Customer Reviews

Start Up: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Launching and Managing a New Business

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

 

 

Many of the startup books I've read lately are dry and cautious. While not very technical, I enjoyed this one because of its encouraging narrative, basic lessons and many real-life examples. As a veteran of four startups myself, I am continuously amazed at how most problems encountered in startups arise from very basic sources that should have been taken care of on day one and are obvious to everyone except those involved. Stolze has the good sense to document such basic ideas as "Pick a leader from day one" or "Know something about your potential market before launching a company." This is a good text to remind you of basics and also provides encouragement for those who may be initially afraid of taking the risks necessary to create their own startup.

This book provides an excellent road map for the budding entrepreneur. While the author clearly sets out rules of the road for success, he also is very forthright in describing the main pitfalls for a startup company.

This book absolutely delivers what it claimed to, although I am not sure that is enough. As a young entrepreneur in the third year of a new business endeavor, I began reading this book expecting to discover the life-changing secrets to turning a small one-man business into a start up company. My disappointment with the book stems from issues of style and readability (rather than actual content). In fact, let me state from the start that the author knows his content. As the book advertises, William Stolze is very capable of describing the pitfalls that young entrepreneurs encounter. If you can make it through the book, you may just learn something. That is a big if...

The latest edition of the book promises fresh content authored by folks with specific expertise that Stolze lacks. It is apparent that Stolze merely adds fresh content every few years without reexamining the existing text. It is like adding fresh lettuce to a wilting salad. You will get a little crunch, but can't help but taste the wilted pages of the former editions. For the sixth edition, I suggest handing the content over to a writing partner who can take Stolze's ideas and make them palatable for mass consumption.

Stylistically speaking, the font is dreadful. It feels extrememly dated and makes the text harder to read. I kept asking myself. "Is this information relevant?" It was, of course, I just wasn't very convinced. Another style issue that bothered me is Stolze's use of Chapters. With 55 chapters in 225 pages, without a strong organizational theme, I felt unsure of where the book was going (or where I had been). Short chapters can be refreshing when reading fiction that follows a traditional linear sequence. However, for an informational text, I expected something that I could highlight and return to as needed. Surely Stolze could have outlined his content before writing the book. Look at the Table of Contents for yourself. Not much of a road map.

I wanted to give the book 5 stars, but I can't. Instead Stolze gets four stars for content, but only two for how he conveys that content. Good content, but it could have been better.