Stepping Into Magic - A Handbook For The High Tech Start-Up [Paperback]

Neal J O'Farrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

There is a saying in high tech that most products fall into one of two categories - the prototype and the obsolete. Unfortunately, so do most high tech start-ups. While the failure rate across all start-ups is around one in three, the failure rate amongst high tech start-ups is still as high as nine out of every ten.

Stepping Into Magic is boot-camp for the entrepreneurs behind these ventures, and based partly on the author's own hard-earned experience as a 'nearly made it.' His twelve-man technology start-up beat a consortium of Motorola, RCA and AT&T to the market with a better product, and despite negotiating a first order worth more than $7 million, less than twelve months later the business was out of business.

He has used his seventeen years experience in technology, combined with a three-year study of high tech start-ups in the United States, to produce one of the most comprehensive, compelling, and straight-talking guides to turning a high tech idea into a successful business.

To add to his own experience (and in case you don't take his word for it), the author has included in the book hundreds of 'gems of wisdom' from some of high tech's most successful entrepreneurs, including Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Bill Hewlett: interviews with Bill Gates, and the founders of Yahoo!: and contributions from more than a dozen other experts, including MIT and high tech venture capitalists.

The book addresses in detail all the critical issues the high tech entrepreneur should be aware of, including the nature of technologists as entrepreneurs, funding, marketing, recruitment, intellectual property, venture capital and more. All from the unique perspective of high tech. Chapter 6 looks at the software start-up, and Chapter 10 includes the complete business plan of Dial-a-Fish, winner of the first MIT $50 Entrepreneurship Competition.

While the book includes many facts and statistics on the U.S. experience, the business practices and strategies discussed will be relevant to entrepreneurs in any country in the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Practical, no nonsense advice for the high tech start-up -- Stephen Fleming, General Partner, Alliance Technology Ventures

Stepping Into Magic is a must-have resource for the technology entrepreneur. If you're thinking about starting a technology business, then you'll want to have this book by your side -- Entrepreneurial Edge Magazine

Stepping Into Magic is written from a bird's eye view of high tech start-ups -- Will Clurman, the MIT Entrepreneurship Center

From the Author

"Please enjoy the book, and when you're finished I hope you'll be ready to join the Forbes Club - that exclusive group of high tech entrepreneurs whom Forbes magazine rightly described as "the youngest and best-educated population of rich people in history." Go chase the magic."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Pylon Books, Inc.; 1 edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966243501
• ISBN-13: 978-0966243505
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,479,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a lightweight magazine article, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stepping Into Magic - A Handbook For The High Tech Start-Up (Paperback)

I ordered this book at the same time as "Engineering Your Start-Up : A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur" by Michael L. Baird and "High Tech Start-Up: The Complete How-To Handbook for Creating Successful New High Tech Companies" by John L. Nesheim.

This book is the clear loser of the three. If you can ignore the silly typos (Ann Winblad's name is spelled at least two ways, as is Dell Computer)and strange page layout, you are still left with a book long on pages but short on real information. Lots of sizzle, not much steak.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excelent quick-draw reference for the startup want ta be's, October 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stepping Into Magic - A Handbook For The High Tech Start-Up (Paperback)

The structure provides information and advice that is grounded on the personal experiences of the author as well as the experiences of well known CEOs and technical gurus such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Jerry Yang & David Filo (of Yahoo!) to name a few. I enjoyed the ease of reading provided by the intermingling of humor, the inserted examples of successful startups, and the commentary provided by the who's who of the industry (Software & Hardware) demonstrating that the information had successfully been implemented. The background research, references, resources, and process structure provides a framework that allows the startup business to develop a "checklist" of questions and requirements that need to be addressed. Avoiding many of the assumptions that contribute to the littering of failed startups one finds on the way to success. The Venture Capitalist (VC) chapter provides insight into what the VC is looking for, their attitude, and what they expect out of the deal. The Startup can prepare the RIGHT information that will launch their -"blow the socks off the competition with the most technologically advanced whiz-bang product to hit the market" - company. A new Technology Startup company need's an attitude to keep things moving and a road map to get them where they want to go; "Stepping into Magic" provides the tools, the resources, and the success stories to keep you on track. Where does "Stepping into Magic" belong? In your upper right-hand drawer in the quick draw position. END

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good resource for the entrepreneur, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stepping Into Magic - A Handbook For The High Tech Start-Up (Paperback)

This book has been a page-turner; I got thru half of it in one night. There is a lot of repetition in the book, and that is a good thing. The most valuable parts of the book for me are the pitfalls to avoid (such as being too product focused) and the best ways to get funding. My criticism of this book would be the same I had for Michael Baird's book, only more severe: there is little or no discussion on what one needs to do during the phases of entering into a high-tech startup: part-time stage, seeding stage, first round, etc. Baird goes into this a little bit, but most of the topics of "what you need to do" are lumped together and it is confusing what needs to happen during what stage. For instance, both Farrell's book and Baird's book emphasize hiring a top-notch management team, but neither book goes into any concrete details as to when this should be done. During prototype development (seed stage)? During 1st round? Both books mention that Venture Capitalists may get involved in the pre-prototype round, but there are little specifics about what kind of terms there may be. How much ownership do the Venture Capitalists want? I'd like to see a book like this written targeted specifically at what happens during the various stages high-tech startup (hey, there's a startup idea!) But overall, there was a lot of very good information and advice in this book.