BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Book Review by Brian Davis - The Art of the Start

Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start is a roadmap that every entrepreneur should consult on their journey. The book places emphasis on the premise that entrepreneurs choose their path not as a new job or career, but as a state of mind; approaching more than career choices with the same mentality.

At Apple in the 1980s, Kawasaki was a powerful leader who turned ordinary consumers into raving fans. Later, as founder and CEO of Garage Technology Ventures, he 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.

Each chapter begins with "GIST" (Great Ideas for Starting Things), that covers numerous items one must consider when planning a new venture. At the end of each chapter the FAQs shed light on questions relating to the topic. The chapters are broken down in sequence into Arts that must be mastered:

The Art of Starting

The Art of Positioning

The Art of Pitching

The Art of Writing a Business Plan

The Art of Bootstrapping

The Art of Recruiting

The Art of Raising Capital

The Art of Partnering

The Art of Branding

The Art of Rainmaking

The Art of Being a Mensch

The book reads well but does have some moments of dry text and some of the detail listed is beyond the obvious for anyone that has the inclination to even be reading a book with this title. However, the overall flow of the book is easy and smooth with the GIST and FAQs helping to get to the point of each chapter quickly.

The only criticism offered is that the book puts too much emphasis on the "venture capitalist" approach and less on other means of funding. While this approach is a viable one, most entrepreneurs will never reach this stage and just want to hear about how they can get their business running without changing the world.

Overall – a worth ready for any entrepreneur. The Art of the Start is one that will not be read once and then sit on the shelf for years to come. I have my copy on my desk and have already consulted it twice since my initial read!

Readability: 4 out of 5

Relevant Content: 4 out of 5