This is a summary of the book "The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship" by Bill Murphy Jr.
6. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
The Problem with Tech
Startups
Begins with tech. founders
Grows too fast
The founders do not learn
management skill fast enough.
Fired by the investor!
Sean Parker
Friday, February 1, 2013
7. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
Mindset Matters
It’s my idea! It’s mine!
Why should I be kicked
out from my own
company?
What do you care more? The
company or yourself?
Do you have management skills?
Ideas are a dime a dozen.
Execution is what is
important.”
-- Professor William A.
Sahlman, HBS
Friday, February 1, 2013
8. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
Why does most venture
fails?
Commitment
Wrong Business Idea
Understanding Market
Hiring: Right people,
right offer
Money/Capital
Communications
New opportunities
Bad luck/Blame bad luck
for not understanding the
true reason
Friday, February 1, 2013
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10 Rules!
1.Make the Commitment
2.Find a Problem, Then
Solve It
3.Think Big, Think New,
Think Again
4.You Can’t Do It Alone
5.You Must Do It Alone
6.Manage Risk
7.Learn to Lead
8.Learn to Sell
9.Persist, Persevere,
Prevail
10.Play the Game for Life
Friday, February 1, 2013
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What do you want?
How badly do you want it?
Follow the trend?
Want to get rich?
Disappointed from day jobs?
Either way, you have to be committed!
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Assess Yourself
Obligation: Family?
Support: Environment, emotional
support?
Opportunity cost: Quit your jobs?
Capability/Track record?
“Opportunity is personal,
not universal. It grows out
of your talents,
experiences, interests,
and the problems that
you’re uniquely positioned
to perceive in the world."
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Problem ➠ Solution
DO NOT Begin with Solution!
Problem
Who care?
Pain v.s. pleasure business
Forget about your strength!
Start with what interest you!
If you fail, you’ll fail for what’s valuable
to you
“A real opportunity consists of
both the problem and the
proposed solution.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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A Recipe for Success
Finish the school
People like Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates are rare
Learn about finance, incorporation, etc.
Work for others and gain experience!
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Think New
Your customer needs to think
new too! ➠ Educate them
Protect your innovation
Large organization may undercut you
Do something radical; They have
more legacy, i.e., more to lose than
you do.
“Innovation usually comes
from either bringing a new
technology to an industry
or coming up with a new
business model.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Think again
No great innovator get things right
by the first time!
Apple
Not good at inventing things
Good at making existing things perfect
“If coming up with
innovative ideas is difficult,
doing so again and again
is much harder.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Finding your team
Be passionate
Go to the right place
Be sociable
Use all networks you have
Use Technology
“people are drawn to the
excitement of somebody
who is really alive, really
on fire about something”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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A Lonely Life
It’s hard to do it alone.
But, it’s your dream. You must do it alone!
No one in this world can make you truly satisfied!
You parent can be your worst enemy
You are leaving high-paying jobs! What do you expect
them to say.
Bottom-line: Be prepare for loneliness
“To be a champ you have
to believe in yourself
when nobody else will.”
-- Sugar Ray Robinson
Friday, February 1, 2013
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A Lonely Life
You will have to face disappointment
Look at and talk to other entrepreneurs
Inventorize your success and build up confidence
Be proud: At least you are trying to do something
others’re afraid to do.
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Risk: Take v.s. Manage
What is risk?
Is not taking risk risky?
We don’t take risk. We manage risk, i.e., collect,
assess, minimize
Different people different risk
Always have a plan B.
Maintain liquidity: DROOM
“One of the great myths about
entrepreneurs is that they are risk
seekers. All sane people want to
avoid risk.”
– Professor William Sahlman, HBS
Friday, February 1, 2013
34. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
Risk: Take v.s. Manage
What is risk?
Is not taking risk risky?
We don’t take risk. We manage risk, i.e., collect,
assess, minimize
Different people different risk
Always have a plan B.
Maintain liquidity: DROOM
“One of the great myths about
entrepreneurs is that they are risk
seekers. All sane people want to
avoid risk.”
– Professor William Sahlman, HBS
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Roles of Leaders
Not to be more intelligent
But to
Inspire/motivate/connect to your people
Hire/Fire
Run a meeting
Moderate conflicts
Lead them towards a common goal
“Leadership is getting someone to
do what they don’t want to do, to
achieve that they want to achieve”
-- Coach Tom Landry
Friday, February 1, 2013
39. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
Selling in IMPORTANT!
Leading = selling your ideas = convincing people
For a good sales person
Prepare to take “No”
“No” = Undecided
Don’t Lie! Lying is good only for a short-term
“People want to believe. They want
to believe in you. They want to
believe in your company. And, your
job is simply to give them the
opportunity to believe.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Persist!
It’s normal to encounter 100 “no” before a “yes”
Do not give up!
Old saying: What doesn’t kill you will make you
stronger!
“Never give in. Never give in. Never,
never, never, never – in nothing, great or
small, large or petty – never give in,
except to convictions of honor and
good sense.”
– Winston Churchill
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Correlation of Attempts
Success leads to more success
Failure may not lead to success
Not getting things right from the
beginning
Success is a better lesson
People don’t usually admit and
correct their failure!
Friday, February 1, 2013
44. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
To Be Successful
Keep the record of what you did well
Read as much as you can
When you can’t move forward, look for other solution
“The idea just gets you started. Once you get in the game,
you’ve got to work at it until you figure it out. And no matter
what we do, no matter how much success we have in a
given year, the game is always about survival. Nothing stays
the same for ten years. We’ve had to change our strategy
year after year after year. If you can survive through all the
tough times, you’ll be that much stronger when the good
times finally come.”
-- Marla Malcolm Beck
Friday, February 1, 2013
45. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
It’s time to sell your
company
Nothing is good forever.
Find the right moment.
Sell your company
The investors might even hire you to run your company
Friday, February 1, 2013
49. http://WhatILearnFromReading.com
If you are an entrepreneur,...
“Entrepreneurship isn’t just about solving a
problem, building a venture, managing risk, or
making money. It’s about having a positive
impact on the world, making the most of the
gifts you’ve been given, and realizing your full
potential as a human being. An intelligent
entrepreneur, in short, plays this game for life.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
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Summary
We can learn to be an entrepreneur
There are few things you need to be successful
➠ Start with passion and commitment
➠ End with patience and persistence
But most of all, DEFINE your own “SUCCESS”
Friday, February 1, 2013