Index
achievement orientation, 43, 56–57, 63, 194–195, 198–199
adversity, 68–69, 79, 154, 198
advocacy, 159–160
agility, 125–148
learning curve, new venture, 134–148, 137f, 138f
paradox of strong execution, 128–134
resources and readings, 211
unforgiving strategy vs., 47
Ali G (fictional character), 135–136
alignment, 73–74, 146, 201, 206
All Marketers Are Liars (Godin), 87
ambition, see entrepreneurial ambition, sparks of
Apple Computer, Inc.
agility, 126–127
partnerships, 92, 108–109, 175–176
reality distortion field, 34
reinventing original concept, 82
Archimedes, 10
Art of the Start, The (Kawasaki), 30
attaching
committing without, 130–131
persevering without, 187–189
Audia, Pino G., 8
Barker, Colin, 35
Baron, Robert, 31–32
Batson, C. Daniel, 155–156
beliefs, reinforcement for, 15–16
Bell, Kathy, 17
Bhide, Amar, 181
book
audience for, xv
contents of, xv–xviii
purpose of, xiii–xv
using, xviii–xix
bottom-up forecasting, 31
Bricklin, Dan, 7
Bridges, William, Transitions, 76
business model–level iterations, 142
business plans, 105, 107 see also planning
business seasoning/exposure, general, 67–68, 197–198
cage-rattlers, 157
candor, 165–166
capabilities, assessing, 115, 204
Carlzon, Jan, Moments of Truth, 91
Caro, Anthony, 133
Carr, Nicholas, The Shallows, 186
cash flow, 120–122
Cassidy, Shaun, 131–134
Charan, Ram, Every Business Is a Growth Business, 117
cognitive biases, 39–42, 130, 149–150
Collins, Jim, 162
Good to Great, 167
commercial orientation, 63, 198
commitment
beliefs, reinforcement for, 15–16
creation, bonding power of, 14
fanning flames of, 13–19
Motivational Media, 17–19
stories of, 3–5
support from others for your idea, 16–17
time, 74
without attachment, 130–131
communication, integrity of, 149–167
assessing, 205
basics, 153–161
conversations, raising quality of, 157–160
feel-good bubble, tools for bursting, 161–167
good feelings vs. progress, 153–154
integrity, cultivating, 155–156
overcommunicating, 160–161
reality distortion vs., 47, 150–153
resources and readings, 212
smart people, surrounding yourself with, 156–157
competitive advantage, 100–101
competitors, 99–100
confirmation bias, 40
control, illusion of, 41
conversations, raising quality of, 157–160
core concept, developing, 112–115
Court Square Ventures, see Holden, Chris
creation, bonding power of, 14
creativity/innovation, 43, 61, 196
Crenshaw, Dave, The Myth of Multitasking, 186
Crisp, Doug, 12–13, 151–152, 156, 166
crowdsourcing, 115
customers
investing to acquire, 91–92
launching close to, 171–173
understanding their experience, 93
Daedalus (Greek mythology), 23, 103–104
Dagher, Grace, 184
Darley, John M., 155–156
data, valuing, 158
decision making, 147–148
Decision One Mortgage (D1), see Faulkner, J.C.
Dell, Michael, 174–175
DePaulo, Bella, 17
Djerassi Resident Artists Program, 134
DriveSavers, 172
Dürckheim, Karlfried von, 79
entrepreneurial ambition, sparks of, 6–13
dissatisfaction, 8–10
early foundations, 6–8
eureka moment, 10–12
point of no return, 12–13, 171
entrepreneurial experience, past, 68, 197
entrepreneurial passion, see passion
entrepreneurial personality, 62–65, 198–199
escalation of commitment, 42, 130
escaping from something, as motivation, 59, 195–196
eureka moment, 10–12
Every Business Is a Growth Business (Charan and Tichy), 117
execution
assessing, 204–206
lessons using four-quadrant framework, 146
paradox of strong, 128–134
exercise, 185
experience and skills, 65–70, 90, 197–198
experiments/pilots, 148
Eyring, Matthew J., 173–174, 176, 177
facts, vs. opinions, 147–148
failure rates, startup, 51
family support/alignment, 73–74, 201
Faulkner, J.C.
commitment, 4
communication, integrity of, 150–153, 156–157, 158, 160–161, 164, 165–166
decision making, 40
dissatisfaction, 9–10
as early leader, 7
founder readiness, 53–54, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70, 77–78
planning, 108
point of no return, 12–13
reality distortion field, 35–36
staying power, 173, 178, 179, 180
feature-level iterations, 137, 139
feel-good bubble, tools for bursting, 161–167
Ferris, Tim, 60
figure-ground illusion, 85–86, 85f
financial keys, 116–122
financial motivations, 57–58, 72–73, 196
fire, feeding your, 182–183
First Union Corporation, 12–13, 53, 172, 173
flash report, 121
flexibility, preserving, 148
Forbes, Malcolm S., 162
forecasting, 30–31
founder misalignment, 26–27, 46 see also founder readiness
founder readiness, 51–79
entrepreneurial personality, 62–65
examples, 53–54
founder misalignment vs., 46
improving, 55
passion, purifying, 76–79
positioning yourself for high performance, 71–76
reasons and goals, clarifying, 56–62
relationships and resources, leveraging, 70–71
resources and readings, 207–208
skills and experience, 65–70
staying power and, 183
four-quadrant framework, 128–129, 129f, 143–146, 193f
friends, starting business with, 60
Gaidano, Scott, 172
gestation/product development phase, planning in, 106
Gilbert, Clark G., 173–174, 176, 177
goals
achievable, focusing on, 184–185
assessing, 197
financial, 72–73
Godin, Seth, All Marketers Are Liars, 87
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 19
Goltz, Jay, 32
good feelings, vs. progress, 153–154
Good Samaritan study, 155–156
Good to Great (Collins), 167
Graham, Paul, 42, 74, 86–87, 154, 184–185
Growing a Business (Hawken), 122
Hagan, Jay, 172
Harris, Sam, 15
Hastings, Reed, 176
Havel, Vaclav, 167
Hawken, Paul, Growing a Business, 122
health and personal capacity, 74–75, 199
Hertzfeld, Andy, 34
higher calling/mission, 58, 195
Hmieleski, Keith, 31–32
Holden, Chris, 54, 57, 68–69, 82–83, 154
Home Free Mortgage, 35–36, 151–153, 164, 166 see also Faulkner, J.C.
humility, 163–164
hurriedness, 155–156
Icarus myth, 23–24, 42–44, 103–104
Ice Cream Glove, 135–136
identity-level iterations, 138, 143
Illusions of Entrepreneurship, The (Shane), 51, 170
improvement, pushing for, 133
IMVU (virtual chat and social networking site), see Ries, Eric
independence/self-reliance, 43, 56, 63, 194, 198
industry/professional/technical experience, 65–66, 197
innovation/creativity, 43, 61, 196
Innovation Institute, 131
integrity, cultivating, 155–156 see also communication, integrity of
Intuit “Just Start” campaign, 18
investing to acquire customers, 91–92
involvement, targeted, 158–159
Isenberg, Daniel, 157
iteration cycle, 136–137, 137f
iterations
business model–level, 142
product/service-level, 139–140
strategy-level, 141–142
systems/processes-level, 140–141
Ivey, Lynn
agility, 140
beliefs, reinforcement for, 16
commitment, 3
communication, integrity of, 163
confirmation bias, 40
creation, bonding power of, 14
eureka moment, 10–12
market orientation, 96–97, 98, 100
math story, 120
missing the market, 28–30
planning, 109–110
point of no return, 12
support from others, 17
unforgiving strategy, 33–34
Ivey, The, see Ivey, Lynn
Jobs, Steve, 25, 34–35, 81, 127
Kahn, Mark
commitment, 4
communication, integrity of, 154
founder readiness, 54, 66, 67, 68–69
math story, 114
point of no return, 12
Kawasaki, Guy, The Art of the Start, 30
launching close to customer, 171–173
law of small numbers, 40–41
leadership experience, 67, 197
learning curve, new venture, 134–148
four-quadrant framework, lessons using, 143–146
iteration as driver for learning, 135–137, 137f
iteration cycle levels, 137–143, 138f
tough calls, making, 147–148
Left-Hand Column exercise, 151, 159
lifestyle motivations, 59–60, 195
Lincoln, Abraham, 122
Loehr, Jim, 185
“The Making of a Corporate Athlete,” 75
The Power of Full Engagement, 75
logic, 104–105 see also funding; math story; planning
Low Risk, High Reward (Reiss), 116
Macher, Ken, 151–152, 153, 157–158
“Making of a Corporate Athlete, The” (Loehr and Schwartz), 75
margin, in return equation, 117–118
market
emphasizing your, 85–87
knowing your, 87–90
lessons using four-quadrant framework, 144–145
missing the, 27–30, 46 see also market orientation
market analysis, 89–90
market opportunity, 58–59, 91–96, 196, 202
market orientation, 81–101
assessing, 201–203
developing, 83–96
emphasizing your market, 85–87
executing on market opportunity, 91–96, 202
knowing your market, 87–90
market scrub, 96–101
missing the market vs., 46
resources and readings, 208–209
market risk, 174–175
market scrub, 96–101
marketing and sales experience, 66, 90, 197
Maslow, Abraham, 72
math story, 110–122
core concept, 112–115
financial keys, 116–122
lessons using four-quadrant framework, 145–146
resources and readings, 209–210
rose-colored planning vs., 46–47
Startup Readiness Tool, 203–204
Matthews, Linda, 184
McClure, Dave, 5
meetings, 160–161
mission/higher calling, 58, 195
Modality (company), see Williams, Mark
Moments of Truth (Carlzon), 91
Motivational Media, 5, 17–19, 153
motivations for starting business, 56–61, 77, 194–196
Myth of Multitasking, The (Crenshaw), 186
Netflix, 176
Netter’s Anatomy, 126, 127, 139
Newberg, Andrew, 15–16
NeXT Computer, 34–35
Norrod, James D., 81
numeracy, 116
O’Keefe, Nate, 139
OmniMedia, 68–69
operational risk, 176–177
opinions, vs. facts, 147–148
oscillation, 185–187
Osher, John, 32
17 Mistakes Startups Make, 162–163
overcommunicating, 160–161
overconfidence/illusion of control, 41
Owens, Nancy, 179–180
pain pills, vs. vitamins, 97
partnerships, 92–93
passion
balancing with logic, 104–105
connecting, 77–78
directing, 79
as fuel for success and failure, 5–6
negative impacts of, 26–37
overview, xii–xiii
as reinforcement for beliefs, 15–16
strengthening, 78–79
understanding, 76–77
passion trap, 23–47
cognitive biases, 39–42, 130, 149–150
defined, xvi
described, 25
iteration cycle compared to, 137
market scrub as antidote to, 96–101
negative impacts of entrepreneurial passion, 26–37
overcoming, 46–47
vulnerability to, 42–44
warning signs, early, 44–45
perch management, 131
performance
balancing with recovery, 185–187
positioning yourself for, 71–76
persevering without attaching, 187–189
personal capacity and health, 74–75, 199
personality, entrepreneurial, 62–65, 198–199
personalizing business, 77–78
personnel, relying on as operational risk, 176–177
pilots/experiments, 148
planning, 105–110
examples, 108–110
matching to startup phase, 106–107
overview, 105–106
rose-colored, 30–32, 46–47 see also math story
point of no return, 12–13, 171
potential, looking through lens of, 131–134
Power of Full Engagement, The (Loehr and Schwartz), 75
private placement memorandum (PPM), 109
pro forma financial projections, 118–120
product/service-level iterations, 139–140
products, minimum viable, 139–140
profit margin, 117–118
profitability dynamics, 116–118
progress, vs. good feelings, 153–154
reality distortion, 34–36, 47, 150–153 see also communication, integrity of
reasons for starting business, 56–61, 77, 194–196
recovery, balancing with performance, 185–187
Reiss, Bob, 121
Low Risk, High Reward, 116
relationship risk, 175–176
relationships, leveraging, 70–71, 200
representativeness, 40–41
resources
committing wisely, 179–181
estimating, 115
resources and readings, 207–214
agility, 211
communication, integrity of, 212
founder readiness, 207–208
general, 213–214
market orientation, 208–209
math story, 209–210
staying power, 213
return equation, 117–118
revenue crisis, 94–96
Rider, Christopher I., 8
Ries, Eric, 135–136, 137, 139–140
risk
managing, 173–177
market, 174–175
operational, 176–177
relationship, 175–176
taking, 43–44
Rock, Arthur, 147
see also staying power
sales and marketing experience, 66, 90, 197
sales shortfalls, 94–96
Schultz, Howard, 153
Schwartz, Tony
“The Making of a Corporate Athlete,” 75
The Power of Full Engagement, 75
scrutiny, 166–167
Segway Personal Transporter, 81–82, 100–101
self-reliance/independence, 43, 56, 63, 194, 198
settling too soon, 133
17 Mistakes Startups Make (Osher), 162–163
Shallows, The (Carr), 186
Shane, Scott, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship, 51, 170
“shipping code,” 139
skills and experience, 65–70, 90, 197–198
skydiving metaphor, xi–xii
Slim, Pamela, 78
small numbers, law of, 40–41
smart people, surrounding yourself with, 156–157
Snuggie blankets, 136
social/community motivations, 60, 195
spending wisely, 179–181
Starbucks Coffee, 97
startup agility, see agility
startup phase, matching planning to, 106–107
Startup Readiness Tool
execution questions, 204–206
founder questions, 194–201
four-quadrant framework, 193f
market questions, 201–203
math questions, 203–204
orienting questions, 193–194
startup statistics, 51–52
staying power, 169–189
evaporating runway vs., 47
founder-level strategies, 181–189
resources and readings, 213
venture-level strategies, 170–181
“still life effect,” 42
Stockdale, James, 167
strategic agility, 141
see also agility
strategy, unforgiving, 32–34, 47
see also agility
strategy and business model, 113–115, 141–142
success, defining, 112–113
support from others, 16–17
Swedish Air Service (SAS), 91
systems and processes, 140–141, 146
tank, refilling your, 79
technology, 205
Tichy, Noel, Every Business Is a Growth Business, 117
time availability and commitment, 74
top-down forecasting, 30–31
TRAFFIQ, see Kahn, Mark
Transitions (Bridges), 76
trust, building, 156
Tucker, Bob, 78, 161, 166, 179, 180
Ulrich, Karl, 100–101
urgency, sense of, 155–156
velocity, in return equation, 117–118
vitamins, vs. pain pills, 97
Whyte, David, 9
Williams, Mark
commitment, 3–4
communication, integrity of, 165
eureka moment, 10
experience, early, 8
founder misalignment, 26–27
market orientation, 92, 98, 99
math story, 114–115
partnerships, 92
planning, 108–109
staying power, 175–176, 179–180, 180–181, 185–186
work experience and training, 65–66, 197
Wu, Sibin, 184
Y Combinator, see Graham, Paul