8/29/2005

An Executive Summary of "The Art of the Start"

"In The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki writes that his goal is to help you use your knowledge, love and determination to create something great without getting bogged down in theory and unnecessary details. At Apple in the 1980s, Kawasaki turned ordinary consumers into evangelists. As founder and CEO of Garage Technology Ventures, he has field-tested his ideas with dozens of newly hatched companies. In The Art of the Start, Kawasaki takes you through every phase of creating a business, from the very basics of raising money and designing a business model through the many stages that will eventually lead your company to doing the right thing and giving back to society. "

In this Soundview Executive Book Summary from BNET.com of the book, you’ll learn:

"✓ What the entrepreneur’s key tasks are. Every startup must make meaning, make mantra, get going, define its business model and weave a MAT of critical Milestones, Assumptions and Tasks.

✓ How a new company can articulate what it is all about. Pitching, positioning and writing a business plan are the ways in which a startup defines itself and communicates its message to others.

✓ How you can “activate” your business. Bootstrapping (operating on little cash), recruiting and raising capital will all give you the human and financial resources you need.

✓ How you can “proliferate” your business. Creating win-win partnerships, building a brand and “rainmaking” (generating large amounts of business) all expand your startup beyond its original horizons.

✓ What the entrepreneur’s obligation is to repay society. In exchange for the right to exist and do business, each of us is required to give back to society and to be a mensch — a generous, honest, socially responsible, fully moral person."