Customer Reviews

Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity

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I was attracted to this book after hearing the author on a radio interview. For the first time, I heard conclusion after conclusion about entrepreneurship and small business that I myself have long believed but had not been able to articulate -- along with many facts and figures to support those views.

In my family I can trace a history of business ownership and entrepreneurship back over 200 years. My generation were the first to spend our lives as "non-entrepreneurs". I have long concluded that the American secular religion of "small business" and "entrepreneurship" is misplaced and based upon misunderstanding and distortion of fact -- and that in many cases the seductive imperative to "be your own boss" and "own your own business", along with the deliberate falsehoods in the political arena that "small businesses create the most jobs" ignores the reality that most small businesses fail, after failing to ever generate a profit. (So when small businesses fail, what happens to all those jobs that were "created"???)

What most small businesses actually amount to is self-employment -- frequently in the absence of paying jobs, and/or a huge suck-off of hard earned savings -- or perhaps a small windfall or inheritance -- from naive individuals who have neither knowledge nor aptitude for actually starting a successful business. Rather than an engine for growth, unsound attempts a entrepreneurship are often a machine for wealth extraction for the naive and unprepared.

If these comments either intrigue or infuriate you, let me recommend this book to your attention!! Entrepreneurship is commendable and an important part of our society, but it demands an understanding of the risks and requirements. Be prepared!

This book provides information, statistics and an honest discussion around the uneven playing field surrounding entrepreneurial opportunities. It is an important read for potential entrepreneurs, community leaders and elected officials truly interested in how to increase economic development on Main Street. The chapter on Reframing Entrepreneurial Success...and Failure is a game changer. The author has exposed more of the challenges behind the American Dream without dampening the spirit of the Entrepreneur. In truth, this book helps prepare the entrepreneur by exposing the real landscape behind the entrepreneurial journey.

I'm a student interested in social entrepreneurship so I decided to check Invisible Capital. This book was beyond informative! Chris Rabb basically spelled out everything that no one is willing to say about the real nature of entrepreneurship! I have read it twice and it has pretty much changed a lot of perspectives I have always had. I really appreciate the points he brought up about how most people always think it's about hard work and dedication, but down play the real reasons why successful entrepreneurs are able to separate themselves from the majority who fail. After Rabb reframes common misconceptions about entrepreneurship, small busineso ses, and opportunity, he challenges what we think of as "successful" and lays out new definitions and routes of success that reach far beyond profit margins and into our communities and nation as a whole. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is striving to be an entrepreneur.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you are truly serious about being in business for yourself you need to read & research period. I highly suggest starting with "Invisible Capital". It's an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs as well as, well, everyone who works for a living and students who will work for a living.

INVISIBLE CAPITAL: HOW UNSEEN FORCES SHAPE ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY offers a fine analysis of a set of factors that can increase intangible assets for a business. From understanding the real value of this 'invisible capital' to the author's own experience as an entrepreneur and in politics, this offers keys to understanding the phenomenon of invisible capital and its impact on business success or failure. Business collections catering to entrepreneurs will find it compelling.

This was a really insightful book. Chris Rabb makes a compelling argument on why it is so important
for you to take stock of the assets that you have going for you and to leverage them to your benefit in business. Most people tend to overlook those assets in their pursuit of entrepreneurial success. Unfortunately, not taking this step increases the likelihood that your business will 'fail'.

I put 'fail' in quotes because the author used some great examples of how some businesses that looked like 'failures' on the surface were actually a success. He also compelled the reader to expand the definition of success to include more than big houses and fancy cars. Your business should also have social value too.

The author also discussed the political landscape and how it impacts business and the economy. He shatters some commonly held beliefs about economic stimulus and the meaning of small business. Mr. Rabb provides a unique perspective having worked in Washington as an aide and coming from a lineage of entrepreneurs.

Chris Rabb provides a refreshing dose of reality coupled with a belief that ANYONE can think and act like an entrepreneur.
Mr. Rabb agreed with Malcolm Gladwell when he said that the entrepreneur's advantage is primarily ANALYTICAL-he is better at figuring out a sure thing than the rest of us. Most self-help literature would have you believe that the entrepreneur's primary advantage is TEMPERAMENT-- she is braver than the rest of us.

I actually think it's a combination of both because in a recent Forbes Interview with Jay Z, Warren Buffett talked about 'emotional stability' being a key ingredient in his success as an investor. But what really made the difference was he had a head start by having a father who was an investor. So he was exposed to investing at a young age and he was mentored by Benjamin Graham. So by the time Warren Buffet was in his 20s, his ANALYTICAL skills were phenomenal. In fact, he said that he KNEW he was going to be rich.

So what percentage would I give each category? I would say: 65% ANALYTICAL 35% TEMPERAMENT

In this day an age of infomercial con-man telling you that you can be a rich like them, even though you don't have
all their hidden advantages, Chris Rabb stresses the importance of preparation. To be successful as an Entrepreneur, you must be better prepared. One of the best ways to prepare is to serve as an apprentice. Having said that, I give Donald Trump some credit for bringing back the use of the term 'apprentice' with his show because that's the best way to learn your industry and to increase the likelihood that you'll succeed when you start your own enterprise. That's assuming your mentor or master is already successful of course!

So, I highly recommend you read this book so that you can be better prepared to succeed in your entrepreneurial adventures.

Best of luck,

John Hinds
Author of the Amazon Best Seller, What's In Your Water?

How do you explain the high failure rate for new businesses in the US, land of opportunity and the American Dream? A great concept, hard work and seed money often are not enough to ensure success. So says consultant Chris Rabb, who explains that, in addition to economic capital, entrepreneurs need "invisible capital" to succeed. These unseen assets consist of the accumulated knowledge, experience, networks and personal strengths prospective business owners bring to their ventures. Presenting an original idea like invisible capital is a challenge, and Rabb succeeds at times in explaining it through examples, demographic data and academic studies. But his book suffers from his scatter-shot approach, which veers from sociological text to policy analysis to social critique. While alerting readers that this is not a how-to guide, getAbstract finds that the book provides good insights about the myths and realities of "micropreneurship," along with thought-provoking information on why new businesses fail - and how to make yours succeed.

Mr. Rabb's book is a must read for anyone who is serious about getting started in business.

So often we do not realize how much of an advantage we have when we start a business.
Mr. Rabb is a scholar and reviews how relatives, previous work experience, and people who you may not consider businessman can assist one with getting into business. I now think back to my life's experiences and how it can help propel me forward in my business as an Inspirational Speaker.

Well tried, and tested Chris Rabb has an idea of what it take to open, run, and to keep running your business for years to come. It opens your mind.

It gives you traction on the sheer sheet of ice of opening and running a business, that many would lead you to believe in a walk in th park.

Well worth the money, this purchase could save you a lot of time and money and set your sights not only on running a business but a sucessful business that can sustain.

Chris categorizes various forms of financial capital, social capital, cultural capital, and human capital as "invisible capital." He explains why and how people who inherit or luck upon wealthy, prestigious, or powerful families or friends have much easier paths to successful entrepreneurship, all other things remaining equal, than their equally talented, intelligent, industrious, and ambitious peers whose family members or friends can't afford to invest in their ventures, can't afford to pay for their private schools or university tuitions, can't guarantee safety nets will be there if they fail, don't know much about business or law, and don't know many people of influence. In essence, the more invisible capital someone has, the lower his or her barrier to entry to entrepreneurial competitions. Learning more about all the various ways invisible capital influences entrepreneurial competition and all the social science that supports Chris's sociological arguments made this book worth more than a quick skim. This book deserves to be perused.

Entrepreneurs who had to build up our financial capital, cultural capital, and social capital as well as our human capital before we could compete successfully against entrepreneurs who inherited or lucked upon a lot of invisible capital are sure to grasp Chris's argument immediately. Proponents of meritocratic entrepreneurial competition will feel like members of the choir while reading this book. It is a very important contribution. Additionally, it will strengthen arguments I commonly make while having dinner with my professional friends. Now, instead of trying to explain all the hidden and unearned competitive advantages that most of the most successful U.S. entrepreneurs had, especially our tech- and internet-entrepreneurs, I'll just refer friends to Chris's book.

Jose Ortega y Gasset, a 20th Century perspectivist philosopher, famously wrote "Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia" ("I am I and my circumstance")(Meditaciones del Quijote, 1914). Applied to an entrepreneur: I am I and my invisible capital.