The MouseDriver Chronicles: The True-Life Adventures of Two First-Time Entrepreneurs [Paperback]

John Lusk (Author), Kyle Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2003

It all started late one night at The Ginger Man, a popular restaurant in Dallas, Texas. Using the back of a beer coaster and the bartender's pen, Kyle Harrison, in a moment of inspiration, began sketching an unusual computer mouse, shaped like the head of a driver golf club. He took the idea with him to the Wharton School of Business, where he managed to impress his roommate, John Lusk. Upon graduation, they bravely but somewhat naïvely set forth to launch their company, Platinum Concepts, Inc., and its flagship product, MouseDriver™. Settling in San Francisco in an apartment that doubled as home and worldwide business headquarters, they had a front-row seat to the dot-com boom-watching their classmates rake in piles of cash and stock options, while they financed their venture with their own credit cards.The MouseDriver™ Chronicles is the riveting, one-of-a-kind narrative that chronicles their entrepreneurial journey. It takes us behind the scenes of the authors' tumultuous first two years of business, years marked by endless corporate cold calling, multiple failed attempts to find a distributor, and even a typhoon that derailed their very first shipment of MouseDrivers.A must-read for anyone who wants to start a business or wonders what it is like to do so, The MouseDriver™ Chronicles will inform, inspire, and renew our faith in the American spirit to succeed against all odds.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John Lusk and Kyle Harrison seemed slightly out of their minds when, unlike their fellow MBAs, they skipped on flashy, lucrative offers from dot-coms to become entrepreneurs. Specifically, to produce and sell a computer mouse designed to look like a golf-club head (a state-of-the-art titanium driver to be exact). "I wanted to feel the pain of starting a company," Lusk writes in this clear and insightful memoir, "to go into debt, have my ego crushed and experience first-hand the thrill of working like a dog for months without a paycheck." Since he also expected to make a million in two years, it's not surprising that all these come to pass. The duo struggle with the fundamentals of making and selling, run-ins with typhoons, shabby off-shore manufacturing, and soon dot-com envy sets in. But when the dot-coms start going belly-up, this little-retail-product-company-that-could shows that the basics of business still apply--a handy lesson for those wondering what happened after the dot-com crash, as well as any would-be entrepreneurs wanting to make a go of it. --Lesley Reed --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this unconventional memoir, Wharton graduates Lusk and Harrison (actually, just Lusk; Harrison contributed only the epilogue) tell how they started a company the old-fashioned way: they had an idea, raised some money, then manufactured and sold their product. That product is the MouseDriver, a computer mouse resembling the head of a golf club. Not exactly an earth-shattering concept, but for Lusk and Harrison the product is almost beside the point. Their intent here is to show how, in an age of venture capitalists and "revolutionary" business models, it's still possible for non-dot-commers to start a company and make a buck. They founded Platinum Concepts Inc. in the summer of 1999 and set up shop in their shared loft in San Francisco, then a hi-tech boomtown. Obstacles in the beginning were legion: the first MouseDrivers were prone to falling apart; a typhoon almost wiped out their Hong Kong manufacturer; and retail inexperience caused them to miss the Christmas rush. But they persevered, and within 18 months had made $600,000 in sales and moved 50,000 units. Not quite GE, but not a failure either. The authors argue that almost anyone can achieve this kind of modest success; it just takes intelligence, determination and a good idea (although an MBA probably doesn't hurt). Though the book is occasionally less than enlightening (a blow-by-blow account of a Sony Playstation session is unlikely to help budding entrepreneurs), on the whole Lusk and Harrison provide solid, entertaining insights into how to start a business. This is a refreshing alternative to the recent wave of narcissistic dot-com memoirs. (Jan.)Forecast: The authors were the subject of a cover story in Inc. magazine in February, and have been covered widely in golf magazines. That, and a splashy jacket, may help buyers pick up their book. It will mainly appeal to ambitious young entrepreneurs especially those who've had it with the dot-com life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738208019
• ISBN-13: 978-0738208015
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for all entrepreneurs or aspiring leaders, January 12, 2002

By 

Brett A. Hurt (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The MouseDriver Chronicles (Hardcover)

I am a lifelong student of leadership and the Chairman of Coremetrics, a San Francisco-based company that I started almost three years ago. As a reader of dozens of books on leadership, I simply could not put this book down.

I graduated from Wharton with Kyle and John and know them well. But don't let that fact discount my review. The closest books to "The MouseDriver Chronicles" are "Startup", by Jerry Kaplan; "The Monk and the Riddle", by Randy Komisar; and "Burn Rate", by Michael Wolff. All three of these books are insightful reads, but if you only have time to read one book on entrepreneurship, "The MouseDriver Chronicles" is your best bet.

"Startup" isn't as personal and the key insight is that market timing is critical. "Burn Rate" is as personal and funny, but the key insight is that Michael Wolff isn't cut out to be an entrepreneur (and, worse, he doesn't realize it - if you read it, you'll understand what I mean). And "The Monk and the Riddle" is too fictitious, "dot comish", and "on the surface".

"The MouseDriver Chronicles" is the first book I have ever read that gives a truly open and honest view about what real entrepreneurship is about. Kyle and John started MouseDriver from ground zero with the right attitude. As lifelong students of leadership, Kyle and John provide the reader with valuable insights. "The MouseDriver Chronicles" is a personal tale that will remind you of a fireside conversation with friends. Often funny, often serious, and always real. Whether you aspire to be an entrepreneur or just want to read about what it's like, this is a great read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Bootstrap - A Business Parable of Truth and Humor, February 21, 2002

By 

M. Laessig (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The MouseDriver Chronicles (Hardcover)

A real-life account of two young smart entrepreneurs with sterling educational credentials (MBAs from the Wharton School of Business) who start a business in an industry that they know nothing about. It's a tale told with insight, pace, and self-deprecating humor that will teach you a lot of lessons about being a small-business entrepreneur. After an era in which everybody focused on VC-funded companies seeking to dominate multi-billion dollar markets, it's refreshing to read a story that reminds you about the boostrap process of the great majority of American businesses. As a former small-business founder myself, many of their lessons and observations hit home with me, and I think this book represents a great education in the perils and pitfalls of taking a business idea from concept to fruition. Whether you are considering starting a business yourself or just enjoy reading a well-written story that will make you laugh, I'd rate The Mousedriver Chronicles as a must-read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greg Fisher, March 22, 2005

By 

G. Fisher (South Africa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The MouseDriver Chronicles: The True-Life Adventures of Two First-Time Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

The Mousedriver Chronicles is the story of 2 Wharton MBA's who take a business plan developed on their entrepreneurship course at Wharton and decide to make a go of it. In 1999 they turn away high paying jobs at investment banks and over funded dot.com startups to go it alone.

Their idea: to make and sell a computer mouse that looks like the head of a golf driver.

They fund the venture themselves, find a manufacturer in Hong Kong, move to San Francisco (to be part of all the start up vibe in The Bay area) and run the business from the kitchen of their rented flat.

Their story is brilliantly relayed as they grapple with manufacturing, marketing and distribution hassles. The single product focus of their new company, named Platinum Concepts Inc., makes for a wonderful entrepreneurial story with excellent lessons about what it takes to succeed as a self funded start up. The two founders quickly learn that they need more than the theoretical knowledge acquired on their MBA at Wharton; they need to be street wise. They experiment with different mechanisms to make things happen and end up categorizing their execution strategies as follows:
Plan A: Make use of their business school network and contacts
Plan B: Hit the streets and the shops to find a creative solution
Plan C: Work the Yellow Pages

More often than not, plan B and C worked far better than plan A.

One of the founders, John Lusk, began sharing their entrepreneurial adventure with friends and family via a monthly email called "The Insider". The Insider was a real, often humorous, sometimes highly insightful newsletter about their adventure. The insider subscriber list grew and grew. MBA lecturers began distributing The Insider as prescribed reading. In 2001 Inc. Magazine featured a cover story on the company and its two founders. The Inc. cover story entitled "An American Start-up" focuses on the impact of The Insider e-mail newsletter. The email newsletters were used as the foundation for the book published in 2001 entitled The "Mousedriver Chronicles".
The company has since been shut down but the Mousedriver website still serves as a portal for entrepreneurs and copies of The Insider newsletter can be found in PDF format on the website: www.mousedriver.com