startup

Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure
$16.00
We know a lot more now than Jerry Kaplan could possibly have known when he wrote this book. We know, for example, that pen-based computing never took off the way he expected, that personal digital assistants had a moment in the sun, but were then replaced by cellphones that do not use pen interfaces.

In this book, Kaplan describes the rapid rise of Go Computing, its amazing success in fundraising, but ultimate failure in the face of withering competition from Microsoft, and lack of sales. The book is worthwhile for anybody considering launching a technology company, or investing in, or working for a startup. It is not, however, perfect. Kaplan takes shortcuts -- one page they're sketching the parameters of the operating system, and the next page they're introducing two dozen independent software companies that plan to develop for the platform. Where did they come from? How were they signed up? How many ever shipped product? We know that Go shipped both its hardware and software very late, but there is basically no discussion of why. Kaplan saves most of his text for fundraising and the frustrations of working with large corporate partners, with occasional personal asides about his fiance or employees.

Kaplan seems to blame the failure of the company on competition from Microsoft and slow delivery of product, but I think other lessons can also be learned from the experience of Go. For example, though Kaplan & co. elected to build the hardware, operating system, and hardware themselves (also signing up third party developers and ultimately spinning off the hardware arm), they could probably have developed the most compelling parts of their system as applications that ran on existing operating systems, greatly simplifying their task. Their lack of compatibility with existing applications was a real problem, not just "FUD" from Microsoft.

Demos of PenPoint can be found online (check YouTube and Google Video in particular). It is clear that PenPoint was worthless for text entry, which would have made it largely worthless for e-mail as well as writing notes and memos. This would seem to render the device largely useless for their target "on the go" business customers, except for very narrow vertical applications that would generally not justify the high price that their machines carried.

Anyway, a worthwhile book, even if lacking in credible analysis.

Engineering Your Start-Up: A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur (2nd Edition)
$16.28
This book is perfect for entrepreneurs thinking about forming a company to commercialize a technology (if you're planning a service business or a low tech business, there are more suitable guides). Readers will really appreciate the book's structure, thoroughness, and writing clarity. Following are the book's main lessons:

* Preparedness for the startup lifestyle.
* How to form a company and assemble a management team, board of directors and advisors.
* How to position the product, identify markets, and target customers.
* Importance of building a market-focused business (i.e. identifying the opportunity before developing the technology).
* Advice on intellectual property.
* Guide to writing the business plan.
* How to pitch investors and understand funding terms.
* How to compensate and incentivize employees.

The authors, having obviously been through multiple ventures, are excellent mentors. Their experience will help you to think things through and avoid many pitfalls.

Startup.com
$14.98
Seeing the mixed reviews on Amazon made me a little wary before I saw the film but after seeing it, I'm really glad I did. This movie tells the tale of how the classic startup duo - the geeky engineer and the smooth talking business guy build a $60 million company in the span of less than 2 years. It is a monumental achievement by the film-makers who filmed the duo day-in-day out for two years and put together a movie that is as insightful as it is compelling.

For those aspiring entrepreneurs interested in the film, I cannot urge you enough to see it. From this film you witness firsthand how a top tier VC is pitched ( the founders get money from Kleiner Perkins ), what getting a term sheet is like, and how a twenty-something wet-behind-the-ears entrepreneur leads and motivates a team of over 200 employees. To top that off you get sucked into the buddy story of the founders that is so masterful, no writer could've come up with something this good.

5 stars, a must see for the aspiring entrepreneur.

Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days (Recipes: a Problem-Solution Ap)
$17.99
Overall good book. I obviously enjoyed certain interviews more than others (almost slept through the Lotus and co. ones), I enjoyed and learned a lot from their stories. I wish there was more focus on peer relations and less on VC's business, but I'd be an ignorant if I overlooked the fact that these companies didn't grow as big as they are on good will alone.

Very inspiring book. I'd recommend it to anyone interest in starting up any kind of business.