 | A Dozen Lessons for Entrepreneurs Subjects: Businesspeople -- Case studies; Entrepreneurship -- Case studies; New business enterprises -- Case studies; Success in business -- Case studies; Griffin (Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor), a business writer who formerly worked in private equity, offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs in this astute compilation of best practices. Griffin identifies and interviews 12 successful venture capitalists and business coaches worthy of providing singular advice, including Steve Blank, founder of Epiphany and Convergent Technologies; Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape; and Mary Meeker, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers. Griffin quotes a dozen pearls of entrepreneurial wisdom from each and offers short explanations to provide context. Lessons include "recruit the best person you can who knows how to create an innovation culture" (from Bill Campbell, who transitioned from football coach at Columbia to Apple marketing v-p) and "the best entrepreneurs don't know what they don't know so they attempt the impossible" (from venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers). Griffin himself prizes the contrarian approach to investing, which means going "where other investors and business founders are not looking." This perceptive guide captures instrumental advice that serious entrepreneurs would do well to adopt. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Tren Griffin works at Microsoft. He writes the www.25iq.com blog and is active on Twitter (@TrenGriffin). He was formerly a partner at Eagle River, a private equity firm controlled by Craig McCaw with investments in telecommunications and startups. From 1999 to 2001 he was vice president of strategy at XO Communications.In 1994, Griffin was the fourth person to join Teledesic, a global broadband satellite communications startup, which raised over a billion dollars at a valuation of more than $3 billion. Griffin previously worked as a consultant in Australia and Korea. He is the author of six other books, including Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor (Columbia, 2015). |
