The Art of the Start - sharkinfestedcustard

The Art of the Start

>

Also by Guy Kawasaki Database 101 Hindsights How to Drive Your Competition Crazy Rules for the Revolutionaries Selling the Dream The Computer Curmudgeon The Macintosh Way

\

ART

OF T H E

START

THE TIME-TESTED, BATTLE-HARDENED GUIDE FOR

ANYONE STARTING ANYTHING

Guy Kawasaki

>

PORTFOLIO Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) . Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

First published in 2004 by Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

16 15 14 13

Copyright ? Guy Kawasaki, 2004 All rights reserved

Acknowledgments

In giving advice, seek to help, not please, your friend.

--Solon

My thanks to all the people who helped me with this book. First, Rick Kot at Viking, because this book was his idea. Furthermore, he tolerated my crazy ideas--including the title and subtitle and having a cover-design contest. Every author should be so lucky to work with an editor like Rick. (The converse is not necessarily true.)

Second, Patty Bozza and Alessandra Lusardi of Viking, and the Portfolio team: Joe Perez, Will Weisser, and Adrian Zackheim, as well as Lisa "Her Highness" Berkowitz. Behind every successful author stands an amazing team.

Third, a group of readers who truly sought to help, not please, me. They spent many hours reading and refining my drafts. My eternal gratitude to: Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, George Grigoryev, Ronit HaNegby, Heidi Mason, Bill Meade, John Michel, Anne P. Mitchell, Lisa Nirell, Bill Reichert, Gary Shaffer, Rick Sklarin, and Andrew Tan.

Fourth, a group of people who contributed by making suggestions, course corrections, and additions. They are: Mohamed AbdelRahman, Anupam Anand, Imran Anwar, Dave Baeckelandt, A. J. Balasubramanian, Steve Bengston, David Berg, Scott Butler, Tom Byers, Antonio Carrero, Lilian Chau, Pam Chun, Tom Corr, Stephen Cox, Deborah Vollmer Dahlke, Martin Edic, Bob Elmore, Eric Erickson, Elaine Ferre, Pam Fischer, Sam Hahn, Lenn Hann, Steve Holden, Hilary Horlock, Katherine Hsu, Doug Ito, Bill Joos, John Michel, Cindy Nemeth-Johannes, Tom Kosnik, Pavin Lall, Les Laky, Molly

\/M

Lavik, Eric "I'm Open" Lier, Anthony Lloyd, Robert MacGregor, Tom J^teade, Chris Melching, Fujio Mimomi, Geoffrey O'Neill, Bola Odulate, Colin Ong, Steve Owlett, Lakiba Pittman, Gina Poss, Julie Pound, Warrick Poyser, the Propon Team, Richard Putz, Anita Rao, Jim Roberts, Marty Rogers, John Roney, Aaron Rosenzweig, Michael Rozenek, Brian Rudolph, David Schlitter, John Scull, Izhar Shay, Marc Sirkin, Marty Stogsdill, Judy Swartley, Russ Taylor, Larry Thompson, Amy Vernetti, Ryan Walcott, Shelly Watson, Tim Wilson, Ryan Wong, and Jan Zones.

Fifth, the people who helped me to market this book: Alyssa Fisher, Sandy Kory, Tess Mayall, Ruey Feng Peh, Shifeng Li, Shyam Sankar, Betty Taylor, and Kai Yang Wang.

Sixth, my loving and lovely wife, Beth. Thank you for bearing with me as I wrote this book during a very busy time in our lives, and for the best twenty years of my life.

Seventh, Sloan Harris of International Creative Management. Thank God for Sloan--otherwise, Rick Kot and Portfolio would have eaten me alive.

Eighth, Patrick Lor and the gang at who helped this graphically challenged author.

Finally, John Baldwin, Ruben Ayala, and Ken Yackel of the Ice Oasis Skating and Hockey Club. Were it not for them, I would have finished this book six months earlier. But then I wouldn't be the best fifty-year-old, transplanted Hawaiian, beginner ice hockey player in Silicon Valley. And this is certainly a desirable niche to fill.

Vlll

Contents

A friend is one to whom you can pour out the contents of your heart, chaff and grain alike. Knowing that the gentlest of

hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. --anonymous

Read Me First

Causation

Chapter 1: The Art of Starting

Articulation

Chapter 2: The Art of Positioning Chapter 3: The Art of Pitching Chapter 4: The Art of Writing a Business Plan

Activation

Chapter 5: The Art of Bootstrapping Chapter 6: The Art of Recruiting Chapter 7: The Art of Raising Capital

Proliferation

Chapter 8: The Art of Partnering Chapter 9: The Art of Branding Chapter 10: The Art of Rainmaking

Obligation

Chapter 1 1 : The Art of Being a Mensch

Afterword Index

xi

3

29 44 66

79 100 119

151 167 192

211 217 219

ix

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download