Buy The Art of the Start from Amazon

Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, The Art of the Start, helps your business get started on the right foot. Each chapter focuses on the “art” of something and walks you through the principles needed to succeed every step of the way. Principles are intermingled with real-world examples to get your brain juices flowing.

The Art of Starting

You can read several of Kawasaki’s “Art of” principles on his blog. In fact, if you wait long enough he may just cover everything in this book on his blog.

I highlight the topics he covers in the book below.

Causation

• Make Meaning - your product or service should “make the world a better place.”
• Crafting a Mantra instead of a mission statement
• Get to work. You’ve got to get your product out the door, work on the business formalities later.
• Identify your business model
• Aim towards key milestones, identify your assumptions, and what tasks need to be completed.

Articulation

• Positioning - how to distinguish yourself from the competition, focusing on a niche, choosing your company/product name.
• Pitching - how to explain your company to anyone
• Writing a Business Plan - which should be a verbose version of your pitch.

Activation

• Bootstrapping - how to survive and succeed in the early, no-cash days of your company.
• Recruiting
• Raising Capital

Proliferation

• Partnering - when, with whom, and how to schmooze
• Branding
• Rainmaking

Obligation

• Being a Mensch - when you make the big time, or even on your way up: give back to others

I enjoyed this book and it gave me some great ideas on how to better kick off a project I’m starting. Kawasaki does reuse some stories and content from his previous books but includes enough new material to merit your attention.

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