Product Description
Building successful start-ups was never quite as easy as it seemed, and the changing economic climate has raised the stakes, reduced the margin of error. New entrepreneurs can’t stumble into wealth on the power of half-formed ideas, or turn dreams into reality without doing a lot of homework. It’s time to get smart. This book teaches would-be entrepreneurs the skills they need to get through the venture capital process with companies that will survive to grow an… More >>
Smartups: Lessons from Rob Ryan’s Entrepreneur America Boot Camp for Start-Ups
If you intend to apply for the author’s “boot camp” then I guess this book is a must read. It will tell you to not bother him unless you have a committed team, a working prototype, and have lined up some customers (preferably corporate customers).
There is also some material on how to explore business ideas, roles in organizations that must be filled, board meeting minutes etc — but it’s too focussed on specific kinds of startups and too thin on the details to save you from having to read a more detailed book.
Rating: 2 / 5
I was ultimately disappointed by this book. It spent too much time emphasizing how incredibly smart a guy Rob Ryan is. It seemed very repetitious. Yes, it is written in a lighthearted style, but overall seemed like it only had enough content for a magazine article. He’s been mentioned in Inc. magazine several times, which is what prompted me to buy it, but I didn’t really learn that much from the book. One of the least useful of my many books on entrepreneurship. It does have a nice cover.
Rating: 2 / 5