financial advisers and outright frauds. But recently strengthened laws aren't enough to stop the "professionals" intent on profiting from--or just plain stealing--your money. As an Enforcement Branch Chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pat Huddleston witnessed countless people lose their life savings to reckless stockbrokers and fraudulent schemes. Now an SEC-recommended Receiver andCEO of a securities and investment fraud investigation agency, Huddleston has intimate knowledge of how scam artists and bad brokers operate. In The Vigilant Investor, he explains WHY we fall for investment scams, HOW con artists play on our emotions, and WHAT we can do to protect ourselves from predators. With its unique look into the science of financial decision making, the book blows up the popular myths and simplistic "do's and don'ts" of investing while sharing techniques anyone can use to perform due diligence even better than the "experts." With gripping stories of actual cases, Huddleston sheds light on the dark corners of the investment industry and teaches investors and professionals alike how to spot fraud and guard themselves against financial catastrophe.

Download or read book Build the Damn Thing written by Kathryn Finney and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-06-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wall Street Journal Bestseller featured in Bloomberg, Fast Company, Masters of Scale, the Motley Fool, Marketplace and more. An indispensable guide to building a startup and breaking down the barriers for diverse entrepreneurs from the visionary venture capitalist and pioneering entrepreneur Kathryn Finney. Build the Damn Thing is a hard-won, battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has left out. Finney, an investor and startup champion, explains how to build a business from the ground up, from developing a business plan to finding investors, growing a team, and refining a product. Finney empowers entrepreneurs to take advantage of their unique networks and resources; arms readers with responses to investors who say, “great pitch but I just don’t do Black women”; and inspires them to overcome naysayers while remaining “100% That B*tch.” Don’t wait for the system to let you in—break down the door and build your damn thing. For all the Builders striving to build their businesses in a world that has overlooked and underestimated them: this is the essential guide to knowing, breaking, remaking and building your own rules of entrepreneurship in a startup and investing world designed for and by the “Entitleds.”

Download or read book A Country is Not a Company written by Paul R. Krugman and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nobel-Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues that business leaders need to understand the differences between economic policy on the national and international scale and business strategy on the organizational scale. Economists deal with the closed system of a national economy, whereas executives live in the open-system world of business. Moreover, economists know that an economy must be run on the basis of general principles, but businesspeople are forever in search of the particular brilliant strategy. Krugman's article serves to elucidate the world of economics for businesspeople who are so close to it and yet are continually frustrated by what they see. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough management ideas-many of which still speak to and influence us today. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers readers the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world-and will have a direct impact on you today and for years to come.

Download or read book Self Employed written by Joel Comm and published by Morgan James Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-09 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two successful entrepreneurs offer a no-nonsense guide to the qualities that make people suited to starting their own businesses. In today’s world of startup companies, entrepreneurs are disrupting industries and fueling the economy like never before. It’s an exciting life where no day is quite like the next. But along with the adventure comes a lot of uncertainty, and not everyone is suited to the entrepreneurial life. So, what does it take? In Self Employed, Joel Comm and John Rampton detail 50 different qualities found in people who could do well as entrepreneurs. Having started, managed, and sold several multimillion-dollar businesses, Comm and Rampton understand what it takes to succeed in this highly competitive realm. The 50 qualities they outline provide a framework for anyone to decide if they might make it in business on their own. If you’re wondering whether the entrepreneurial lifestyle is right for you, or you want to know for sure that the business you’ve already started is suited to your temperament, this book is for you!

Download or read book Generation Jobless written by P. Vogel and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-05 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering guidance on the opportunities and threats for future generations, and featuring interviews with business leaders, this book provides a constructive look at change. It directs the youth to become job creators, not job seekers, and to approach the corporate and political worlds with an entrepreneurial mind-set.

Download or read book Fired Up or Burned Out written by Michael L. Stallard and published by HarperCollins Leadership. This book was released on 2009-03-22 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Indisputable evidence reveals that the greatest threat to America’s economy isn’t off-shoring labor, the need for downsizing, or unethical corporate practices--it’s employee disengagement. This widespread malady is the cause of billions of dollars lost, hours of dissatisfaction, and work lives lacking true value. In this game-changing guide, author Michael Stallard shares the three essential leadership actions necessary to transform even a lethargic, disconnected organization or office into an impassioned, innovative, and thriving workplace. By teaching readers what motivates their teams, providing essential tools for effective leadership, and analyzing the methods of twenty of the world’s greatest leaders, Fired Up or Burned Out offers everything you need to influence, motivate, and inspire your team to achieve greatness. Complete with a twenty-day learning plan and an assessment that will help you determine the health of your organization’s culture, this must-read book provides the key to establishing a happier, healthier workplace that’s not only good for business--it’s invigorating to the people who make it happen.

Download or read book Enterprising Child Developing Your Child s Entrepreneurial Potential written by Lorraine Allman and published by Book Shaker. This book was released on 2012-10 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive and practical guide for parents provides an understanding of the nature and value of entrepreneurial characteristics for all of life, activities for specific age groups, an understanding of what a child is learning through each activity, and inspirational interviews exploring the childhoods of successful entrepreneurs.

Download or read book Understanding Social Entrepreneurship written by Jill Kickul and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding Social Entrepreneurship is the leading textbook that provides students with a comprehensive overview of the field. It brings the mindset, principles, strategies, tools and techniques of entrepreneurship into the social sector to present innovative solutions to today’s vexing social issues. Kickul and Lyons cover all the key topics relevant to social entrepreneurship, including a detailed examination of each of the steps in the entrepreneurial process. This edition includes several new features: New international cases and examples – providing students with a broader understanding of social entrepreneurship globally Updated ‘voices from the field’ boxes – this popular feature shows how social entrepreneurship functions in the real world Four new chapters – covering the emerging topics of lean start-up, support ecosystems, social intrapreneurship, and social entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability Bringing together a rigorous theoretical foundation and a strong practical focus, it is the go-to resource for students of social entrepreneurship. A companion website includes an instructor’s manual, PowerPoint slides, test bank, and other tools to provide additional support for students and instructors.

Download or read book Secrets of Silicon Valley written by Deborah Perry Piscione and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2013-04-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the global economy languishes, one place just keeps growing despite failing banks, uncertain markets, and high unemployment: Silicon Valley. In the last two years, more than 100 incubators have popped up there, and the number of angel investors has skyrocketed. Today, 40 percent of all venture capital investments in the United States come from Silicon Valley firms, compared to 10 percent from New York. In Secrets of Silicon Valley, entrepreneur and media commentator Deborah Perry Piscione takes us inside this vibrant ecosystem where meritocracy rules the day. She explores Silicon Valley's exceptionally risk-tolerant culture, and why it thrives despite the many laws that make California one of the worst states in the union for business. Drawing on interviews with investors, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, as well as a host of case studies from Google to Paypal, Piscione argues that Silicon Valley's unique culture is the best hope for the future of American prosperity and the global business community and offers lessons from the Valley to inspire reform in other communities and industries, from Washington, DC to Wall Street.