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Founders at Work
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At Work Interviews

Founders at Work (2007) (edit title/settings)

Stories of Startups' Early Days

by Jessica Livingston (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

For would-be entrepreneurs, innovation managers or just anyone fascinated by the special chemistry and drive that created some of the best technology companies in the world, this book offers both wisdom and engaging insights—straight from the source. — Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of... read more

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  • “It's not impossible, in particular if you are a loner and introverted type, but it's still really hard”
  • “Whoever built it first would win the market”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • It doesn't have to be a cookie-cutter business plan with glossy pages and lots of information. Essentially it's a plan that says what the company is going to do, what problem it is going to solve, how big the market is, what the sources of revenue for the company are, what your exit strategy is for your investors, what amount of money is required, how you are going to market it, what kind of people you need, what the technology risks are, marketing risks, execution risks.
    Highlighted by 62 Kindle customers
  • All the best things that I did at Apple came from (a) not having money, and (b) not having done it before, ever. Every single thing that we came out with that was really great, I'd never once done that thing in my life.
    Highlighted by 60 Kindle customers
  • I see way too many people give up in the startup world. They just give up too easily. Recruiting is a classic example. I don't even hear the first 'no' that somebody says. When they say, 'No, I'm not interested,' I think, 'Now it's a real challenge. Now's when the tough part begins.' It's hard to identify talent, but great people don't look for jobs, great people are sold on jobs. And if they're sold they're going to say no at first. You have to win them over.
    Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers
  • The general piece of advice, which is fairly mundane and oft repeated, is: make sure you write a business plan because it will crystallize your thoughts to communicate your ideas with somebody else.
    Highlighted by 54 Kindle customers
  • Second is, don't try to change user behavior dramatically. If you are expecting people to dramatically change the way they do things, it's not going to happen. Try to make it such that it's a small change, yet an important one.
    Highlighted by 54 Kindle customers
  • They all were determined to build things that worked. In fact, I'd say determination is the single most important quality in a startup founder.
    Highlighted by 51 Kindle customers
  • Starting a startup is a process of trial and error. What guided the founders through this process was their empathy for the users. They never lost sight of making things that people would want.
    Highlighted by 47 Kindle customers
  • Even though they were free customers, what the last 10 to 15 years of my experience of the Internet has taught me is that it's OK if you don't monetize them right up front. Eventually you will be able to. But having that customer base and being able to tap into that customer base and upsell them on services, or advertise-you can always make money off them.
    Highlighted by 46 Kindle customers
  • the less energy people expend on performance, the more they expend on appearances to compensate. More often than not the energy they expend on seeming impressive makes their actual performance worse.
    Highlighted by 45 Kindle customers
  • As Howard Aiken said, 'Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.'
    Highlighted by 43 Kindle customers
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First Sentence edit see section history

Apparently sprinters reach their highest speed right out of the blocks, and spend the rest of the race slowing down.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in At Work Interviews. (standard series)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Jessica Livingston (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Apress
Country: USA
Publication Date: January 26, 2007
ISBN: 9781590597149
Page Count: 500

Classification edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Coders at Work
  • Gamers at Work
  • CTOs at Work
  • CIOs at Work
  • European Founders at Work
  • Venture Capitalists at Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion-Dollar Successes

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