A Good Hard Kick in the Ass: Basic Training for Entrepreneurs
Author: Rob Adams
List Price: $25.95
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ISBN: 0609609505
Publisher: Crown Business (29 January, 2002)
Sales Rank: 38,651
Average Customer Rating: 3.94 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Should be mandatory reading for entrepeneurs !
Simply brilliant - highly recommended for anyone planning to start down the difficult road of entrepeneurship using venture capital or trying to grow an existing venture.
I have been an entrepeneur for several years and wish I had read a book similar to A Good Hard Kick....before launching some of my ventures. Nothing I have read to date has provided me with such a crystal clear view and step-by-step approach to being successful in a venture - without the BS and the hype you find in the press. The book convincingly explodes the myth of The Unique Idea, the First Mover Advantage and other common delusions many entrepeneurs have. The market validation technique - is in retrospect a stunningly simple and obvious approach but one consistenty ignored by entrepeneurs who think they "know" their customer and the market. However, after reading the real-life examples of startups who went through this exercise, I would not launch any venture without using this approach. The book also has a step-by-step approach to increasing the valuation of your venture and minimising dilution of equity once you get VC funding. Lots of other good advice, techniques, insights into what it takes to start and grow a successful venture.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A Startup Necessity
I'm told that the best time to start a company is during an economic slowdown. Rents are cheap, people are available, by the time you get going the rebounding economy will help grow sales. Fair enough. If timing is important, Rob Adams' book is a necessity. It gives the practical advice to get your company started with the right foundation and attitude.
As you can guess from the title, Adams' takes a very practical and challenge-conventional-wisdom approach to building a company. He provokes company managers to think critically and objectively about their situations and the decisions they need to make, more as a primer than a textbook.
Organized around nine essential "kicks", Adams covers many of the most common misconceptions about starting businesses and offers his direct advice on ways to achieve success. The book is full of examples from his recent venture capital investing experience and it rings true throughout. Though the book is heavily technology oriented, his thinking can easilyt be applied to all products and services.
It is time to return to basics for creating companies which can survive and grow and this book offers strong and sanguine advice. I recommend it to anyone thinking of starting a business or trying to make one better. As the president of a small company with ambition, I keep his book in my office as a touchstone. You should too.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Excellent book and a must read for entrepreneurs
This is a truly excellent book and a MUST READ! I've actually been taught first hand by Rob Adams over the last 6 months and his insights and wisdom for anybody starting a business is truly eye opening. Rob focuses on the most basic things that most people starting their own companies completely ignore! I personally plan on using this book as a guide as I begin to explore the entrepreneurial world.. Similar Products
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