The Unicorn's Shadow


Book Description

Bringing hard data to the way we think about entrepreneurial success, this bold call to action draws on the latest scientific evidence to dispel the most pervasive startup myths and light a path to entrepreneurship for those eclipsed by the hype. When you think of a successful entrepreneur, who comes to mind? Bill Gates? Mark Zuckerberg? Or maybe even Jesse Eisenberg, the man who played Zuckerberg in The Social Network? It may surprise you that most successful founders look very different from Zuckerberg or Gates. In fact, most startup origin stories are very different from the famous "unicorns" that have achieved valuations of over $1 billion, from Facebook to Google to Uber. In The Unicorn's Shadow: Combating the Dangerous Myths that Hold Back Startups, Founders, and Investors, Wharton School professor Ethan Mollick takes us to the forefront of an empirical revolution in entrepreneurship. New data and better research methods have overturned the conventional wisdom behind what a successful founder looks like, how they succeed, and how the startup ecosystem works. Among the issues he examines: Which founders are most likely to succeed?Where do the best startup ideas come from?What's the most foolproof way of securing the funding needed to take a company to the next level?Should your sales pitch really be something out of Hollywood?What's the best way to grow and scale your company and create a thriving culture that won't hinder expansion? Mollick argues that entrepreneurship is too important, both for society and for the individuals who start companies, to be eclipsed by the shadows of unicorns. He shows we can democratize entrepreneurship—but only by following an evidence-based approach that puts to rest the false narratives that surround it.







The Young Entrepreneur's Edge


Book Description

It seems like these days, whenever you look at a newsstand, at least one major business magazine has a cover story about a wildly successful entrepreneur in his or her 20s or 30s. That's not surprising when one considers that one out of every five small-business owners in America is under 35, and that more young people are starting businesses than ever before. Right now, in college dorm rooms and their parents' garages, the next generation of Sam Waltons, Bill Gateses, and Michael Dells are hard at work. "If you are ever going to take risks in exploring your career options, this is the absolute best time to do it," says 26-year-old entrepreneurial expert Jennifer Kushell. "Why wait until you have a semi-stable corporate job and major financial obligations to discover that you hate your career and need to make a big change?" Kushell is the ideal mentor for young people thinking about taking the plunge. Her very successful Young Entrepreneurs Network educates teens and twentysomethings in 40 countries about forming their own companies. A born entrepreneur -- her father and aunt are leading experts on franchising and trademark licensing, respectively -- Kushell presided over her own company's growth while attending college full-time. Her book draws on her invaluable hands-on experience: "It's not so much a how-to-start-a-business book as it is a how-to-cope-with-life-while-starting-and-succeeding-in-your-own-business book," the author says. "All I can say is that this is the real deal, the real story." With wit, candor and exuberance for her subject, Kushell gives practical and personal insight from a young entrepreneur's point of view to help new business owners get through their first few years. The book "also teaches you tricks of the trade that you can rely on to compete successfully in a business world with people twice your age and companies God-knows-how-many-times-as big," she adds. The Young Entrepreneur's Edge addresses key topics such as trying to obtain capital and writing a business plan, which, the author says, are among the biggest obstacles for young entrepreneurs. But the book also tackles critical areas that other business books rarely address: how to get older people to take you seriously; how not to starve when you're broke; how to win your family's approval; how to get out and meet important people; how not to get carded when entertaining clients; and other unique situations faced by young business people. Praise for The Young Entrepreneur's Edge "Fresh college graduates frustrated by the job search should pick up a copy of [this book]." --"Los Angeles Times" "Can help both job-seekers and job-holders rethink their idea of gainful employment." --"Mademoiselle" "Entertaining, fast-reading, and immensely sensible. Kushell is a human dynamo." --"Sacramento Bee" "Every young entrepreneur needs good ideas, and this book is full of them." --Fred Deluca, founder and president of Subway(R) Restaurants "It is a must-read for my students." --Kathleen R. Allen, Ph.D., The Entrepreneur Program, University of Southern California







The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business


Book Description

Describes the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, explains how to start and run a business, and offers tips on costs, investment, market research, and negotiation.




Why Startups Fail


Book Description

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.







#Fix Young America


Book Description

Our government is being strangled by partisan politics, youth employment is at a 60-year low, and student loan debt has surpassed $1 trillion--and yet young Americans are starting businesses in record numbers, all over the United States. If we want Millennials (and future generations) to survive and thrive in the new economy, then we need to funnel this entrepreneurial energy into something positive, or risk turning the Millennial generation into a lost generation. The solutions in this book represent the beginning of an important conversation about how to support and foster the real leaders of tomorrow. From policy ideas and educational programs, to private sector solutions and philanthropic activities, #FixYoungAmerica provides best practices and tangible solutions for solving the epidemic of youth unemployment--straight from the individuals and organizations that are already in the trenches, working to rebuild an entrepreneurial America right now.




Big Questions and Great Answers in Entrepreneurship Research


Book Description

Big Questions and Great Answers in Entrepreneurship Research underscores the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain within the field of entrepreneurship research by considering the field’s rapid expansion over the last thirty years.




Conceptual Richness and Methodological Diversity in Entrepreneurship Research


Book Description

I can confidently say that I believe the chapters published in this volume are addressing interesting questions that we should care about. I can only applaud the series editors for their initiative, effort and time in producing yet another exceptional volume. Helle Neergaard, Aarhus University, Denmark This important book identifies the current developments within entrepreneurship that are characterized by conceptual richness and methodological diversity. It presents the latest developments of topics such as the entrepreneurial mindset, culture and values as well as advances in entrepreneurship education and development. The contributors open the field for methodological renewal by introducing the current state of and opportunities for explorative research in entrepreneurship. Researchers, practitioners and policymakers will find the research in this book both innovative and refreshing, which will be particularly useful for those looking to renew their practices. It will also provide academics with some new ideas to adopt in their teaching and research in order to help their students to acquire entrepreneurial competences.