She made the decision to divide the book by themes rather than by case studies (though there are mini-studies sprinkled throughout) and this serves the book well. She shares her analysis and illustrates her theses by example. I have found this to be rare in the business press which is too often a collection of case studies with minimal connective tissue.
I don't know how Esser won the trust of the entrepreneurs she interviews but she clearly has. And not by promising them rose-colored prose; she respects the technical and financial individuals she writes about without automatically accepting what they have to say at face value.
I've read this book straight through twice and recommended it to my friends - and both technies and money people have enjoyed it. I'd suggest it to anyone who wants to read an insider view of how the high-tech entrepreneur world that is thoughtful and balanced rather than worshipful or cynical.
Teresa Esser's point is that what often seems to happen by happenstance, isn't so random at all. She believes that successful entrepreneurs have put into practice - knowingly or unknowingly - the "ideal" of what she calls "The Venture Café."
One of Esser's subjects, Joost Bonsen (who runs informal networking events in Cambridge, MA), has the book's best take on what a Venture Café is:
"It is a venue for adventurous thinking or a cauldron of creative ferment. Who knows what will pop up from it? In fact, nothing is likely to. But you never know. When it does happen, it does have powerful consequences."
Bonsen goes on to add that his role is to be "a catalyst - some type of connection machine. An engine of introduction. A tangible mechanism by which two people who ought to connect do." Esser spends the book driving to the heart of how best to capture and create the essence of what Bonsen describes.
Let other books tell you how to put together a business plan, how to sell your products, and other "blocking and tackling" elements of a start-up. Teresa Esser's fine work captures a key piece of the puzzle that you you'd be crazy to ignore.