How Hard Can It Be: Startup Lessons From Trying (And Failing) To Take Down Facebook

How Hard Can It Be: Startup Lessons From Trying (And Failing) To Take Down Facebook

Author: Arnaud Henneville-Wedholm

Publisher:

Published: 2021-10-15

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9781951407926

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In 2012, the world was slowly recovering from the Great Recession while Facebook and other social media platforms disrupted global life and business, ushering in a new era of startup optimism. From his desk at a consulting firm in Stockholm, Sweden, Arnaud Henneville-Wedholm watched in disbelief, wondering, "How could such a waste of time become so popular?" Bursting with ideas of how to break out of business monotony, Henneville-Wedholm and his coworker were ready to start something of their own. Soon, a lightbulb went off: what if they created a social platform that challenged people to get off the couch and live better lives? And better yet, what if it took down Facebook? There was only one problem: neither of them knew the first thing about running a tech company. In How Hard Can It Be, Henneville-Wedholm traces, in a uniquely eclectic and cosmopolitan voice, the youthful enthusiasm that propelled the promising rise of his startup-along with its equally calamitous downfall. Along the way, he teaches readers startup lessons by example, such as: How to pitch startup incubators like Sting, Europe's version of Y-Combinator How uninformed optimism can still lead to real organic growth What to do when your business isn't as scalable as you thought The brand-building power of guerrilla marketing How to pivot (and then pivot again, and again) when user growth stalls For optimists and idealists everywhere, How Hard Can It Be is a jet-setting parable of the European startup scene that takes on the most elusive business topic of them all: failure. Puncturing the hollow platitudes of how-to guides, Henneville-Wedholm instead offers his real-world experience of trying to go from zero to one. As a result of his efforts, How Hard Can It Be teaches entrepreneurs that failure need not be feared. In the right light, it can be a blessing in disguise-and it can even be fun.


Book Synopsis How Hard Can It Be: Startup Lessons From Trying (And Failing) To Take Down Facebook by : Arnaud Henneville-Wedholm

Download or read book How Hard Can It Be: Startup Lessons From Trying (And Failing) To Take Down Facebook written by Arnaud Henneville-Wedholm and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-15 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2012, the world was slowly recovering from the Great Recession while Facebook and other social media platforms disrupted global life and business, ushering in a new era of startup optimism. From his desk at a consulting firm in Stockholm, Sweden, Arnaud Henneville-Wedholm watched in disbelief, wondering, "How could such a waste of time become so popular?" Bursting with ideas of how to break out of business monotony, Henneville-Wedholm and his coworker were ready to start something of their own. Soon, a lightbulb went off: what if they created a social platform that challenged people to get off the couch and live better lives? And better yet, what if it took down Facebook? There was only one problem: neither of them knew the first thing about running a tech company. In How Hard Can It Be, Henneville-Wedholm traces, in a uniquely eclectic and cosmopolitan voice, the youthful enthusiasm that propelled the promising rise of his startup-along with its equally calamitous downfall. Along the way, he teaches readers startup lessons by example, such as: How to pitch startup incubators like Sting, Europe's version of Y-Combinator How uninformed optimism can still lead to real organic growth What to do when your business isn't as scalable as you thought The brand-building power of guerrilla marketing How to pivot (and then pivot again, and again) when user growth stalls For optimists and idealists everywhere, How Hard Can It Be is a jet-setting parable of the European startup scene that takes on the most elusive business topic of them all: failure. Puncturing the hollow platitudes of how-to guides, Henneville-Wedholm instead offers his real-world experience of trying to go from zero to one. As a result of his efforts, How Hard Can It Be teaches entrepreneurs that failure need not be feared. In the right light, it can be a blessing in disguise-and it can even be fun.

Why Startups Fail

Why Startups Fail

Author: Tom Eisenmann

Publisher: Currency

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0593137027

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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.


Book Synopsis Why Startups Fail by : Tom Eisenmann

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.

101 Startup Lessons

101 Startup Lessons

Author: George Deeb

Publisher: BlogIntoBook.com

Published: 2013-11-01

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13:

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A comprehensive, one-stop read for entrepreneurs who want actionable learnings about a wide range of startup and digital-related topics from George Deeb, a serial entrepreneur and partner at Red Rocket Ventures. The book is a startup executive's strategic "playbook", with "how-to" lessons about business in general, sales, marketing, technology, operations, human resources, finance, fund raising and more, including many case studies herein. We have demystified and synthesized the information an entrepreneur needs to strategize, fund, develop, launch and market their businesses. Join the 100,000+ readers who have already benefitted from this book, freely available and continuously updated on the Red Rocket Blog website. TESTIMONIALS David Rabjohns, Founder & CEO at MotiveQuest "George's passion, ideas and involvement with MotiveQuest has been "game changing" for us. From jumpstarting our sales and marketing plans and team, to productizing our business and procedures, Red Rocket has had an immediate and meaningful impact from day one. I highly recommend Red Rocket. If you want to grow, strap on the Red Rocket.“ Tyler Spalding, Founder & CEO at StyleSeek "Red Rocket has been a great investor for our business and vocal champion of our brand. As a proven entrepreneur himself, George has provided valuable insights and recommendations on how to best build my business. Red Rocket would be a great partner in helping build your business.“ Seth Rosenberg, SVP at Camping World "Red Rocket helped us do a high level assessment of our e-commerce efforts and assisted with the development of a digital strategy and marketing plan. Red Rocket identified some immediate opportunities, which we are implementing. I am pleased to recommend Red Rocket for your e-commerce and digital marketing needs.“ Andrew Hoog, Founder and CEO at viaForensics "As viaForensics experienced significant growth, we recognized the need for an experienced advisor with start-up chops who could help us refine critical steps in our transition from a service company to a product-based company. Red Rocket's expertise in growth planning including organizational structure, financial modeling and competitive analysis were instrumental in refining our strategy. He helped facilitate key decisions the management team needed to make in order to take the company to the next level. We are very pleased with Red Rocket's contributions to viaForensics and highly recommend his services to other start-ups facing similar growth.“ Jerry Freeman, Founder & CEO at PaletteApp “Red Rocket has been a key instigator in helping raise funds for PaletteApp. They have helped me tremendously in realizing what an investor wants to see and how best to present it. George has great experience and understanding of how to fund and launch a new company. We feel fortunate that he has thrown his hat into our arena.” Scott Skinger, CEO at TrainSignal "Red Rocket helped us in a variety of ways, from financial modeling to introductions to lenders. Their biggest win was helping us do preliminary investigative research on one of our competitors, that ultimately sparked a dialog that lead to the $23.6MM sale of our business to that company. We couldn't be more happy with Red Rocket's involvement with our business. Overall, a great advisor to have in your corner."


Book Synopsis 101 Startup Lessons by : George Deeb

Download or read book 101 Startup Lessons written by George Deeb and published by BlogIntoBook.com. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive, one-stop read for entrepreneurs who want actionable learnings about a wide range of startup and digital-related topics from George Deeb, a serial entrepreneur and partner at Red Rocket Ventures. The book is a startup executive's strategic "playbook", with "how-to" lessons about business in general, sales, marketing, technology, operations, human resources, finance, fund raising and more, including many case studies herein. We have demystified and synthesized the information an entrepreneur needs to strategize, fund, develop, launch and market their businesses. Join the 100,000+ readers who have already benefitted from this book, freely available and continuously updated on the Red Rocket Blog website. TESTIMONIALS David Rabjohns, Founder & CEO at MotiveQuest "George's passion, ideas and involvement with MotiveQuest has been "game changing" for us. From jumpstarting our sales and marketing plans and team, to productizing our business and procedures, Red Rocket has had an immediate and meaningful impact from day one. I highly recommend Red Rocket. If you want to grow, strap on the Red Rocket.“ Tyler Spalding, Founder & CEO at StyleSeek "Red Rocket has been a great investor for our business and vocal champion of our brand. As a proven entrepreneur himself, George has provided valuable insights and recommendations on how to best build my business. Red Rocket would be a great partner in helping build your business.“ Seth Rosenberg, SVP at Camping World "Red Rocket helped us do a high level assessment of our e-commerce efforts and assisted with the development of a digital strategy and marketing plan. Red Rocket identified some immediate opportunities, which we are implementing. I am pleased to recommend Red Rocket for your e-commerce and digital marketing needs.“ Andrew Hoog, Founder and CEO at viaForensics "As viaForensics experienced significant growth, we recognized the need for an experienced advisor with start-up chops who could help us refine critical steps in our transition from a service company to a product-based company. Red Rocket's expertise in growth planning including organizational structure, financial modeling and competitive analysis were instrumental in refining our strategy. He helped facilitate key decisions the management team needed to make in order to take the company to the next level. We are very pleased with Red Rocket's contributions to viaForensics and highly recommend his services to other start-ups facing similar growth.“ Jerry Freeman, Founder & CEO at PaletteApp “Red Rocket has been a key instigator in helping raise funds for PaletteApp. They have helped me tremendously in realizing what an investor wants to see and how best to present it. George has great experience and understanding of how to fund and launch a new company. We feel fortunate that he has thrown his hat into our arena.” Scott Skinger, CEO at TrainSignal "Red Rocket helped us in a variety of ways, from financial modeling to introductions to lenders. Their biggest win was helping us do preliminary investigative research on one of our competitors, that ultimately sparked a dialog that lead to the $23.6MM sale of our business to that company. We couldn't be more happy with Red Rocket's involvement with our business. Overall, a great advisor to have in your corner."

All In Startup

All In Startup

Author: Diana Kander

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-06-30

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1118857666

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If Owen Chase can't find a way to turn his company around in the next nine days, he'll be forced to shut it down and lay off all of his employees. He has incurred substantial debt and his marriage is on shaky ground. Through pure happenstance, Owen finds himself pondering this problem while advancing steadily as a contestant at the World Series of Poker. His Las Vegas path quickly introduces him to Samantha, a beautiful and mysterious mentor with a revolutionary approach to entrepreneurship. Sam is a fountain of knowledge that may save his company, but her sexual advances might prove too much for Owen's struggling marriage. All In Startup is more than just a novel about eschewing temptation and fighting to save a company. It is a lifeline for entrepreneurs who are thinking about launching a new idea or for those who have already started but can't seem to generate the traction they were expecting. Entrepreneurs who achieve success in the new economy do so using a new "scientific method" of innovation. All In Startup demonstrates why four counterintuitive principles separate successful entrepreneurs from the wanna-preneurs who bounce from idea to idea, unable to generate real revenue. You will likely get only one opportunity in your life to go "all in" in on an idea: to quit your job, talk your spouse into letting you drain the savings account, and follow your dream. All In Startup will prepare you for that "all in" moment and make sure that you push your chips into the middle only when the odds are in your favor. This book holds the keys to significantly de-risking your idea so that your success appears almost lucky. Join Owen and Sam for this one-of-a-kind journey that will set you on the right path for when it's your turn to put everything on the line.


Book Synopsis All In Startup by : Diana Kander

Download or read book All In Startup written by Diana Kander and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-06-30 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If Owen Chase can't find a way to turn his company around in the next nine days, he'll be forced to shut it down and lay off all of his employees. He has incurred substantial debt and his marriage is on shaky ground. Through pure happenstance, Owen finds himself pondering this problem while advancing steadily as a contestant at the World Series of Poker. His Las Vegas path quickly introduces him to Samantha, a beautiful and mysterious mentor with a revolutionary approach to entrepreneurship. Sam is a fountain of knowledge that may save his company, but her sexual advances might prove too much for Owen's struggling marriage. All In Startup is more than just a novel about eschewing temptation and fighting to save a company. It is a lifeline for entrepreneurs who are thinking about launching a new idea or for those who have already started but can't seem to generate the traction they were expecting. Entrepreneurs who achieve success in the new economy do so using a new "scientific method" of innovation. All In Startup demonstrates why four counterintuitive principles separate successful entrepreneurs from the wanna-preneurs who bounce from idea to idea, unable to generate real revenue. You will likely get only one opportunity in your life to go "all in" in on an idea: to quit your job, talk your spouse into letting you drain the savings account, and follow your dream. All In Startup will prepare you for that "all in" moment and make sure that you push your chips into the middle only when the odds are in your favor. This book holds the keys to significantly de-risking your idea so that your success appears almost lucky. Join Owen and Sam for this one-of-a-kind journey that will set you on the right path for when it's your turn to put everything on the line.

Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook

Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook

Author: Ronald Read

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2013-09-20

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1304463206

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Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook details how Facebook users are lured into using the network and then decieved into sharing large amounts of information about themselves and their contacts. This collection process raises a number of questions such as how did Facebook get here, what role does it play in government, and where is it headed? The text sets out to answer these questions and more for readers who may be interested in understanding what Facebook really is


Book Synopsis Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook by : Ronald Read

Download or read book Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook written by Ronald Read and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2013-09-20 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delete Me: An Argument Against Facebook details how Facebook users are lured into using the network and then decieved into sharing large amounts of information about themselves and their contacts. This collection process raises a number of questions such as how did Facebook get here, what role does it play in government, and where is it headed? The text sets out to answer these questions and more for readers who may be interested in understanding what Facebook really is

Failing To Win

Failing To Win

Author: Mike Quinn

Publisher:

Published: 2021-08-30

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9781990956430

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In 2009, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn packed his backpack and moved to Lusaka, Zambia on a mission to find African entrepreneurs building scalable, high-impact businesses. There he stumbled across two South African brothers who had founded a business to help unbanked smallholder farmers receive mobile payments in a market where cash was king. After convincing his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000, Mike joined as a co-founder of Zoona and became CEO for nine of the next ten years. With his partners, Mike built a network of more than 3,000 entrepreneur agents across Zambia and Malawi that enabled millions of unbanked consumers to send and receive $2.5-billion in money transfers and remittances. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Zoona raised over $35-million of venture investment and operated on the leading edge of Africa's emerging fintech ecosystem. Mike's remarkable story gives a rare and honest glimpse into the workings of a pioneering African startup through the lens of a purpose-driven entrepreneur who went "all in". Zoona faced tremendous adversity along the way: currency crises, investment round collapses, ruthless pushback from the major mobile network operators, and a continuous internal struggle to discover and execute a growth strategy that matched the company's billion-dollar ambition.It was by failing to win that Mike learned what entrepreneurship - specifically purpose-driven entrepreneurship - is all about, and it was what motivated him to double down and try again. "This raw, honest account is a must-read for anyone thinking about starting a company and for every entrepreneur who feels alone in the journey." - Elizabeth Yin, Co-Founder & General Partner of Hustle Fund "Startups are hard. Most people understand this. However, most people don't understand why. Mike's story is a rare glimpse into how challenges present themselves - and ultimately how to overcome." - Matt Flannery, Co-Founder of Kiva & Branch "In a rare look behind the scenes, Mike shares a vivid picture of the other side of leadership we don't talk about enough. As he aptly describes 'founding, failing and winning', this book highlights the risk of taking that all-important first step, embracing failure and ensuring you learn the transformative lessons critical to success as an entrepreneurial leader." - Fred Swaniker, Founder of African Leadership Group "This story is a gift for entrepreneurs and indeed anyone wanting to learn about the first generation of African fintechs that paved the way for future companies to thrive." - Katlego Maphai, Co-Founder & CEO of Yoco


Book Synopsis Failing To Win by : Mike Quinn

Download or read book Failing To Win written by Mike Quinn and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2009, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn packed his backpack and moved to Lusaka, Zambia on a mission to find African entrepreneurs building scalable, high-impact businesses. There he stumbled across two South African brothers who had founded a business to help unbanked smallholder farmers receive mobile payments in a market where cash was king. After convincing his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000, Mike joined as a co-founder of Zoona and became CEO for nine of the next ten years. With his partners, Mike built a network of more than 3,000 entrepreneur agents across Zambia and Malawi that enabled millions of unbanked consumers to send and receive $2.5-billion in money transfers and remittances. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Zoona raised over $35-million of venture investment and operated on the leading edge of Africa's emerging fintech ecosystem. Mike's remarkable story gives a rare and honest glimpse into the workings of a pioneering African startup through the lens of a purpose-driven entrepreneur who went "all in". Zoona faced tremendous adversity along the way: currency crises, investment round collapses, ruthless pushback from the major mobile network operators, and a continuous internal struggle to discover and execute a growth strategy that matched the company's billion-dollar ambition.It was by failing to win that Mike learned what entrepreneurship - specifically purpose-driven entrepreneurship - is all about, and it was what motivated him to double down and try again. "This raw, honest account is a must-read for anyone thinking about starting a company and for every entrepreneur who feels alone in the journey." - Elizabeth Yin, Co-Founder & General Partner of Hustle Fund "Startups are hard. Most people understand this. However, most people don't understand why. Mike's story is a rare glimpse into how challenges present themselves - and ultimately how to overcome." - Matt Flannery, Co-Founder of Kiva & Branch "In a rare look behind the scenes, Mike shares a vivid picture of the other side of leadership we don't talk about enough. As he aptly describes 'founding, failing and winning', this book highlights the risk of taking that all-important first step, embracing failure and ensuring you learn the transformative lessons critical to success as an entrepreneurial leader." - Fred Swaniker, Founder of African Leadership Group "This story is a gift for entrepreneurs and indeed anyone wanting to learn about the first generation of African fintechs that paved the way for future companies to thrive." - Katlego Maphai, Co-Founder & CEO of Yoco

Why Startups Fail

Why Startups Fail

Author: David Feinleib

Publisher: Apress

Published: 2012-03-28

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1430241411

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For the want-to-be entrepreneur thinking about taking the leap, the boot-strapped entrepreneur trying to energize a business three or four years in, and the venture-backed entrepreneur trying to scale, Why Startups Fail shows you the key mistakes new ventures make—and how to avoid them. Nearly everyone has an idea for a product they could build or a company they could start. But eight out of 10 new businesses fail within the first three years. Even only one in ten venture-backed startups succeeds, and venture capitalists turn down some 99% of the business plans they see. The odds appear to be stacked against you! But entrepreneurs often make the same avoidable mistakes over and over. Why Startups Fail can help you beat the odds and avoid the pitfalls and traps that lead to early startup death. It’s easy to point to successes like Apple, Google, and Facebook. But the biggest lessons can come from failure. What decisions were made, and why? What would the founders have done differently? How did one company become a billion-dollar success while another—with a better product and in the same market—fail? Drawing on personal experience as well as the wisdom of the Silicon Valley startup community, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and blogger Dave Feinleib analyzes companies that have come and gone. In short, powerful chapters, he reveals the keys to successful entrepreneurship: Excellent product/market fit, passion, superb execution, the ability to pivot, stellar team, good funding, and wise spending. In Why Startups Fail, you’ll learn from the mistakes Feinleib has seen made over and over and find out how to position your startup for success. Why Startups Fail: Shows venture-backed startups and boot-strappers alike how to succeed where others fail. Is equally valuable for companies still on the drawing board as well as young firms taking their first steps. Takes you through the key decisions and pitfalls that caused startups to fail and what you can learn from their failures. Covers the critical elements of entrepreneurial success.


Book Synopsis Why Startups Fail by : David Feinleib

Download or read book Why Startups Fail written by David Feinleib and published by Apress. This book was released on 2012-03-28 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the want-to-be entrepreneur thinking about taking the leap, the boot-strapped entrepreneur trying to energize a business three or four years in, and the venture-backed entrepreneur trying to scale, Why Startups Fail shows you the key mistakes new ventures make—and how to avoid them. Nearly everyone has an idea for a product they could build or a company they could start. But eight out of 10 new businesses fail within the first three years. Even only one in ten venture-backed startups succeeds, and venture capitalists turn down some 99% of the business plans they see. The odds appear to be stacked against you! But entrepreneurs often make the same avoidable mistakes over and over. Why Startups Fail can help you beat the odds and avoid the pitfalls and traps that lead to early startup death. It’s easy to point to successes like Apple, Google, and Facebook. But the biggest lessons can come from failure. What decisions were made, and why? What would the founders have done differently? How did one company become a billion-dollar success while another—with a better product and in the same market—fail? Drawing on personal experience as well as the wisdom of the Silicon Valley startup community, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and blogger Dave Feinleib analyzes companies that have come and gone. In short, powerful chapters, he reveals the keys to successful entrepreneurship: Excellent product/market fit, passion, superb execution, the ability to pivot, stellar team, good funding, and wise spending. In Why Startups Fail, you’ll learn from the mistakes Feinleib has seen made over and over and find out how to position your startup for success. Why Startups Fail: Shows venture-backed startups and boot-strappers alike how to succeed where others fail. Is equally valuable for companies still on the drawing board as well as young firms taking their first steps. Takes you through the key decisions and pitfalls that caused startups to fail and what you can learn from their failures. Covers the critical elements of entrepreneurial success.

Zucked

Zucked

Author: Roger McNamee

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-02-04

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 0525561374

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One of the Financial Times' Best Business Books of 2019 The New York Times bestseller about a noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor, who wakes up to the serious damage Facebook is doing to our society—and sets out to try to stop it. If you had told Roger McNamee even three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying our democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career as an investor, but few things had made him prouder, or been better for his fund's bottom line, than his early service to Mark Zuckerberg. Still a large shareholder in Facebook, he had every good reason to stay on the bright side. Until he simply couldn't. Zucked is McNamee's intimate reckoning with the catastrophic failure of the head of one of the world's most powerful companies to face up to the damage he is doing. It's a story that begins with a series of rude awakenings. First there is the author's dawning realization that the platform is being manipulated by some very bad actors. Then there is the even more unsettling realization that Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are unable or unwilling to share his concerns, polite as they may be to his face. And then comes the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put. To McNamee's shock, even still Facebook's leaders duck and dissemble, viewing the matter as a public relations problem. Now thoroughly alienated, McNamee digs into the issue, and fortuitously meets up with some fellow travelers who share his concern, and help him sharpen its focus. Soon he and a dream team of Silicon Valley technologists are charging into the fray, to raise consciousness about the existential threat of Facebook, and the persuasion architecture of the attention economy more broadly—to our public health and to our political order. Zucked is both an enthralling personal narrative and a masterful explication of the forces that have conspired to place us all on the horns of this dilemma. This is the story of a company and its leadership, but it's also a larger tale of a business sector unmoored from normal constraints, just at a moment of political and cultural crisis, the worst possible time to be given new tools for summoning the darker angels of our nature and whipping them into a frenzy. Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, Roger McNamee happened to be in the right place to witness a crime, and it took him some time to make sense of what he was seeing and what we ought to do about it. The result of that effort is a wise, hard-hitting, and urgently necessary account that crystallizes the issue definitively for the rest of us.


Book Synopsis Zucked by : Roger McNamee

Download or read book Zucked written by Roger McNamee and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the Financial Times' Best Business Books of 2019 The New York Times bestseller about a noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor, who wakes up to the serious damage Facebook is doing to our society—and sets out to try to stop it. If you had told Roger McNamee even three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying our democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career as an investor, but few things had made him prouder, or been better for his fund's bottom line, than his early service to Mark Zuckerberg. Still a large shareholder in Facebook, he had every good reason to stay on the bright side. Until he simply couldn't. Zucked is McNamee's intimate reckoning with the catastrophic failure of the head of one of the world's most powerful companies to face up to the damage he is doing. It's a story that begins with a series of rude awakenings. First there is the author's dawning realization that the platform is being manipulated by some very bad actors. Then there is the even more unsettling realization that Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg are unable or unwilling to share his concerns, polite as they may be to his face. And then comes the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put. To McNamee's shock, even still Facebook's leaders duck and dissemble, viewing the matter as a public relations problem. Now thoroughly alienated, McNamee digs into the issue, and fortuitously meets up with some fellow travelers who share his concern, and help him sharpen its focus. Soon he and a dream team of Silicon Valley technologists are charging into the fray, to raise consciousness about the existential threat of Facebook, and the persuasion architecture of the attention economy more broadly—to our public health and to our political order. Zucked is both an enthralling personal narrative and a masterful explication of the forces that have conspired to place us all on the horns of this dilemma. This is the story of a company and its leadership, but it's also a larger tale of a business sector unmoored from normal constraints, just at a moment of political and cultural crisis, the worst possible time to be given new tools for summoning the darker angels of our nature and whipping them into a frenzy. Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, Roger McNamee happened to be in the right place to witness a crime, and it took him some time to make sense of what he was seeing and what we ought to do about it. The result of that effort is a wise, hard-hitting, and urgently necessary account that crystallizes the issue definitively for the rest of us.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Author: Heidi M. Neck

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2016-11-30

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 1483383512

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From Heidi Neck, one of the most influential thinkers in entrepreneurship education today, Chris Neck, an award-winning professor, and Emma Murray, business consultant and author, comes this ground-breaking new text. Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset catapults students beyond the classroom by helping them develop an entrepreneurial mindset so they can create opportunities and take action in uncertain environments. Based on the world-renowned Babson Entrepreneurship program, this new text emphasizes practice and learning through action. Students learn entrepreneurship by taking small actions and interacting with stakeholders in order to get feedback, experiment, and move ideas forward. Students walk away from this text with the entrepreneurial mindset, skillset, and toolset that can be applied to startups as well as organizations of all kinds. Whether your students have backgrounds in business, liberal arts, engineering, or the sciences, this text will take them on a transformative journey.


Book Synopsis Entrepreneurship by : Heidi M. Neck

Download or read book Entrepreneurship written by Heidi M. Neck and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Heidi Neck, one of the most influential thinkers in entrepreneurship education today, Chris Neck, an award-winning professor, and Emma Murray, business consultant and author, comes this ground-breaking new text. Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset catapults students beyond the classroom by helping them develop an entrepreneurial mindset so they can create opportunities and take action in uncertain environments. Based on the world-renowned Babson Entrepreneurship program, this new text emphasizes practice and learning through action. Students learn entrepreneurship by taking small actions and interacting with stakeholders in order to get feedback, experiment, and move ideas forward. Students walk away from this text with the entrepreneurial mindset, skillset, and toolset that can be applied to startups as well as organizations of all kinds. Whether your students have backgrounds in business, liberal arts, engineering, or the sciences, this text will take them on a transformative journey.

Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat.

Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat.

Author: Nicholas Haralambous

Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers

Published: 2018-06-25

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0639926436

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Are you bored and baffled by spin doctors telling you how to succeed, how to make $1 000 000 or how to build the best business in just 30 days? Everyone claims to have the next best short cut or hack to help you along the path of entrepreneurship. It's all bullshit. In his business autobiography Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. Nicholas Haralambous discusses the truth about the last 15 years of his entrepreneurial journey. ANYONE CAN START SOMETHING. Nic openly discusses his failures and sacrifices over the past decade and a half spent building businesses. There is advice all over the place about the rules to follow if you want to succeed, the do's and don'ts of running a company, the how-to of how-to do this, that or the next thing. There are also many personalities out there telling young entrepreneurs to hustle non-stop, risk everything and never sleep if they want success. YOUR CHANCE OF FAILURE IS ALMOST GUARANTEED. No one talks about how hard it is, how lonely it is and how difficult it is to build a business. No one is willing to forgo their ego and be honest. If nothing else, Nic Haralambous is honest about his journey. MOST PEOPLE WON'T LEARN. Nic has lived the hustle; he has pushed through physical pain, mental suffering, business failures, personal torment and relationship strife all in the name of building businesses. ALMOST NO ONE DOES IT AGAIN. Nic decided to write a big book of his failures so that entrepreneurs around the world can begin to understand that it is not always glamorous, easy or fun to build a business. If entrepreneurship is calling you then you absolutely cannot miss out on the truth, behind the business, written by Nic Haralambous.


Book Synopsis Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. by : Nicholas Haralambous

Download or read book Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. written by Nicholas Haralambous and published by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This book was released on 2018-06-25 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you bored and baffled by spin doctors telling you how to succeed, how to make $1 000 000 or how to build the best business in just 30 days? Everyone claims to have the next best short cut or hack to help you along the path of entrepreneurship. It's all bullshit. In his business autobiography Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. Nicholas Haralambous discusses the truth about the last 15 years of his entrepreneurial journey. ANYONE CAN START SOMETHING. Nic openly discusses his failures and sacrifices over the past decade and a half spent building businesses. There is advice all over the place about the rules to follow if you want to succeed, the do's and don'ts of running a company, the how-to of how-to do this, that or the next thing. There are also many personalities out there telling young entrepreneurs to hustle non-stop, risk everything and never sleep if they want success. YOUR CHANCE OF FAILURE IS ALMOST GUARANTEED. No one talks about how hard it is, how lonely it is and how difficult it is to build a business. No one is willing to forgo their ego and be honest. If nothing else, Nic Haralambous is honest about his journey. MOST PEOPLE WON'T LEARN. Nic has lived the hustle; he has pushed through physical pain, mental suffering, business failures, personal torment and relationship strife all in the name of building businesses. ALMOST NO ONE DOES IT AGAIN. Nic decided to write a big book of his failures so that entrepreneurs around the world can begin to understand that it is not always glamorous, easy or fun to build a business. If entrepreneurship is calling you then you absolutely cannot miss out on the truth, behind the business, written by Nic Haralambous.