Have you ever wished you could pick Guy Kawasaki’s brain?
Like, sit down with a pitcher of beer and just pepper him with questions until the pub closes or his head explodes?
This is your lucky day. Guy has done a “brain dump” in the form of an update to his 2004 book, The Art of the Start.
However, The Art of the Start 2.0 is not just a quickly busted-out update, it’s a complete overhaul. It covers everything you want to know about starting a new business, from idea to exit, written by someone who has literally been-there, done-that.
I would recommend it for anyone who is considering answering that little voice in their head, telling them to start something.
Guy Kawasaki was the first person I ever knew to hold the job title “Evangelist.” He has been on the giving and receiving end of pitches, and advised companies large and small. He’s seen the heights of the tech boom and the lows of the bubble burst.
He’s the person who will stand over your shoulder and remind you to spend more time on the product than on the furniture in your conference room.
The style of the book brings you right into Guy’s world. There are pithy stories, lessons-learned, exercises, and Q&A galore. It’s not the type of page-turner that you spend a weekend curled up with; it’s a manual that you dog-ear, highlight, and refer to over and over again.
Each chapter ends with recommended reading, so you can dive deeper into any subject as necessary.
“Customers don’t care if you want to destroy the competition. They want to know what benefits they derive from using your product. Also, evangelism is about what you do for your customers–not about what you want to become.” Guy Kawasaki
There is solid business advice in The Art of the Start 2.0, but by far my favorite bits were the hard-won little insider tips.
Remember to bring two thumb drives to your presentations, pick a company name with “verb potential,” and find your Morpheus (someone who will tell it like it is).
Some of the major topics covered include:
- The Art of Starting Up
- The Art of Launching
- The Art of Leading
- The Art of Bootstrapping
- The Art of Fund-raising
- The Art of Pitching
- The Art of Building a Team
- The Art of Evangelizing
- The Art of Socializing
- The Art of Rainmaking
- The Art of Partnering
- The Art of Enduring
- The Art of Being a Mensch
In my own 20 years of business experience, I’ve been in many of the situations described in the book. It can be intimidating navigating conversations with potential investors, knowing when to hire more staff, and figuring out how to get the word out about your project.
With Guy’s advice in your arsenal, you’ll be ahead of the game.