Casnocha's "My Start-Up Life"
I finally finished off this book. (It's hard to get through a book while school is in, but I'm making a commitment not to stop reading any more.) I think it's brilliant.Before I go into the details, let me give the caveat: I think it's a shame that, regardless of how hard Ben Casnocha had to work to find funding, support, and customers for his start-up, he still found those things more easily than some who are older, much more experienced, and just as driven. There are a few things he's done that, despite his aptitude and positive outlook, came as a result of opportunities he would not have gotten if he weren't in high school at the time.
What a coup that is for young entrepreneurs everywhere! Before the breakthrough of the World Wide Web into the public consciousness, circa 1995, nobody would take most high-school or college students seriously when they would start a business. NOW, it looks like your chances of breaking in successfully are actually BETTER if you're young. Huh. Whodathunkit?
Now, regarding the book itself. I'm really partial to "lessons learned," which is why I like to read the exploits of real-life entrepreneurs. But those books are better when the writers actually label the lessons learned, call them out from the pages and don't bury them in text. Heck, if it were me -- and I've actually done this in "Rhetoric for Engineers," I would
- put the lessons in a list
- boldface the keywords
- put the list in a box
- put stars around the box -- big ones
- take the best lessons and put them out there as vivid pullquotes in bright colors.
Here's an example. He puts a box up and labels it "Brainstorm: Creating and Projecting Brand "Me." Inside the box he defines the components of your personal brand:
- your name
- your physical appearance (or other characteristics most noticed in person)
- your work
- your affiliations
- your network
- your online identity
...don't you want to be known for who you are -- in all its wonderful diversity -- rather than what you do from nine to five?Just as his argument for the personal brand is both accessible and compelling, he has similar things to say throughout the book, on topics such as hiring, fund-raising, and reeling in customers. That's why I like this book.
I wonder how he's going to follow it up. My guess is his next will be a travelogue of some sort, and he'll abandon the entrepreneurship message altogether. LOL
Labels: young entrepreneurs
posted by Ron @ 3:40 PM
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1 Comments:
thanks for the kind words, Ron!
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