I am a first time entrepreneur in the CPG field just starting out for my first seed round financing. I have been running my business for 3 years but have recently made the switch from the "mom and pop shop" model to the large growth CPG model. I will update this review once the round is complete to let you know how much of the knowledge was practically useful for me. The reason I have already given it 5 stars is that, regardless of which side of the game you're on (investor or founder), you need to speak the language. This book, for me, has been an invaluable introduction to the "language" of the money-raising business. I have seen some negative reviews on here that I really don't understand. I see people claiming that this book is one-sided or that these guys are just trying to soften up the entrepreneurs so that we are easy prey for the evil VC's of the world. Let me just say....if this book is the ONLY research you do before a financing round, you deserve whatever you get. That being said, this should definitely be in your collection.
To be clear, I do NOT feel smarter than my lawyer or any decent venture capitalists, but I do feel significantly smarter than the version of me who had not read this book. There is a lot of info in the book that you can find in various blogs on the subject across the internet (including Brad's and Jason's) but this book is laid out pretty well and will give you a good starting point for looking things up on the internet. I read this with a notebook next to me so I could take notes on terms I needed to look up and things I wanted to figure out specific to my company. Then I would get on the computer and do searches for any questions on specifics I had.
Additionally, the subject matter is pretty dense for the uninitiated but they approach the writing with a wry wit that I certainly appreciate. They could have dumbed it down a lot more BUT I really appreciate that they didn't. It is very helpful to me the way it was presented because I can reread sections and analyze not just what they were talking about but HOW they talked about it. It has already helped me immeasurably in conversations with potential VC's and angels.
Thanks Brad and Jason!
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Mantosh roy
Crisp, useful, simple, straightforward, relevant
Reviewed in India on July 11, 2015Kae Faeff
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2014
