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Title: Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine
Author: Michael E. Gordon
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0470047127

Refreshing basics is a good idea–in any domain. However experienced you are. I found “Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine” states the basics of entrepreneurship very clearly; covers almost all points.

It starts with the spirit of entrepreneurship. It strongly states the fact several entrepreneurs learned with their lives:

“You can’t do it alone. Building a world-class team is the only way to big success”.

It tries to define an entrepreneur in a very interesting and convincing way. I liked that section very much; I’m sure it’s gonna be a whack on the head for many.

Gordon explains the difference between an idea and an opportunity. Many think they are same. He explains the differences and provides means to find out whether an idea is an opportunity or not.

Gordon’s list of “Essential Entrepreneurial Power Skills” is a great one. I liked a practical tip called “Power of Zero” on how to step up your inflow in a phased manner. He defines phases of business which many entrepreneurs forget to track in their day-to-day rush.

Then he talks about how ideas can make or break you. The need of selecting and examining ideas which best suit you and your skills; very important I should say. An idea which is good by itself may not be good for you. He emphasis the need of finding the fit between you and your idea.

Business design is something all entrepreneurs take for granted. They go with “as soon as it makes money, it’s fine” approach. Gorden goes a level deeper and talks about designing your money machine very objectively. I liked that. It’s more scientific and rational. Again nothing new in this but a good refresher.

Once you have identified your idea the next thing you need to define is your competition. “Good” and “bad” industries are identified with this. Consider all aspects while doing this: competing products and substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, etc., etc.. He says “it’s a jungle”.

There is a chapter on “Raising Money” which will be a handy one for all new entrepreneurs. Gordon explains what are the options available to raise money with pros and cons of each equipping you to take a decision of your own.

I’m not from a business family. But I wanted to do business ever since I started thinking about my career and life. But I was often worried about the fact that mine is not a “business blood”. But later on I started realising that an inherent desire is enough to become an entrepreneur. This book underlines that. Gordon clearly states that entrepreneurship can be learned just like any other skill. That’s true. The question is whether you want to be entrepreneur.

The author talks about the importance of finding the lacking skills in you as an entrepreneur. This is a much-ignored element especially with self-funded entrepreneurs (who usually manages everything by themselves and “be his own boss” in literal sense) and can severely affect the growth of business.

This book referres many excellent entrepreneurial and business books. Most of them are must-reads. Read them too if you haven’t already. Entrepreneurship 101 is very informative and inspirational (an unusual combination) and includes a pep talk section at the end of each chapter.

What this book doesn’t cover are day-today running and operational matters of your business. That subject is in a domain of its own. So I would recommend reading Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done along with this book, if you want to have more comprehensive coverage on entrepreneurship. Another element missing in this book is the human resource part.

What the author talks about web sites and other IT related subjects lacks up-to-date knowledge. For example, he talks about the importance of meta tags in web pages to get it listed in search engines. The days of meta tags with respect to search engines are gone. Now you need to look at SEO techniques.

Conclusion

If you are a wannabe-entrepreneur this book is a must-read for you. If you already wet your feet, read this book twice over (you might need to unlearn something).

I would rate this book 4/5.

Title: Crossing the Chasm
Author: Geoffrey A. Moore
Publisher: HarperBusiness Essentials
ISBN: 0-06-051712-3

If you are in the business of marketing/selling disruptive products to mainstream customers? This book is for you.

When Apple introduced iPod in the market how long did it take for you get one yourself? You might have tried it as soon as you heard about it, or you might have got one yourself when you saw it in the hands of your savvy nephew, or you might have bought one as you started to see them around in your office, or you might have bought it due to peer pressure. Or, at the last, you might have bought one because you needed that for your survival.

In every technology market, the Technology Adoption Life Cycle of a disruptive product passes through the above-mentioned five stages. These markets are technically called Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards by Geoffrey A. Moore. Interestingly each segment is separated by a chasm; a chasm can be fatal if not managed properly. He explains how a chasm can be identified, tackled and can be got over to continue to ride the Technology Adoption Life Cycle.

This book also explains the importance of selling disruptive products to “self-referencing” markets. You will not really build a market by initially selling your disruptive product to banks, transport companies, government and school; all at the same time. You need to identify the niche that most suits your product and starts selling. He says, “Trying to cross the chasm without taking a niche market approach is like trying to light a fire without kindling”.

In the section “Beyond Niches” he says that “there is life after niche. Major market dominance ultimately transcends niche.” As the next step, the book shed light to the importance of selecting the strategic target market.

Moore also says the importance of having a defined target in your actions. He quotes the quote: “If you don’t know where you are going, you probably aren’t going to get there”. One can use the guidelines given in this chapter to identify the best niche market to target his product at.

He introduces the concept of “Whole Product”. What we generally supply is a generic product which cannot fulfill the requirements of customers. They either need to have their team to work on it to make it a Whole Product or the supplier has to do that job. There is a strategic advantage with your product if you can provide it in a Whole Product form.

The book says about the importance of having competition to enter the mainstream market. Principles of Positioning is also explained here with process and examples.

Building channels is another important step in any sales process. This book explains various channel/distribution mechanisms found in the market along with its merits and demerits. And the book ends with a chapter named “Getting Beyond the Chasm” which explains the role of Financial Decisions, VC, Organizational Decisions, etc..

This book is an absolute read for anyone who is trying to market anything disruptive. This books contains several case studies to demonstrate the principles explained. A must read. I would rate this book 5/5.