2008-07-31

The Art of the Start

by Guy Kawasaki

This is a book on how to get a startup off the ground.

It's good in the sections where he relates his industry experience about dealing with venture capitalists. I especially like his advice to "tell new lies", not the same projections and claims they hear over and over, to work out the details in partnering contracts in person before committing anything to paper, and to be able to nail the essence of what you do in one short sentence. (Compare with Amazon's Jeff Bezos "We make electricity so that you don't have to." and "Pay by the drink".)

Other than that, it's flaky. His advice about how to run things is loaded with platitudes. His overall tone is that of a promoter and evangelist, not that of someone with experience in getting things done. He makes mistakes that show he never put his own advise to the test: For example, his advice on the powerpoint slides for pitching to VCs is that you should always use only 10 slides, take 20 minutes, and use 30 point text. That will go very well with a slide on Competition, where he tells you to "provide a complete view of the competitive landscape".

The best thing about the book is the opening quotation by Halford E. Lucckock:
Many years ago Rudyard Kiepling gave an address at McGill University in Montreal. He said one striking thing which deserves to be remembered. Warning students against an over-concern for money, or position, or glory he said: "Some day you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are."

The quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower is also good:
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensible.

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