Customer Reviews

Go BIG or Go HOME

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Personal background note: I have worked as an early stage venture capitalist and regularly review business plans for Angel investment groups.

The content of the book is fairly basic but helpful in understand the big issues you will deal with when starting up a business. If you are thinking about starting a company, the book is not a bad sanity check to make sure you have thought through the big issues. The your concept does not pass this sanity check, do not quit your day job.

The writing style is very light and good for a quick read which is important for someone thinking about starting a business. You need to be ruthlessly efficient with your time if you are going to succeed.

Overall: 3 stars -- there are many books out there on this subject...most say roughly the same thing using the business buzzwords at the printing time. This book is not that much different but very approachable in format and content.

Lots of "business" books wax poetically on the "how's" and "why's" of successful startups. You get mired in conjecture and conclusions based on little data. Go BIG however gives you easy to swallow facts that can be applied in any startup. It's an easy to read book for people currently in a startup or for those wanting to jump into the world of entrepreneurialism.

Who wouldn't like to start a company like Google, Paypal or Skype??? These are companies with BIG growth, BIG impact, and BIG returns. Go BIG or Go Home provides entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to turn BIG dreams into even BIGGER realities. A highly successful serial entrepreneur, Wil Schroter demystifies the growth process behind some of the most successful start-up companies of our time. Whether you are just thinking of launching a company, or are already in the trenches, following Wil's field-tested advice is a sure-fire way of leading your company into the enviable world of high growth start-ups.
Craig Stein, Center for Entrepreneurship
The Ohio State University

If you're like me, and you have many half-baked ideas for businesses, this book is a "must read" because it provides simple, sensible guidelines for evaluating the meritoriousness of a given start-up concept. Mr. Schroter sets forth a brutally clear, common sense screening process that can help you make sure you and your big ideas don't wind up like the vast majority of start-ups--out of business before they really get going. No academic can give you the life lessons Mr. Schroter has learned firsthand by personally taking real risk, time and time again. A master of levity, Mr. Schroter's reality-based principles are codified in a downright funny way (e.g., indeed quoting 80's rapper Too $hort), reminding us that any successful scramble for dead presidents necessarily requires humble equanimity, and a smile. As a business lawyer who demands value for my education dollar, I can unequivocally recommend Go BIG or Go HOME.

Entertainingly written with down-and-dirty details ranging from "the currency of opportunity" (sales) to "forget about the solution, focus on the problem" (product quality) that most MBA-type books don't/can't cover b/c they've never really done it themselves. Quick read, breadth and depth, valuable info.

For even the most motivated individual, Go Big or Go Home adds even more fuel to the fire. This isn't some business book written by some academic. Go Big or Go Home is written for entrepreneurs by an entrepreneur. This book is completely relevant to today's startup climate that requires quick and decisive action on the part of entrepreneurs. I couldn't put the book down. I read through it in a half a day, a week later I read through it again and I'm already applying the Go Big concepts.

I really didn't know what I was getting myself into, especially with the title of the book. But once I read a couple of pages I knew that if this book was takin to heart and put into action there is no way you can fail. I thank Wil so much for writing a masterpiece that gives great examples of his own accounts and examples of companies like myspace, skype, and many others. The author keeps the book entertaining, all I can say at this moment is buy the book and you won't be disappointed.

I have been reading about entrepreneurship for years and this book has finally cut through the slow points. Mr. Schroter hits all the critical points that entrepreneurs need to be aware of and the real-life case studies drive the point's home.

I couldn't put this book down - finally, a no-nonsense approach to business literature! Mr. Schroter gets right to the point of what entrepreneurs NEED to do in order to be successful! With current examples of what familiar companies (i.e. Google, Match.com, NetFlix, and GM) are doing (or haven't done) - I was able to identify much easier with this book than standard business texts. Mr. Schroter speaks to our generation of entrepreneurs, and with the end of chapter summaries and recommendations tells us exactly what to do in order to acheive anything. A MUST READ!!

Wil Schroter has done it. And, he has done a great job of writing about it. I am fortunate to know Wil and have discussed this book project regularly as it has been developed. The key to this book is that the advice is fresh, valid, and based on real life experience. Go Big or Go Home is destined to be a bible for any entrepreneur.

Jim Canterucci - Author of Personal Brilliance