Entrepreneur Journeys Book Review: “If at first you don’t find funding…”

Check out Heather Clancy’s timely SmartPlanet post, “If at first you can’t find funding…fund yourself,” discussing Sramana’s latest book, “Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction”.

Below is part of a book review Miki Saxon posted on the MAPping Company Success blog:

Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction is the second book in Sramana’s Entrepreneur Journeys series and it’s a great read.

As opposed to a series of lessons to be taught, the book is a series of interviews with entrepreneurs highlighting their fascinating histories, the different paths they took and the difficulties they overcame.

It’s about the need for solid management skill—a book about implementers with vision as opposed to visionaries who depend on others to make it happen.

What you learn from them is up to you, but whether you plan to start a business or not you would have to work very hard not to benefit from their experiences.

The book’s focus is on companies that started and progressed without venture investment. Mitra does an excellent job of pointing out that even without IPOs, M&A and VCs throwing money like beads at Mardi Gras, starting a company in your garage with a few friends is not only a solid approach—but a better one.”

And Entrepreneur Journeys, Volume One continues to draw positive reviews on Amazon:

“[A] must read for anyone interested in businesses…I really admire the way a lot of layered and complex details come out from these interviews. The interviews cover the whole range of questions from the history of the founder to his motivation for the startup to the early days and to future predictions. One also gets a detailed picture of the market the particular startup is operating in, along with an analysis from the founder itself…I’d recommend this book highly if you are interested in technology businesses.”
— Bhavish Aggarwal

“I can’t name a book that I read lately that introduced me to a solid system of business thinking the way Sramana’s Entrepreneur Journeys has.

If you are an entrepreneur, you can turn this book into a very practical how-to guide. Don’t just read it. Read a chapter, write key points, see if you can extrapolate the ideas and apply them to your own business. It is like having a mentor in your pocket. Hold table discussions with your buddies based on this book. Argue, if you have to. It is a wonderful brainstorm starter.

From my experience many young start-ups look for easy steps or lists of things to do or some magic. This book is only a half of magic, the other half is your brain. Put them together and you’ll be way ahead.”
— Irina Patterson

“A great read for my analytical mind that refuses to easily accept a decision choice without being explained the complex personal and marketing choices that went into it. The book is very current in terms of the technology and trends it refers to. It is also very useful to young entrepreneurs like me to help learn more about the evolution of technology and industry (and consolidations) in the last twenty-thirty years.

In this book one learns a lot about company culture, cost cutting, humility…even the value of extreme skiing in entrepreneurship!”
— Ishita Sharan

You can get both Entrepreneur Journeys books here from Amazon.com.

This segment is a part in the series : Entrepreneur Journeys Book Review