28 Mar 2013

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki

Preview:

What does it take to turn ideas into action? What are the elements of a perfect pitch? How do you win the war for talent? How do you establish a brand without bucks? These are some of the issues everyone faces when starting or revitalizing any undertaking, and Guy Kawasaki, former marketing maven of Apple Computer, provides the answers.The Art of the Start will give you the essential steps to launch great products, services, and companies-whether you are dreaming of starting the next Microsoft or a not-for-profit that’s going to change the world. It also shows managers how to unleash entrepreneurial thinking at established companies, helping them foster the pluck and creativity that their businesses need to stay ahead of the pack. Kawasaki provides readers with GIST-Great Ideas for Starting Things-including his field-tested insider’s techniques for bootstrapping, branding, networking, recruiting, pitching, rainmaking, and, most important in this fickle consumer climate, building buzz.At Apple, Kawasaki helped turn ordinary customers into fanatics. As founder and CEO of Garage Technology Ventures, he has tested his iconoclastic ideas on real-world start-ups. And as an irrepressible columnist for Forbes, he has honed his best thinking about The Art of the Start.

 

“Guy has done it again—evangelized something useful and meaningful. This time, it’s a bottom-up business approach profound in its simplicity: Focus on what’s real and forget the fluff. And, please, read the last chapter first.”

– Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay and co-founder of Omidyar Network

 

“A successful entrepreneur requires three things: a garage, an idea, and this book-Guy’s irrepressible guide to the raw essentials of life in a young company. I wish we could post all this information on Sequoia Capital’s web site because it would make our jobs much easier.”

– Michael Moritz, partner, Sequoia Capital

 

“When God made the universe, He took Guy’s advice and started small and put his whole heart into it. Okay, not everything turned out perfect, but as The Art of the Start makes clear, there are no guarantees, only great opportunities. Read this book and then go do something wonderful.”

– Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm

 

“It is wise to learn from your experience, but it is even wiser to learn from the experience of others. In The Art of the Start, my friend, Guy Kawasaki shares the lesson’s behind the scars of his entrepreneurial adventures and the wisdom he’s gained in the process. Guy offers field tested, practical help to anyone wanting to start a business, an organization, or even a church.”

– Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life

 

“This is a delightful, complete, and consummately practical entrepreneur’s handbook-quintessential Kawasaki. Every person who wants to start a business should read it. And read the footnote on page eight. There’s more good stuff in here, but this alone is worth the price of the book.”

– Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Solution

 

“As useful for the next great not-for-profit as for the next great VC-funded startup. Anyone trying to change the world should read The Art of the Start. I wish it was around when I started Teach For America.”

– Wendy Kopp, president and founder, Teach For America

 

“I have built my business into an internationally famous brand, and yet, after reading this book, I have this nearly uncontrollable urge to chuck my whole business and start all over again. Guy’s book revealed so many things I had never even suspected and shattered so many of my illusions, that it read like a novel. I would love to be the bank for the people who read this book.”

– Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series of books

 

Link:

http://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/

Video of Guy presenting the concepts in the book: http://www.veotag.com/player/?u=fqiufigrjh

 

About the Author:

Guy Kawasaki is the author of twelve books. He was the chief evangelist of Apple. He has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

His latest book is APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur–How to Publish a Book. Kirkus, the toughest reviewer in the business, said this about APE, “Essential reading (and reference) for modern authors, regardless of experience.”

Kawasaki was born and raised in Hawaii. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with Wife 1.0, four kids, one dog, two chickens, three lizards, and two turtles.