Customer Reviews

High Tech Start Up Revised and Updated: The Complete Handbook for Creating Successful New High Tech Companies

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's true that this book is dated. It was written in 1992, and covers NOTHING after 1991, except for thinly disguised attempts to make the book appear more recent- the copyright is 1997, and there are new pages added with info on Yahoo and Netscape.

That said, even if there was another good book on this subject out there, published in 1999, I would still recommend this book. The reason is simple. The information it contains is too important to miss. The book is very well-researched and well-written. If the authors did come out with a second edition that covered the 90s companies- in particular the dotcoms- I would still recommend buying this book, unless the second edition includes (or a meaningful comparison with) the information contained in this book, to put things in perspective. While looking at the valuations of dotcoms would be very interesting and useful, I believe you'll get a skewed picture unless you also have the pre-dotcom era data, to give you a realistic expectation of the potential of your own company.

If the title was "Managing and Financing Your Startup", I would not have been disappointed. It seems that Nesheim's central message is to find an experienced CEO, and push constantly to get financing.

Nesheim is so insistent on this point that he basically ignores the critical, fundamental question of market assessment: how to determine whether the product is desirable and whether the company has a true "unfair advantage". It seems that Nesheim is more focused on a successful IPO and exit for the funders than on developing a viable business.

As I read the book, I thought of companies like Webvan. Webvan would be successful in Nesheim's view: experienced management, seasoned directors, and well financed. But history showed that they had a product that was too expensive for the marketplace, and they are gone. While Nesheim does not cite Webvan, he does offer other success stories that have fallen far from their initial valuations: DoubleClick, Netscape, and SGI.

Given that, I have a hard time trusting this book. The prettiest forecasts are meaningless unless they are based on a solid product and a solid competitive advantage. And here, Nesheim offers virtually no guidance.

Nesheim's book is Nesheim's business. He has written a primer on entrepreneurship, from the VC perspective, and is providing basic information that can be garnered for free from the Internet or any small business development center or university incubator in the country. Among other texts, this one may prove useful in the classroom for the purpose of critical analysis, but it can be misleading to entrepreneurs who need to have a fuller picture. Unimpressive are such entries as: ". . .a famous university study showed that sixty-nine disk drive start-up companies got rolling during the heyday of the personal computer, around 1983. . .(p. 45). Nesheim also takes a VC stance against non-disclosure agreements between VC's and their prospective clients. There are plenty of us in the technology start up business who vehemently disagree. The NDA is a useful tool, not necessarily to protect from infringement as much as to signify good faith. They can be, and have been enforceable as well. Nesheim's book also neglects any discussion of incubators as viable locations in which to begin a business--in spite of his acknowledgement that start up costs and overhead can be tough on new businesses. Again, his lack of understanding of incubation seems to stem from his VC perspective. VC's are more familiar with the more recent 'accelerator' phenomenon of the dot coms--VC portfolios in a building if you will--which lasted all of about 12 months this last year and came crashing with the NASDAQ. Mr. Nesheim has taught one or two online classes via the Internet as a visiting lecturer to Cornell University. He spends most of his time travelling throughout Europe and Asia selling his text and talking to would be entrepreneurs. His text is his product and his Silicon Valley address is what he would call "his unfair advantage", particularly to unsuspecting listeners in foreign lands.

Having worked with dozens of entrepreneurs, I know that most of them ask the same questions during the very early stages; this book answers most of them.

"High Tech Start Up" provides a practical, real-world view at the complex process of forming the company (beyond just the simple incorporation process), preparing yourself legally, developing the business plan, assembling a team, and then raising the capital. This book is truly an "A-to-Z" reference guide that belongs on every entrepreneur's bookshelf.

Author Nesheim's only shortcoming with this work is that little time was dedicated to the very important process of answering key questions about any start-up: What problem do you solve? For whom? Will they pay to have it solved for them? How can you leverage that ability into a long-term business? And so forth...

My suggestion is that the true first-time, early-stage entrepreneur read "Entrepreneur America" before reading anything else. This book provides a "bigger picture" overview and causes the reader to critically assess the business model. Once all of the "assignments" from "Entrepreneur America" are complete, the reader can then move on to "High Tech Start Up" for a more detailed look at the business and capital formation processes.

There is no doubt that this book fits the bill. It goes into sufficient details so that the reader understands startups and how they can grow into thriving companies. Notable emphasis is on strategy and making good decisions from day one.

I also recommend a useful and well-regarded companion book that would work well as you build a company that needs the full help of its employees during startup: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills."

I took Nesheim's course at my school. I feel like the book is there mainly for him to make money off the students. I don't know if the business book genre is all like this, but the font is double spaced and large. You could shrink it to 120 pages and make it paperback since the book isn't worth the suggested $50.

Most of the information is common sense, but it's unlikely someone would think of everything by themselves. The book focuses mainly on raising money to lead the company to IPO so it's not a "complete handbook" per se. Nesheim's emphasis is on how to write the business plan and developing a realistic idea of the situation including the personal costs.

The idea of unfair advantage which is so central to a start-up isn't well explained and there aren't any good examples in the book. However, in person, he explains this much better and with examples.

I'd recommend this book for getting an idea of what to expect in a start-up, how to raise funds, and how to write the business plan, but not as a complete guide for starting a company. It's overpriced so get it used or from a library.

The updated version is even better than the original edition, yet all the information that made the original so valuable has been retained. As a source for insider tips and real-world advice for high-tech entrepreneurs, the book is unequaled. The book is crisply and succintly written. Everyone interested in high-tech entrepreneurship should have a copy.

I'm really glad I read this book while interviewing with a dot.com start-up. Helped me to ask many of the right questions, reassured me that the managment team knew what they were doing and helped me identify weaknesses that I would have to overcome for the company if hired. I was.

A very easy, articulate and well thought out book. I encourage any and all. Money well spent.

Here's the bottom line. If you are thinking of starting your own company, you'd be crazy not to buy this book. Consider it your first expense.

Even with a "revised and updated" version, most of the data used is at least 5 years old, but that doesn't make the book any less useful. Entrepreneurs should not use book as a guide when setting valuations, but as you sit at your kitchen table and ponder whether to take the plunge, READ THIS BOOK!

Chapters 3 (The Process of Forming the Company), 5 (Preparing the Business Plan), 6 (The Team), and 8 (Personal Rewards and Costs) are must reads.

The book will force you to think through your assumptions, your business plan, your revenue model, your motivations, and just about everything else you might not have considered while mentally spending your IPO riches.

If you are not planning on starting your own company, don't spend the money. It won't give you any new insight into the startup world, unless you are trying to understand your founder CEO a little better.

Regardless of where you are in the startup process, this is a must have. It shows its' age, but fundementally, the book is right on. You simply can not afford to not have this book if you are even considering starting a .com company, or if you becoming involved in one. Don't agree with it all, but the fact is, the people you will deal with tend to, so.... In the investment timeline of your company, you can not afford to not have this book. Even negative intelligence has great value. Put a lot of perspective to a number of business situations I have encountered in real life. Trust me. Get it.