Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch [Hardcover]

Kenneth L. Hess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2001

Bootstrap serves as a useful reference for the prospective or newly established entrepreneur and offers valuable lessons for anyone interested in building a self-funded company, regardless of industry. Ken Hess lets the reader step into the shoes of the entrepreneur, and benefit from first hand experiences on what worked well and what failed. Written in narrative form, the book takes the reader through the evolution of a company, from one employee to one hundred, and highlights the fundamental business philosophies that enabled this entrepreneur to achieve success. The book covers topics applicable to any company, such as: how to hire the right employees, developing a functional organizational structure, creating a vision that translates into actionable objectives for every employee, managing the product portfolio, and understanding your customers needs and market trends to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An excellent reference for anyone wondering what it takes to be an entrepreneur. -- John Glynn, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Stanford Graduate School of Business

More than a how-to book, it is one of an entrepreneur's journey... -- John Neer, Executive, Lockheed Martin and former Founder, Space Imaging

More than a how-to book, it is one of an entrepreneur’s journey... -- John Neer, Executive, Lockheed Martin and former Founder, Space Imaging

Not your typical Silicon Valley venture capital story... -- Chuck McMinn, Founder and Chairman, Covad

Solid advice on every step of building a company, from developing a product to selling the company. -- Heidi Roizen, Managing Director, SOFTBANK Venture Capital

From the Author

What's it like to start a business from scratch? I found it to be intensely creative and stimulating -- so rewarding that I'm in the process of doing it again. Yet the very thought of leaving a job to start your own business scares many people. Should you start your own company? This book provides and insider's window into the process I went through, starting with a dream and ending years later with the sale of my company, Banner Blue Software, at a handsome price. As I built my business, I learned answers to these questions and many others. Ultimately, I did more right than wrong, for Banner went on to great success. I hope that by sharing what I learned, you can improve your chance of success and minimize your mistakes.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 301 pages
• Publisher: S Curve Press (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971187304
• ISBN-13: 978-0971187306
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,339,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a former Banner Blue employee & web entrepreneur, November 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, for a multitude of reasons. Ken details the entrepreneur's issues when bootstrapping a company quite well (we bootstrapped our company also, and ran into many of the same problems). I enjoyed reading more about how Ken FELT while the company was growing. As an employee, you don't often know how the CEO feels about anything (Ken is good at controlling his emotions). Turns out he had similar feelings most entrepreneur's do when starting a company.

The book is engrossing and at times reads like a story. Sometimes it's hard to believe, but I know it happened because I had the fortune of living through part of it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to be successful at building a company. I'm convinced that the "Banner Blue Way" is the way to run a company and run a short-term project. Many companies later, I'm still running things the way Ken would have done it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended reading for all entrepreneurs, February 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch (Hardcover)

Kenneth Hess was the founder and President of Banner Blue Software which he took from a raw "bootstrap" startup and build it into an established company with a multimillion dollar annual sales record. Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building A Successful Company From Scratch is the author's true story of successfully creating his viable business from scratch. Filled with risks, rewards, lessons learned the hard way and the fruits of up-close and personal inspiration, Bootstrap is an inspiring read filled with the wisdom that comes from earned experience. Strongly recommended reading for all entrepreneurs aspiring towards achieving corporate success with their own business enterprises, regardless of services furnished or products produced.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not particularly educational, February 6, 2007

By 

A. Hendricks (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bootstrap: Lessons Learned Building a Successful Company from Scratch (Hardcover)

An interesting book that would have been more useful had it delved into some of the 'mistakes' a bit more. Hess makes it all sound so simple, a straight, clear path that was always obvious to him. Any mistakes (like new products started and abandonded) are dealt with in a very cursory way. As the owner of a bootstrap software company I was hoping for more insight and to learn a thing or two. I was entertained (athough slightly irritated by some of it) but would not really recommend it other than as a bit of light reading. I bought this book because of the rave reviews on the Amazon site, but would have to say that overall I was disappointed. All those people who provided 5 star reviews clearly need to get out a bit more and read something of substance for a change!