From the Inside Flap
Even with all of the resources that today's entrepreneurs have access to, the chances of getting a company off the ground and then having it succeed are slim at best. But if you're one of the fortunate few who manage to get your startup off the runway, building and leading your own company can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.Nobody understands this better than coauthors Jeff Scheinrock and Matt Richter-Sand. Now, with The Agile Startup, they share the lessons they've learned over the years while founding startups, working with early-stage companies, and consulting with entrepreneurs.
Engaging and accessible, this reliable resource is for every kind of entrepreneur, from those just starting out to the established early-stage CEO. It quickly shows you how to dodge painful, common, and avoidable mistakes and get your startup in a position to prosper. Through the hundreds of startup lessons found here, you'll be exposed to the latest ideas, philosophies, frameworks, and best practices for entrepreneurship in today's dynamic global markets. You'll gain valuable insights on essential issues, including:
- Reducing your risk by turning assumptions into facts as quickly as possible
- How to put together a powerhouse founding team and the best way to make partnerships work
- Using your competition to gain an advantage, breaking down a market, and effectively acquiring customers
- Perfecting your startup pitch, from getting your audience to understand your idea in less than three seconds to a surprisingly simple way to figure out if your pitch is working
- How to find the perfect investors and determine if you even need one in the first place
- Transitioning from the "feasibility" stage of the Entrepreneur's Lifecycle to actual business building activities
- And much more
And in an effort to maximize the value you'll get from this book, the authors have stamped every lesson with one or more of the six stages of the Entrepreneur's Lifecycle—the distinct stages every entrepreneur goes through—from pre-idea to scale. This will allow you to quickly get through the book if you're strapped for time, like most entrepreneurs are, and need to focus on a specific situation.
Filled with time-tested strategies and crucial lessons from both successful ventures and those that have risen from the ashes of failed ideas, The Agile Startup will put you in a better position to excel at this demanding endeavor and help you to start living your entrepreneurial dream.
Be sure to visit www.agilestartup.com, where the authors frequently post new startup strategies. The site also contains many other timely tools and tactics for the avid entrepreneur.
About the Author
JEFF SCHEINROCK is currently a Continuing Lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is also President and CFO of the venture investment firm Originate. Scheinrock has personally raised over $1 billion in venture capital, served as the chief investment officer of a fund-of-funds, and helped take Packard Bell from inception to over $7 billion in annual revenue. He has negotiated in excess of $1 billion in bank debt and $3 billion in trade credit from companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Tatung, Lite-On, and Seagate. Scheinrock also handled the negotiation and structuring of many acquisitions, including Zenith Data Systems and Ark Interface Software, among others.
MATT RICHTER-SAND is a serial entrepreneur, having launched three businesses. An Air Force veteran, he earned an MBA from UCLA before spending two years as a venture capitalist. Currently, he mentors entrepreneurs and is actively building his third startup.