Sizing Up a Start-Up: Decoding the New Frontier of Career Opportunities [Paperback]

Daniel Rippy (Author), Matt Kursh (Author), Daniel S. Rippy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

High-stakes compensation and the promise of entrepreneurial excitement are just two reasons technology start-ups are an enormously attractive option for employees on the move. Sizing Up a Start-Up is exactly the book new economy careerists have been waiting for. It clearly presents the frontier of high-potential opportunities that were simply not available just a few years ago and offers practical methods for making well-versed decisions that are unique to the high-tech landscape.Sizing Up a Start-Up shares crucial career guidance from experienced new venture veterans who have worked on the leading edge of some of today's three million U.S. start-ups. It draws valuable insight from the author, a seasoned expert with years of experience in the technology sector. Answering essential questions about new economy business and compensation that provide an insider's insight, Sizing Up a Start-Up is essential information for high tech enthusiasts and for entrepreneurs and investors appraising start-up opportunities.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Daniel Rippy's Sizing Up a Start-Up is a comprehensive guide for anyone considering a job with a freshly minted entry in the realm of the New Economy. Rippy, himself a former employee at a technology start-up, is currently responsible for evaluating new business development opportunities for Johnson & Johnson. He offers step-by-step advice for those weighing the undeniable excitement, meteoric pace, and unlimited promise of the high-tech start-up against the very real risks that invariably go with the territory. To that end, the author includes commentary and counsel from others who have already been there and done that. The book covers just about everything you'll need to decide whether to join the 3-million-plus Americans who've already taken the plunge. Its overview on start-ups in general has tips for figuring out the organizational stage a particular company has reached. There's helpful advice for determining one's tolerance for career risk, along with solid descriptions of techniques that should be brought to bear on any high-tech job search: utilizing interviews, being observant, and reviewing the job offer itself. Rippy can't tell you if a particular job is a good one, but his book can certainly help you logically sort out its benefits and drawbacks. --Howard Rothman

About the Author

Daniel S. Rippy has many years of experience evaluating new economy start-ups. He currently pursues new business development opportunities for Johnson & Johnson. Previously, he held a similar position at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and has worked as a product manager for a software start-up based in Seattle. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073820353X
• ISBN-13: 978-0738203539
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,869,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read for anyone even THINKING of a start up, August 31, 2000

By 

M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sizing Up a Start-Up: Decoding the New Frontier of Career Opportunities (Paperback)

Let me preface this by saying that I'm about as "non-techie" as it gets, and I still found this book extremely readable and interesting. Rippy is an acknowledged expert in the field of tech. start ups and takes both the experienced and the lay business person on a step by step process of the birth (and sometimes death)of these burgeoning companies. Sure, there is always the chance that your IPO will make you a billionaire, but Rippy makes it clear that in more than 90% of all start ups, that is usually far from the case. He does not try to discourage anyone from entering the field, but he does provide realistic tools and methods for evaluating a company's viability at every differrent stage. Like children, these tech. start ups have an organizational birth stage, adolescence, adulthood and death. If you understand the financial implications at every phase, you will be much better equipped to make a decision in this tremendous marketplace. Even for people like me who are just small business oriented, this book provides dozens of insights into the business world, stocks, IPO's, that go beyond the scope of start up companies. In order to keep up with the technological revolution, this book should be required reading for anyone with even an eye towards the business world. The chapters on venture capitalists and the companies they fund make for particularly interesting reading. Mr. Rippy's engaging and knowledgeable style throughout make this book a winner.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different angle than Tom Ashbrook's The Leap, August 21, 2000

By 

Glenn Gutmacher (Norton, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sizing Up a Start-Up: Decoding the New Frontier of Career Opportunities (Paperback)

Compares favorably to the better known recent book describing an Internet startup, The Leap by Tom Ashbrook, which is more of a personal journey and tells you what to expect as a participant.

In contrast, Rippy and Kursh's book gives you more analytical tools to analyze startups (they slant towards Internet startups, but it's still useful for those interested in biotech and other fields). It's not just how much venture capital money that the founders have raised, and the professional expertise of the founders (though those are both important). Before you take The Leap, read a book that actually analyzes it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Risk/Reward, February 13, 2001

By 

Steve Jordan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sizing Up a Start-Up: Decoding the New Frontier of Career Opportunities (Paperback)

From the eyes and experiencial background of a "headhunter" engaged in executive search and a banker in my former life, I found the book a facinating exercise not only for one who is considering whether to take the leap with a START-UP or anyone uncertain with their own career choice. The process developed by Mr. Rippy allows the reader to evaluate and measure their own entrepreneurial instincts and risk tollerance which is applicable in many walks of business both "new" economy and old.

Interviewing is more of an art and than a science, however, the process the author has outined removes the happenstance and should assure a good "fit".

This book is going into my office library for reference to definitions as well as the investment banking terminlogy often confussed. Hats off to Rippey ... Well done!