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

• Light a fire under your business

  
  By A9P07NJ7UV0M on 2004-10-29
  The book makes a big promise with its sub-title, "The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything." I wondered if such a book could live up to it. "Starting anything" refers to a business, not a career, school, or hobby.
  
  Obviously, it's impossible to create a comprehensive book of business best practices because every business has its own variables. What works great for one may kill another. However, the book doesn't take that approach. Rather, it tells how it is starting a business and the rough road of dealing with VCs (venture capitalists). If you expect a positive spin on stuff that's hard to do. Read a fairy tale instead.
  
  Rather than abrasiveness and a "do this, don't do this" attitude, Kawasaki uses humor to explain the process. Anyone who has a small business including those around for a few years will benefit. When ready to take action, use this book as the manual that doesn't come with starting a business. Thinking about it isn't going to make a business successful.
  
  Every chapter begins with the GIST of it, an overview of what's to come. Each ends with FAQ, frequently AVOIDED questions, to review the chapter's content and drill it in deeper for better understanding and implementation.
  
  Get simple, but important hints on everyday business practices such as how to give a strong presentation. How many times have you sat through a presentation where each slide has over 20 words in size 12 point and the presenter practically reads the words adding little to what is on the slide? Kawasaki smartly covers the 10-20-30 rule. 10 slides, 20 minutes, and size 30 font. Making changes to the small practices can lead to reaching the next milestone.
  
  This book can be likened to a quick reference guide for starting a business and useful strategies: has just what is needed without heavy-duty or dry language. It is, however, larger than most quick guides, but a fast and easy read into the world of startups and dealing with VCs. If a VC isn't involved, the book provides valuable tools and ideas to help with any business. However, technology start ups seeking VCs will benefit most.
  
  Stuck on a business plan? Learn what is needed and not needed. Don't waste valuable time and use the book to do what's necessary without going overboard.
  
  If long hours and challenges aren't in the plans, then read a romanticized business book instead. The Art of the Start shows how it really is and it's hard, but it can be a little easier with this book as a guide.
  
  Get a taste of the book by reading its manifesto (http://www.changethis.com/1.ArtOfTheStart), a free PDF download. The 34 page document should give you a clear idea of whether or not the book is for you as it includes the same components found in the book. As a bonus, the manifesto includes Great Ideas for Starting Things, covered in the first chapter. If the material and the table of contents sound enticing, get it.
  
  

• For venture capital seekers and corporate employees only

  
  By A3H2CKTFZ3B3GD on 2006-12-01
  Wow, I am going against the grain here. I picked this book up with a lot of hope. I only met disappointment. The books premise says a lot, leading you to believe that this is a know-how of starting companies and organizations - any types. And in a sense this is somewhat true. But this book is not geared for smaller companies. In fact the book is structured and designed only for those seeking venture capitalists and/or those who are already in the corporate world and want to start their own company. Basically, for those companies geared more towards technology.
  
  Because of this I was very disappointed. Additionally, the tables were almost all useless and the exercises were a big waste of time. Exercises such as "Look up the background of these entrepreneurs" or "Go to eBay and look up this item" or "Fill in the blank... (where you fill in your mantra)". Even the quotes, although some were interesting, were a waste of space as the book is literally layered with them all over the place.
  
  Again, I am really going against the grain. If you are looking for venture capital or are currently in the corporate world, this book is for you. Otherwise there is very little to learn from this book.
  
  2.5 stars.
  
  
  

• More Junk from the King of Banality

  
  By A3PX7CUNHGYJPC on 2004-09-29
  Although Guy likes everyone to think him a founder of Apple Computers, he's not. He's a guy who joined the company much later when it was well established. However, he has built a career on his status as an ex-Apple employee.
  
  This career has consisted of publishing a long list of truly dreadful business books. A few years ago a friend gave me three of Guy's books for free. Despite being a voracious reader of business books, I could not finish any of them. They were nothing but collections of worthless banalities. I ended up reluctantly throwing them out. I say "reluctantly" because throwing books into the garbage is normally taboo for me.
  
  This book is just more worthless nonsense. The author is a master at self-promotion. If you want to learn about self-promotion study his technique rather than reading his books.
  
  I'll probably be the lone voice of dissent amongst reviewers here. Guy has certainly succeeded in marshalling his friends to flood the page with gushing 5 star reviews.
  
  If you want a good startup book there are plenty of much better ones out there written by real entrepreneurs.
  
  
  

• Entrepreneurs-to-be should read this.

  
  By A2DU49W6TGU9TU on 2004-11-03
  I have never worked for any company in my life, entrepreneur from day one, and i have been starting up and running businesses for 18 years, with 5 companies in my track records (about 20 if i count the branches and business units, plus the FAILURES!!!).
  
  I have funs and enjoy this boook immensly. I love reading, and Guy is one of my favourites, from his early "MACINTOSH WAY" (the wordings: something of "If you cut my flesh, i will always bleed seven colors", still in my ears), to the famous "RULES of the Revolutionaries". This is one of his bests.
  
  It shows that after running garage.com, Guy got "matured" somehow and he has been really know the ins and outs of the start ups. The books teach a lot of truth, and honestly potray the situation.
  
  I will complain that the book puts too much emphasis on the "venture capitalist" approach and less on other means of funding, (Venture Capital is not common in Indonesia, or most Asian countries). And there are too much ringing on the high tech industry.
  
  BUT, even if that i don't agree with thoses issues, still most part of the books are VeRY2 true and give a lot of pure gold advices.
  
  I do a lot of Entrepreneurship seminars, and i know that you can not teach entrepreneurship by doing seminars or reading books as much as you can't learn to ride a bike or learn to swim by coming to a seminar. YET, for those people who are going to do his own start up, this book can encourage and guide and enlight.
  
  Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, those dreamers who insist to change the world and start some new business, this one is for you. Cheers, warmest regards from me at tanadisantoso-dot-com.
  
  

• Pragmatic and brilliant: even crufty veterans need this book

  
  By ACM7AMC34SSK4 on 2004-09-09
  This is a truly great book. I didn't expect to get so much from it; I'm battle-hardened myself and thought I knew a lot about starting companies and thinking about product development and marketing. I'm an author myself, of two technical books (you can search for me in Amazon's author index) so I understand the process and am have pretty high standards in reading and judging books.
  
  I've read the first 20 pages of a lot of supposedly similar books and given up on them. Time, after all, is one of the most valuable assets to an entrepreneur, and I won't have mine wasted. But with The Art of the Start I was learning and thinking on every page, and genuinely got excited about my own business by reading this book; it doesn't get much better than that.
  
  Guy Kawasaki has a gift for getting right to the heart of an issue, in a no-nonsense way, which of course every entrpreneur needs; I'm often thinking: make your point already!
  
  And right when you're about to call into question one of the points the author is making (and he does make some bold points that you're tempted to question) he follows it immediately with "for example..." and the examples are so compelling and clear, you immediately accede his point, change your own thinking slightly, and keep reading.
  
  I wrote Guy Kawasaki a long email while I was on an airplane and had been reading this book, to tell him that I loved it. I normally would never do such a thing, but he points out in the book that you should always include your email address and not hide from customers, and you should answer your email, so it occurred to me that it might be okay to write to him. So I did, and he wrote back to thank me.
  
  I've read a lot of "how-to" books on a lot of topics, from woodworking to business development, and this is one of the best ever written. I'm not sure if my review will compell you to check it out, but I thought it's worth a try. I am not one who normally recommends things, so my recommendation carries extra weight.
  
  Get it. Read it.
  
  
• Good Book For New Entrepreneurs
  By ABVMTX7KTP4CO on 2006-02-14
  "The Art of The Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide For Anyone Starting Anything" by Guy Kawasaki gives new entrepreneurs an overview of topics they might need to understand.
  
  Some of the topics surveyed in "The Art of The Start" include:
  
  The Art of Positioning
  The Art of Pitching
  Writing A Business Plan
  Bootstrapping
  Recruiting
  Raising Capital
  Partnering
  Branding
  
  All entrepreneurs will find some of Kawasaki's advice useful. For example, he suggests making a bottom-up forecast, rather than a top-down forecast. Top-down forecasts usually predict a market size and arbitrarily assume the business will be able to capture some percentage of the market. That's not grounded in reality.
  
  Kawasaki writes: "Bootstrappers don't build top-down models. For them, top down = belly up! Instead, they build bottom-up models, starting with real-world variables such as
  
  * Each salesperson can make ten phone calls a day that get through to a prospect
  * There are 240 working days per year
  * Five percent of the sales calls will convert within six months
  * Each successful sale will bring in $240 worth of business
  * We can bring on board five salespeople
  * Ten calls/day x 240 days/year x 5% success rate x $240/sale x 5 salespeople = $144,000 in sales for the first year."
  
  With positioning, Kawasaki says the entrepreneur should be positive and customer-centric. Kawasaki writes: "Entrepreneurship isn't war, so you don't describe your enterprise in warlike terms... Positioning is about what you do for your customers-not about what you want to become. Announcing that your organization is 'the leading company' is egocentric, not customer-centric. It's also impractical: How can you prove you're the leader? How can you prevent another organization from declaring that it is the leader-just like you have?"
  
  Kawasaki, a renown public speaker, also gives some solid advice about giving presentations and pitching. He suggests you videotape yourself and says, "If you can watch it without being embarrassed, you're ready to go."
  
  Overall, "The Art of The Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide For Anyone Starting Anything" is a good overview of topics you'll find useful in starting your own entrepreneurial venture.
  
  Peter Hupalo,
  Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"
  
  
  
  
• A refreshing book of lists
  By A3KHFHJBCCECQH on 2006-04-23
  Starting a small business can be overwhelming. Many people who try experience feelings of inadequacy much like high school students feel when trying to write their first term paper for English class. If you are hoping to start a business in the future, or you are in the midst of doing so now, I highly recommend you read this book. It is light, easy to read, and informative.
  
  The content of the book is broken into five groupings:
  
  1. Causation (think it up)
  2. Articulation (write it up)
  3. Activation (implement it)
  4. Proliferation (monitor it & reevaluate it)
  5. Obligation (be good)
  
  In a way, I found this book to be another one on business planning and strategic planning. However, it is presented in a different way than any other book I've read on these topics. This book reads more like an authoritative guide written by someone who has already "been there" and who did not have to do a lot of research to fill in the book's content. In comparison, many of the other books I've read seem to have been written by high school students writing their first term paper. Do yourself a favor and read this book. You will be glad you did.
  
  
• Great info for people hoping to start something huge...
  By A2MBLVMVDLHK1L on 2004-11-22
  This book had some great info for people who think big, and are hoping to start the next Amazon.com or Starbucks. I enjoyed the tips and information, but sadly the book aimed a little too high for me and my humble business. There was a lot of info for people in a traditional business world (like about investers, boards, and such), but as a landscaper, I found that most of the information was not broadly useful enough to use in my small business.
  
  A few things that I liked:
  
  Naming your business a name that can be turned into a verb. In landscaping, that could mean EarthScapes, as in "let's EarthScape it!"
  
  Suggestions about how to make your work and mission easy for people not in the field to understand.
  
  The step by step guide to hiring employees.
  
  While this manual wasn't quite what I was looking for, I did find some solidly helpful information which made it worth reading. That said, this is really suited to someone in a more traditional business field, and not so much the service oriented field I am in.
  
  
• Overbroad
  By A29E3FXOXAYSJI on 2005-02-08
  I love Guy's books, but this title was trying to be everything to everyone. Good tips inside, but its very broad target dampers the book's effectiveness.
  
  
• More schlock from the king of self promotion
  By A2E8SUWOO8V858 on 2004-11-11
  I was given a complimentartu copy of this book, so thankfully none of my hard earned money was wasted. If you want to learn about starting a company there are dozens of better books than this one. Like all of Guy's books, this latest one is just another collection of banalities which will only impress the ignorant.
  
  
• Avoid. More hype and buzz nonsense
  By A1610Z8ALFN45C on 2004-11-16
  This guy started a Bootcamp for business starts ups and it imploded. I knew a few people who wasted their money on his "bootcamp." Guy was mainly talking about his new Porsche and how his friends are all wealthy. A sort of high tech Amway salesman.
  
  He is a real AH.
  
  
• Probably good if you want to start a company - not great if you want to start anything else !!!
  By A1O4I1HZS4J8PT on 2005-10-13
  I was disappointed - the sub-title is 'the time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything' - however this is not a true reflection of the contents. The book is aimed at people starting a company or organisation. I was hoping it would be more about motivational techniques for people trying to start other projects - the title suggested that to me. There were some useful items in it nonetheless, and no doubt people starting a company would possibly find it a good resource, but if you want to start anything else, then read Jack Canfield's 'The Sucess Principles' which is a better all-round resource !
  
  
• Not the real deal.
  By A28Q0H0DPTMD4F on 2007-04-25
  The book's title is apparently a homage to Donald Trump's "The Art of the Deal", and there are alot of similarities. Both Trump and Kawasaki have attempted with some success to create personality cults based on exaggerated accounts of their real world business success, and then to make money selling their banal wisdom to legions of wannabes. Both have profited from sleazy seminar businesses. In reality, Kawasaki has only had very limited success as a startup founder, and even less as a venture capitalist. Do a Google search under "Dude Yamaha" for an excellent first hand account of Kawasaki in action. Thanks, but if I want advice on starting a startup, I'll get it from someone who actually has a track record.
  
  
• The one book to read before you start your startup
  By A2YSFR59IDMNKQ on 2004-09-23
  I'm now working on my sixth startup, an affinity network. Our mantra, as Guy would call it, is "the love you take is equal to the love you make" (The End, the Beatles, Abbey Road). The last chapter of the Art of the Start, Obligation, exemplifies this philosophy.
  
  Despite years of experience starting companies, I still had things to learn from Guy's book, and it also was a great refresher course on many of the basics, such as writing a business plan. I've recommended that our entire management team buy and read the book. I write a blog about startups, the Digitalyst,
  http://digitalyst.typepad.com/digitalyst/, and it was a lot of fun for me to compare what Guy has written about, for example, the process of naming your company, with what I've posted.
  
  I can heartily recommend Guy's other books as well, in particular, The Macintosh Way and Rules for Revolutionaries. Guy writes clearly, concisely and with a great sense of humor. He breaks up the text with useful tables, most of them very funny as well as insightful.
  
  If you are going to read just one book about startups - and I don't think you should spend any more time reading, as Guy exhorts, start doing - this is the one to read.
  
  
• Meh.
  By A21BM15AFFQBQ8 on 2007-04-26
  Read this book if you like to imagine yourself starting a company. Take notes if your imaginary startup is going to be selling banalities and platitudes.
  
  You do not need this book if you are actually starting a company.
  
  
• Fun and Focused Must Read For Startups
  By A3TY0HMPGC9KOW on 2004-10-04
  Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of the Start" takes a focused and practical approach to starting your own business.
  
  "The Art of the Start" is a quick read with lots of valuable tips on the sometimes counter-intuitive process of getting your idea off the ground. Guy touches on a number of topics including raising capital, writing a business plan (a sane method, not the usual "explain exactly how much you will spend on staples over the course of five years" process I have seen in so many other books) and how to make your often complex idea fit into one or two concise sentences.
  
  I was happy to see examples from Guy's past listed often throughout the book, in both "to-do" and "not-to-do" varieties.
  
  I think that anyone who is starting their own business will be delighted to see what they are doing right, and suprised at some of the things they are getting wrong.
  
  This book was both uplifting and humbling as I head into my second venture. Highly recommended.
  
  
• Not just a rich startup a Happy, Successful and Rich startup
  By A3A63GMUPP2XBB on 2004-10-10
  Guy has done the favor again! By sharing his pains and gains generously with the readers he has shown path for a Happy, Successful and Rich startup/entrepreneurship.
  
  It is rare for a successful person like Guy to take time to write book/s about his experience, insight and foresight with honesty. It is one think to say I was right these 10 times and other to say I was wrong these hundred times. In order to win it is not just important to do what is right but also necessary to avoid blunders and learn from some one else's mistake. The Art of the Start covers GIST of almost everything a technology startup needs to know without making the book a lengthy 'unreadable' tome. From my own experience as a small scale entrepreneur I can tell that some of the counter intuitive stuff that Guy has covered is as important as pitching, raising funds, hiring talent etc. for the long term success of the organization and the entrepreneur. If you can, please read the last chapter, Chapter 11 - The art of being Mensch first.
  
  
  
• Guy Kawasaki is Solid Gold
  By A9QMYSTAEFUUK on 2004-11-05
  I have had the pleasure of reading Art of the Start and seeing Guy Kawasaki speak. I was impressed with his ability to provide direct, amusing and effective advice.
   
  Four weeks ago I had not heard of Guy Kawasaki. I first learned about him and his book through a book review and also picked up buzz here and there in articles, blogs and on Amazon. People seemed to think this guy Guy was fascinating so I bought the book. LOVED IT! I am not interested in venture capital or building boards so I breezed over these parts. I am very interested in how to start and build my business and helping others build theirs. Art of the Start delivers. Guy's tips and techniques are clear and stripped down to the essential must do's. There's no waste and no dull parts to get through to get the good stuff. To use Guy's word for great products - it's Gold. He's funny too, which helped my brain stay engaged.
  
  Throughout the book, two dominant themes emerge:
   
  1. Get on with it!
   Get your product out there.
  Don't over-think things, just try something.
  Avoid second guessing yourself or others, if you want to start something, start it.
  Be wary of paralysis by analysis.
  Try many avenues.
  Be open to uncommon and unknown possibilities for your business and product.
  Obliterate the barriers that are keeping you from moving forward.
   
  2. Do what you love and make meaning!
   Don't worry about what is hot or trendy (by the time you know of trends it is too late anyway!). Create products and services that you love and that solve your problems.
  
  Solve new problems, seize new opportunities, or approach a business solution in new way. Don't just build on what's already out there, build something new.
   
  Worry about making meaning first, then making money. If you are producing what you love and it will make life better for others, the money will follow.
   
  The best product and services are loved by their customers. To evangelize your business, you need to be passionate about and believe in what you are doing. The importance of this is paramount.
  
  You may need to reenergize and remind yourself that the focus is on making meaning.
  
   I've learned a lot from Guy's book and by hearing him talk. Art of the Start can help us kick-start our endeavors and improve our chances of success and satisfaction. Guy Kawasaki is one of those folks who changes the lives of the people he touches. He has changed mine and I would invite you to let him change yours.
  
  
• This book would have saved me a lot of money!
  By AD72QFD74SJPI on 2004-12-09
  I've been involved with many more than 250 start-ups as an employee, service provider and coach. Remember the U.S. Robotics 2400 Courier modem? Launching it was my first deal as employee #72 at my first venture, USR. Most of the lessons I learned were from the College of Hard Knocks. They came at significant personal expense: money + time. The money is easy to replace. The time... well, that's irreplaceable.
  
  Guy's book, The Art of the Start, sums up many important elements. Two of my favorites: 1)Pg 85: Start as a Service Business to generate immediate cash flow AND to gain personal experience with the product you've built. How novel, a supplier who actually uses their own product; 2) Pg 89: Go Direct and bypass the [idiotic] thinking that selling through some distribution channel is going to build revenue faster. False hope. No way to develop customer intimacy!
  
  If you are thinking about starting a business or if you are already well on your way, you need to read this book. It will save you money. Period.
  
  John M. Fox, Venture Marketing
  
  
• Dead Bang On
  By A3AYDZH1C76ITI on 2005-01-09
  I sent the following email to Guy after reading AOTS several weeks ago.
  
  
  I'm on my way to the Bay Area to pitch five Sand Hill road VCs for $6M.
  
  I've been at this start-up stuff for about three years and getting better, but still learning.
  
  I've read about half of AOTS since Friday, between doing the final revs to the pitch and plan. Your book is the absolute best out of all the guidance on the subject (of which I've read and heard quite a bit.) Not just better -- it really is in its own category.
  
  AOTS is cogent and highly readable. Having been in front of many investors already, I found myself laughing out loud at your characterizations. They're all dead bang on. I've already gotten quite a few take-always for next week.
  
  
  
  
• A must read for entrepreneurs
  By A2G060GE7544WF on 2006-02-23
  This is a fun and quick read. Don't be fooled though, Guy answers a lot of questions that don't get covered in any of the other books on entrepreneurship. For example, what is the appropriate percentage of the company to give to those you invite to be on your board of directors? Or how long should my powerpoint pitch be? These are the kinds of no nonsense problems that Guy explains more clearly than anyone else.
  
  This book won't teach you everything you need to know to be successful, but it will teach you things you need to be successful that you won't find anywhere else. For anyone considering starting a business or a non-profit, there will be many books you have to read, and this should be book number one.
  
  
• Practical Tips for Startup Founders -- A Must Read
  By AVETLF32R3PMI on 2006-03-03
  If you are a startup founder (or aspiring to be one) and have time to read just one book this year. Read this book.
  
  If you have time to read two, read this twice.
  
  Yes, its that good.
  
  Dharmesh Shah
  http://onstartups.com
  
  
• Worth Reading
  By AMQS95OACZAQX on 2007-02-08
  This is a well organized book that uses a bit of humor to impart an important message of how to lay the ground work for a start-up. Although the book attempts to cover all the possible bases in the business community, its message is generic enough to apply to the basics of your unique business venture. This book is a good place to start in your efforts to become aware of the business start-up environment.
  
  You may also want to read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and "The 17 Principles of Creating Wealth" by Phillip Collinsworth.
  
  
• Flawless teaching of glitter
  By A21U4JK014NMLK on 2007-07-31
  I read this book, found it completely motivating, wrote a business plan, won first place in a $250k business plan competition using my plan based on this book, raised $2.5m on a plan based on this book, and then crashed my company 1.5 years later.
  
  What happened to a company with so much promise? We had too much success too fast, and I credit/blame the book. I re-read the book after we crashed and found that everything we did right was straight from the book. And everything we didn't do right eluded us AND the book. This book will 1. teach you glitter and 2. effortlessly get you started on the right path. STARTED! ...and that's all. The title doesn't lie.
  
  If you're experienced and know how to run a company, then I HIGHLY recommend this book to polish up your next venture for VCs. If you're like me and haven't run companies before, then you have much, much more work to do besides the exercises in the book.
  
  I'm told that "Venture Management Handbook" is a good book, and I'm ordering it today.
  
  
• Everybody starts something .. you need this!
  By A32DU6L6O0I2VE on 2004-09-13
  Guy Kawasaki does it again with wit, humor, and fabulous guidelines for anyone starting anything. Guy has been my guru for years for all things I do as a business owner, trainer, and facilitator. He has helped our clients and my colleagues by providing straight-forward information that, when heard at a program or read in a book, becomes the best way in which to operate.
  
  Think about what you are starting - from a business, to changing a business, to a job search, to a relationship (personal or professional) and then read this book.
  
  Take heed especially of Chapter 11 - "The Art of Being A Mensch." Guy is one. His advice on how to become one may be some of the best advice given so that you can start something and then continue to build on that success.
  
  
• Transforming Passion to Potential, the Kawasaki's way
  By A2T6OM5WCBAT7V on 2004-10-08
  To say that I really enjoyed reading his book is an understatement. Guy's personality emerges in between the lines as a people person, highly energized, positive and radiating with warmth, all of which I had an opportunity to confirm when we met at the beginning of his lecture held on September 30 at the Global Entrepreneurship Center, Florida International University.
  
  Guy's writing style is a fresh breeze in the sea of books about the subject of entrepreneurship. To begin with, he brings a new meaning to the phrase: reading a book "cover to cover". The inner -side of the dust jacket feature all the entries to a competition Guy created for the design of his book cover, the art of marketing by itself!
  
  The book is organized into eleven chapters which are grouped in a logical sequence of events: Causation, Articulation, Activation, Proliferation and Obligations. However, Kawasaki goes beyond the trivial route of conventional entrepreneurial wisdom; He discusses the importance of being a "Mench", Yiddish for a trusted man, in the overall entrepreneurial equation.
  
  Of special interest to me were three components that were interwoven into the text throughout the book: every chapter begins with the GIST, some kind of a birds view of the subject in the chapter, and ends up with both, a list of FAQ and a short exercise that enables the reader to get instant feedback on the message was understood. It also contains a well documented list of references some of which are already included in my library. Kawasaki ends up the book with a comprehensive and easy to follow index.
  
  Kawasaki's suggestions are simple to follow; for example, he suggests you send yourself an e-mail and review how it comes across. Another suggestion is the 10-20-30 rules, which refers to presentations before venture capitalists: 10 Power Point slides, 20 minutes and 30 font size. Kawasaki also provides a "virtual visit" into the VC's world by providing key clues from his own experience on an array of subjects ranging from how to make a presentation powerful and convincing and how to interpretate the VC's response, to a list of questions and answers that any entrepreneur should keep in mind when dealing with VC firms.
  
  I found it interesting that although the overall focus is on Kawasaki's experience with the high tech industry, many of his ideas and solutions can be easily implemented in other industries, such as the not for profit, for example.
  
  After I read the book I felt I would welcome a sequel; something along the lines of the "Art of the Finish Line", or even a more focused book on the subject of the character traits that are likely to be found in a successful entrepreneur beyond the monetary reward and what it takes to develop them.
  
  If my recommendation was for people to read the book, having met the author, I would strongly encourage organizations to invite him as a guest speaker. He is a talented speaker who knows how to instill passion and excitement in his audiences throughout his presentation by taking them on the entrepreneurial rollercoaster through the eyes of his many years of hard work and experience.
  
  Doron Zilbershtein
  
  
  
• Keep book by your bed when you break out into cold sweat
  By AIVIR2G1H2JJT on 2004-11-29
  If you have started a new business, or plan to, keep this book by your bed. Trust me, you'll have lots of nights when you wake up in a cold sweat, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the heck you are supposed to do next. Turn on the light and pick up this book. While it has a high-tech start-up-lingo-thing going on, don't worry about it...it's a brilliant book for any start-up. I think Guy Kawasaki's "Red Pill" in the book is something that everyone should have posted in their office, on their bathroom mirror, on their computer.... Previously I had Steven Covey's 7 Habits in a frame on my desk but the 10 questions on Page 92 are even better. It's tough love, it's the 'sounding board' most entrepreneurs don't have.
  
  Gayle Hallgren
  
  
  
  
• A down to earth guide to anyone starting a business
  By A4BISPVXOZ30R on 2004-12-01
  As an entrepreneur, I was touched and inspired by this book-something that happens far too infrequently with most business books I read.
  
  Guy was a Macintosh evangelist for Apple before he started Garage.com, which later turned into Garage Technology Ventures. Guy is now a Silicon Valley VC, and has obviously seen tons of crappy pitches, which is clearly part of the inspiration for this book.
  
  His book, The Art of the Start, is a useful plan for starting a business.
  
  Early on, Guy tries to make the case that the book is useful for both entrepreneurs starting new businesses as well as those currently toiling to create new ventures inside behemoth companies. He starts strong with this concept, but this idea kind of goes by the wayside as the book progresses, and I personally think he should have left it out entirely. Buy this book if you are trying to start a company and raise money, but not if you are trying to deal with big company politics.
  
  I loved the structure Guy uses in this book.
  
  Each chapter ends with a helpful FAQ section (Frequently Avoided Questions). I found these clever and interesting. Questions range from: "Should we take into account the availability of domain names when we name the organization?" to "How can one protect an idea, given that few investors will sign an NDA (nondisclosure agreement)?"
  
  Guy also includes various "minichapters" throughout the book. For instance, there is a minichapter on using email effectively, which includes tips from etiquette to CC rules.
  
  All in all, I enjoyed the organization of the book and the countless ideas and advice. I've already used his section on giving proposals and have reworked mine to 10 slides and use 30 point fonts. I practiced one over and over in front of an audience to get the time down to 15 minutes.
  
  There is a lot of painfully obvious stuff in here, as well. Stuff like "sweat the big stuff" is probably obvious to a lot of people, but we could all use a reminder from time to time. A friend of mine recently spent a great deal of time worrying about some minor business details, such as his business cards and the way a picture on his website was cropped. I couldn't believe he was wasting time on these issues when his product development hasn't even begun.
  
  Another great piece of advice is to just get going. You're probably going to make a ton of mistakes regardless of how much time you spend on your business plan or marketing strategy. Just get going and revise later once you see how the market reacts.
  
  All in all, this book has reenergized me and invigorated me. It was kind of like a virtual pep talk from Guy himself.
  
  Oh, and make sure you take the book jacket off and look inside it. It's fun.
  
  
• Far Better Than His Previous Works
  By A1Q4L37919KOR7 on 2005-04-14
  If you, like me, have read Kawasaki's previous works and been turned off, give this book a shot.
  In his last book, Rules for Revolutionaries, he seemed to pour every thought in his head (from brilliant to silly) on to paper, spell-check it, and call it a book. His books always made me say, 'Where is the editor?'. Their was never any order, chapters were named after concepts he made up, and completely disorginized.
  This book is different. It is organized, the concepts are clear and usable, and for the first time ever, he stays on the subject! I read this book, put it down, thought, and read it again. I agree with the other reviewer, Kawasaki has changed. At 51, he's finally calmed down and oganized his thoughts.
  If you are an entrepreneur, you will use this book. This isn't like Jack Welch, Dell, or Gerstner's books, who look in the mirror and take homage, then put it to print, memoirs completely void of any mistakes they may have made. (Though those books do have useful insights) This is an entrepreneur, who has succeeded, failed, and succeeded again. Again.... if you are an entrepreneur, you will use this book
  Unfortunatly, I bought Rules for Revolutionaries, and borrowed Art of the Start from a friend. (And I haven't returned it yet!)
  
  
• If you want to start a business, read this book now...
  By A3J3G1KMQ18RP2 on 2005-07-17
  If you are interested in starting a business and want to get a lay of the land, get best practices, buy this book now.
  
  Kawasaki uses his past at Apple and his experience as a successful venture capitalist to net out what really is important in starting a new business.
  
  The key insights from this book are:
  
  - Entrepreneurs need to focus on 5 things - Make Meaning (are you doing to save the world, help the under-privileged), make Mantra (don't go for mission statements, but catching one-worders), get going, define your business models, and weave a MAT (milestones, assumptions and tasks)
  - Positioning: Be crystal clear in articulating what do you do to be successful in positioning your product/service
  - Pitching: 10-20-30, 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 size font. Get off to a fast start and explain what you do in 1-minute and use the remaining 20 minutes to explain it further and then open it up for questions
  - Business Plans: 10 pages, Title, Problem, Solution, Biz Model, Secret Sauce, Marketing and Sales, Competition, Mgmt team, Financials, and Current status
  - Focus on being self-sustaining for 2-3 years
  - Build a strong network by connecting through your passions (cars, kids, dogs, computers...)
  - Engage people by telling them something that is interesting yet entertaining
  - Evangelism is a key approach to brand your products
  - Always earn the right goodwill by helping people, doing what's right and paying back society
  
  Guy's approach in writing this book is focused on potential entrepreneurs like you and me rather than the usual academic mumbo-jumbo on starting a business. He has easy down-to-earth, "been there, done that" style without sounding too condescending, like the rest of his ilk at Silicon Valley venture capitalists, are prone to.
  
  This book has less than 200 pages and is definitely worth a read.
  
  Your starting to become an entrepreneur,
  Fred "Garage" Sanford
  
  
  

• Rules For Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days (Recipes: a Problem-Solution Ap)
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
• Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
• Crossing the Chasm