Agile Start-Up - Quick and Dirty Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Informationen zum Autor JEFF SCHEINROCK is currently a Continuing Lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is also President and CFO of the venture investment firm Originate. Scheinrock has personally raised over $1 billion in venture capital, served as the chief investment officer of a fund-of-funds, and helped take Packard Bell from inception to over $7 billion in annual revenue. He has negotiated in excess of $1 billion in bank debt and $3 billion in trade credit from companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Tatung, Lite-On, and Seagate. Scheinrock also handled the negotiation and structuring of many acquisitions, including Zenith Data Systems and Ark Interface Software, among others. MATT RICHTER-SAND is a serial entrepreneur, having launched three businesses. An Air Force veteran, he earned an MBA from UCLA before spending two years as a venture capitalist. Currently, he mentors entrepreneurs and is actively building his third startup. Klappentext An inspiring and impactful compilation of the most important lessons of entrepreneurshipThe tools of a digital age make it easier than ever to start a new business. And with billion-dollar IPOs and acquisitions making weekly headlines, the potential rewards are enormous. But even with all of the advantages and resources that today's entrepreneurs have access to, the likelihood of any one business succeeding is slim. That's why you need the simple, clear lessons found in The Agile Startup.Engaging and informative, The Agile Startup doesn't offer step-by-step instructions on how to build a better mousetrap. Instead, it shows you how to build companies that continually adapt to the "real" world. Along the way, you'll discover you're not alone in your entrepreneurial endeavors, and that almost every challenge a startup can face has already been faced, and overcome, by someone in the past.* Contains lessons culled from decades of creating successful companies, which includes possessing a flexible mindset* Provides valuable insights, based on a market-driven philosophy, regarding launching and managing products, businesses, and brands* Written by two authors who have a combined sixty-plus years of startup experience and understand the reasons behind their successes and failures* A companion Website contains supplementary material that allows you to learn in a hands-on fashion long after closing the bookThe journey of a startup is daunting. Think about everything that has to be overcome and you'll quickly see that the odds are stacked heavily against you. But with The Agile Startup as your guide, you'll learn exactly what it takes to succeed in your entrepreneurial endeavors. Zusammenfassung An inspiring and impactful compilation of the most important lessons of entrepreneurship The tools of a digital age make it easier than ever to start a new business. And with billion-dollar IPOs and acquisitions making weekly headlines, the potential rewards are enormous. Inhaltsverzeichnis Why You Should Read This Book xiii The Entrepreneur's Life Cycle xv Chapter 1 Agile Philosophy Rule #1 3 What's Your Why? 4                                              You are Wrong 7 Heaven . . . and Hell 8 You Get Only 15,000 Days 11 The Entrepreneurial Method 12 Focus on Problems, Not Solutions 15 Three Requirements for Success 16 Dreamers versus Doers 19 Get Out of the Building 20 Business Plans are Worthless 23 Let Them Steal it 24 Embarrass Yourself 27 Fail Fast-and Often 28 Contain Risk as Early as Possible 31 First, Decide What Not to Do 32 Rules? What Rules? 35 FOCUS-Follow One Course Until Successful 36 Don't Drink the Kool-Aid 39 Get in over Your Head 40 There is No Silver Bullet 43 It Ain't a Problem 'Til it's a Problem 44

List of contents

Why You Should Read This Book xiii
 
The Entrepreneur's Life Cycle xv
 
CHAPTER 1
 
AGILE PHILOSOPHY
 
Rule #1 3
 
What's Your Why? 4
 
You Are Wrong 7
 
Heaven . . . and Hell 8
 
You Get Only 15,000 Days 11
 
The Entrepreneurial Method 12
 
Focus on Problems, Not Solutions 15
 
Three Requirements for Success 16
 
Dreamers versus Doers 19
 
Get Out of the Building 20
 
Business Plans Are Worthless 23
 
Let Them Steal It 24
 
Embarrass Yourself 27
 
Fail Fast--and Often 28
 
Contain Risk as Early as Possible 31
 
First, Decide What Not To Do 32
 
Rules? What Rules? 35
 
FOCUS--Follow One Course Until Successful 36
 
Don't Drink the Kool-Aid 39
 
Get in over Your Head 40
 
There Is No Silver Bullet 43
 
It Ain't a Problem 'Til It's a Problem 44
 
Launch to Learn 47
 
Resourcefulness, Not Resources 48
 
CHAPTER 2
 
MAKE IT FEASIBLE
 
Is it Feasible? 53
 
ASS Out of U and ME 54
 
Three Questions You Must Answer 57
 
Double Your Worst Case 58
 
Five Risk Factors 61
 
Product 1.0--A Brochure 62
 
Good Ideas, Bad Businesses 65
 
Wrong Questions --> Wrong Answers 66
 
Vitamin, Painkiller, or Cure? 69
 
Create Massive Value 70
 
Why Won't It Work? 73
 
Show Me the Money 74
 
Does It Pencil? 77
 
Play Dumb 78
 
Take a Haircut 81
 
If You Build It, Will They Come? 82
 
Buying Customers 85
 
CLV >= 2 × CAC 86
 
Cash Is More Important than Your Mother 89
 
Think Like a VC 90
 
CHAPTER 3
 
CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITION
 
Break It Down 95
 
Ride the Wave 96
 
Know Thy Market 99
 
WII.FM--Your Favorite Radio Station 100
 
Tell Me What Sucks 103
 
You Can't Boil the Ocean 104
 
Reframe the Competition 107
 
Make a Competitive Matrix 108
 
Differentiate or Die 111
 
Competition Is a Good Thing 112
 
Follow the Leader 115
 
Fast Followers Finish First 116
 
10× Better 119
 
You Need a Moat 120
 
Zero Degrees of Separation 123
 
CHAPTER 4
 
MAKING MONEY
 
What's Your Business Model? 127
 
The Best Source of Capital 128
 
How Do You Make Money? 131
 
Gross Profit Margins 132
 
Prefer Variable to Fixed 135
 
Go Bootstrap Yourself 136
 
The First Rule to Making Money 139
 
The First Dollar Is the Hardest 140
 
Bottoms Up 143
 
Build a (Bad) Financial Model 144
 
How Much Runway? 147
 
Know Your Do-or-Die Numbers 148
 
CHAPTER 5
 
MARKETING
 
Luck Is Not a Plan 153
 
What's Your Positioning? 154
 
Hold the Presses 157
 
Old Meets New 158
 
Sell Wants, but Deliver Needs 161
 
How Can I Help You? 162
 
Turn $1 into $2+ 165
 
Do It Twice 166
 
Perception Is Reality 169
 
Be a Guerrilla Marketer 170
 
The Secret to Writing Copy That Sells 173
 
Promise . . . Then Overdeliver 174
 
Your Brand Talks 176
 
CHAPTER 6
 
TEAM
 
Not So Fast, Partner 179
 
Get a Pre-Nup 180
 
ABCs of Hiring 183
 
Your Startup Is a Boat 184
 
The Build/Sell Team 187
 
Make Sure You're Aligned 188
 
How to Get the Best People 191
 
Fire Yourself 192

Product details

• Authors: Richter-Sand, Matt Richter-Sand, Matt Scheinrock Richter-Sand, Richter-Sand Matt, Scheinrock, J Scheinrock, J. Scheinrock, Jef Scheinrock, Jeff Scheinrock, Jeff Richter-Sand Scheinrock, Scheinrock Jeff
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.11.2013
• EAN: 9781118548264
• ISBN: 978-1-118-54826-4
• No. of pages: 368
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Wirtschaft, Business & management, Wirtschaft u. Management, Spezialthemen Wirtschaft u. Management, Business & Management Special Topics