In the PBS TV show Money Hunt, would-be entrepreneurs present their business plans to a panel of experts on business launches. Those with good plans get start-up capital. Those without them get nothing, other than maybe a painful lesson or two. Now, the hosts of Money Hunt want you to know the 27 rules of starting a successful new business, rules they've gleaned both from doing the show and from their personal experience--Spencer is an investment banker and venture capitalist, and Ennico is a corporate lawyer and entrepreneur. Between the two of them, they've spent 30 years working with businesses from the ground floor up.
A few of their 27 rules are well known. Take Rule No. 9, for example: "During a gold rush, sell shovels." But Money Hunt gives a surprising example: the company that makes wheels for inline skates. The inline-skate business grew 100 percent a year for five years, but when that business peaked and all the people who were going to start skating already owned skates, who was still profiting? The guy who made the wheels to replace the ones that got worn out. One that's not so well known is Rule No. 25: "It's a business, not a baby." Here, Spencer and Ennico tell the tale of a college kid who started a business designing Web sites in his dorm room, and quickly sold out to a local advertising agency. The kid sensed that the head of the agency was new to the Net, and, if he did any exploring, could easily find someone who did what the kid could do. He knew this was his best shot at big money, and took it. Other rules explore how to deal with people, money, markets, and lawyers, and each is illustrated by a detailed story of real-world business, making Money Hunt the best treasure map an entrepreneur could lay his or her hands on. --Lou Schuler
From Booklist
Spencer and Ennico are hosts of the PBS television show Money Hunt, which began on a cable-access station in Connecticut several years ago and now airs on more than 130 PBS outlets. The program features business start-up hopefuls pitching their ideas to a panel of reviewers that includes successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. After 12 minutes the panelists give either a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. Although an appearance on Money Hunt can be confidence shattering, many learn valuable lessons that enable them to raise capital and start their businesses. Two audiocassette versions of the series have already been released; here the cohosts identify 27 rules that, when they have seen them applied, lead to a successful start-up. They explain each rule and use an example from the program to illustrate its application (or misapplication). Because its advice is much more hard-nosed than the rosy, get-rich-quick platitudes offered by many others, Money Hunt is uniquely valuable. David Rouse
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