Customer Reviews

Strategic Entrepreneurism: Shattering the Start-Up Entrepreneurial Myths

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book over the last week as I'm about to embark on starting my company. My intent is to start an internet-based business, so this book was definitely seemed n interesting read.

The good:
- Quick, easy read
- Simple and good concepts (ie you *don't* need to be first mover!)

The bad:
- This guy started his own enterprise software company and he wants you to as well. He talks incessantly about the value of an enterprise customer over selling to the consumer space. Yet he doesn't touch on the downside: if you get that one company and they walk you are screwed!

- His examples are not correct a good chunk of the time. For example: he uses Apple as a success model for differentiating from Microsoft by building their own machines, conveniently omitting the fact Apple may have made a HUGE mistake by not licensing their OS to compete with windows from day 1.

- His laser-like focus on acquisition misses another path: grow your successful business and keep running it, or IPO and exit yourself. He highlights the sale exit but cleverly dismisses the others.

- He makes high-level blanket assertions like "build your product with your customer". Okay, great idea. How do I do that? Who do I call? He doesn't touch on the nuts and bolts at all.

I found this book to be useful about 40% of the time, and filled with platitudes the rest. I'm glad I read it at the library.

I worked for a start up that competed directly with Jon's company and basically crushed it in the marketplace. He never even mentioned us and the product he touted was only partially implemented by Wells Fargo, another thing he did not mention. I have been with five different companies that either went from private to public or in one case, the company that crushed Bharosa in the market, got sold. We went from standing start to over 8000 financial institution customers and 100 million users in less than 3 years. But, beyond all of this, the content of the book is so thin, it could have been 50 pages instead of 150. Luckily for me, I read the entire thing while watching a Warriors basketball game during time-outs, other breaks in the action and half-time. The "vision" of going after Wells instead of BofA because Wells was the recognized technology leader is BS since the real reason is that we had already signed BofA. In fact, BofA had surpassed Wells as the web banking technology leader once Wells was acquired by Norwest, with only the name remaining.

Strategic Entrepreneurship does an amazing job of implicitly describing the new way to launch a venture. I am currently launching a high tech business and the info was amazing. I found myself scribbling notes on how the advice related to my business and came away with some great ideas. It was a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only wish I would have read it a little sooner when we were still in the planning stages!

A quick, easy read for the consummate entrepreneur or someone just thinking about starting a company. Shines a light on key questions and steps to help lead a venture to success from the very beginning.

Got this book last week and have spent the last few nights reading it. I am a first time entrepreneur running my start-up for the last two years. I wish I had this book before I started - Fisher understands the start-up landscape and the realities of future exits.

I have read hundreds of business books over my career and this is one of my favorites - great analysis and advice.

If you're an entrepreneur or considering becoming one, buy this book and pay attention while you read it - it is a valuable tool.

This is an awesome book, and I wish I had read it long ago before I co-founded a couple of technology companies. This book is equally valuable to product marketing managers and marketing managers as they assess their markets, and seek to fill the gaps in their offerings.

The biggest premise, and perhaps the best advice is to flip the notion that you need to invent a product or a service FIRST before you find a market. Instead, identify "Holy Grail" types of problems to solve, then find a strategic customer and help them solve that problem. They will help you get the product right with a minimal amount of rework. This premise is pretty much worth the price of the book and the rest of Jon's advice is gravy.

Anyone can launch a company, but few know how to land one. Jon does a great job of explaining the harsh reality of creating a profitable exit for your company.

This is a good starting book to get a budding entrepreneur into the groove of thinking about the various facets of a business model that need attention to get that germ of an idea developing.

Lots of different books on the subject / in the area. This is as good a starting place as any !

I wish I'd found this book 3 years ago, I've been using it like a textbook with my business partner (we make mobile messaging software) for the past 6 months. Jon does a great job of setting the stage for what the IPO market is (or isn't) and gives a step by step plan on how to conceive an idea that has a higher probability of being bought by a larger company.

Even if you're only interested in creating a lifestyle business, his book takes you through the best ways to get started by finding a problem, creating solutions that customers want, collaborating with strategic customers who give your company/product credibility, building the product and then selling it. I've recommended this book to dozens of tech start up founders as well as my business partners at a marketing agency. The book gives specific examples in tech, but the fundamentals can be applied to every industry.

Today's need for capital efficiency makes Jon's book essential reading for all professional angel investors. His masterful explanation of how to focus on strategically selected customers enables entrepreneurs to build Buyers Value, and not just Shareholders Value. His book has prompted our angel group to remember that a great idea is only as important as the size of the problem it solves in the mind of the eventual winning bidder.