Entrepreneurial Books
Am I Being Too Subtle: Straight Talk from a Business Rebel by Sam Zell (2017).
“Am I Being Too Subtle: Straight Talk from a Business Rebel” is an entrepreneurial book by Sam Zell. Sam Zell is a self-made billionaire and the chairman of Equity Group Investments. Sam Zell harbored a willingness to take prudent risks, an attribute that helped him develop his entrepreneurial instincts as he took up different challenges. “Am I Being Too Subtle” gives a reader the journey that Sam Zell had to endure to become a successful businessman. The story is not only informative but also entertaining, which grabs the attention of the reader throughout the book. The book also presents useful entrepreneurial learning experiences.
According to Sam Zell, entrepreneurial skills are cultivated from a young age. Sam gives a story of how he started engaging in business at the tender age of twelve. Sam would buy magazines in the city and sell them to his friends in the suburbs. At age twelve, Sam had already understood the nature of demand and supply as he made profits by selling the magazines at a higher price. Therefore, an entrepreneurial mind is quick to notice opportunities, even from a tender age. When a person sharpens their entrepreneurial instincts from a tender age, they become sharp as time goes by, and they become acquitted to taking business-related risks.
An entrepreneur should always be objective. Objectivity is one of the core ingredients that make a good entrepreneur. An objective person is focused on achieving their goals, and they understand the effort required. As for Sam Zell, considers his lack of subtlety as a clear way of achieving objectives. Whenever Sam engages in a deal, he makes his intentions clear to avoid ambiguity or confusion. Therefore, an entrepreneur should be direct with people and state their objectives clearly to avoid confusion.
An entrepreneur should be willing to take risks. Sam advises his readers to look right when everyone else is looking left. Facing challenges is one sure way of sharpening entrepreneurial instincts. Thus, taking risks that other people are afraid of should be the norm of an entrepreneur.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (2018)
“Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup” by John Carreyrou is a book inspired by a true story. The book falls under the genre of true crime, where the author tells of the rise and fall of a multibillion-dollar biotech company. Theranos was a biotech company started and headed by Elizabeth Holmes. The company rose to fame and riches after a successful pitch, which would see a change of events in the pharmaceutical world. However, the vision by Elizabeth Holmes is full of errors, and implementing the program would claim many lives. Readers can draw several entrepreneurial experiences from the text.
Investors should always conduct thorough background investigations before investing in a business pitch. Therenos successfully pitched an idea to Norvatis because of how Elizabeth Holmes pitched her biotech idea. Elizabeth utilized her charismatic personality to give an emotional pitch to Novartis. The idea that seemed perfect at first turned out to be full of mistakes and technical errors. The investors, such as Novartis, should have conducted a thorough investigation before absorbing the pitch by Theranos.
Investors should keep a close eye on the ideas they invest in. On the outside, Elizabeth Holmes was a charismatic and dedicated leader. However, at Theranos, the employees experienced a different person. Elizabeth was blinded by becoming the “female Steve Jobs” that she went as far as lying to her staff and federal officials about the results of the work that Theranos was doing. Elizabeth knew that the idea was faulty, but she lied to maintain her investors. Had the investors paid more attention to the work at Theranos, the flaws in the project would have been noted earlier.
From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places by Elmira Bayrasli (2015)
“From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places” is an entrepreneurial book by Elmira Bayrasli. The book gives an account of entrepreneurs who decide to start businesses in parts of the world that were economically, socially, and culturally underdeveloped. Ideally, people start businesses in geographical locations that will favor their business. Entrepreneurs prefer developed places that will increase profit turnovers. However, a designated section of entrepreneurs decides to take the risk and invest in areas that are less likely to be profitable. The book gives several examples of such entrepreneurs and how they managed to overcome challenges.
An entrepreneur should analyze the potential of business before setting a shop in unpopular locations. A fine line exists between courage and recklessness. Thus, although entrepreneurs are risk-takers, they should avoid setting shop before analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of a location. A SWOT analysis helps to predict the future of a business and all the opportunities that can be utilized to increase profit. One example used in the book is Monis Rahman of Pakistan. Monis runs a matchmaking site in a society that disapproves of online dating. However, with an advance in technology, more societies are slowly approving online dating, which is an opportunity for Monis. Therefore, an entrepreneur should not invest in a business without careful analysis.
One should tailor their business to meet the cultural needs of the target population. People are more receptive to new enterprises that adhere to their culture. The book gives an example of Bulent Celebi, who started an enterprise in Turkey. Bulent bases his organization on an influential Turkish organizational culture. Since the employees are familiar with Turkish culture, they serve customers with ease, which leads to a high-profit turnover. Thus, when the business synchs with the culture of the target population, there is a high-profit turnover.
Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech by Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravens (2017)
“Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech” is an entrepreneurial motivational book co-authored by Heather Cabot and Samantha Walvarens. The book inspires women in tech by motivating them to rise against stereotypes and people who undermine women in the tech world. The book gives a collection of inspiring success stories of women who fought against all the odds and paved the way for women in tech. The book also serves to motivate women entrepreneurs seeking to invest and compete in the male-dominated tech world. Several entrepreneurial lessons can be derived from the book.
Female entrepreneurs should be prepared to face a stereotypic world. Ideally, people believe that men are better entrepreneurs because of their ability to make decisions objectively. Women are believed to be emotional beings that cannot make objective decisions. However, such notions are stereotypic because women can also make objective decisions. Female entrepreneurs have to work extra-hard to outdo male stereotypes are well as motivate fellow women.
Female entrepreneurs should be willing to invest in each other’s ventures. As stated earlier, the tech world is a male-dominated industry. Therefore, women need to motivate each other by all means. Ways of motivating each other include investing in each other and supporting each other’s ideas. Also, women should give each other constructive criticism to ensure all tech products by women are flawless. Ironically, only a few women are willing to help each other. If women can set their differences aside and focus on the main agenda, women in tech can outdo men in the same industry. Thus, women not only need to work an extra mile but to also motivate each other and succeed in the male-dominated tech world.
References
Bayrasli, E. (2015). From the other side of the world: Extraordinary entrepreneurs, unlikely places. Public Affairs.
Cabot, H., & Walravens, S. (2017). Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech. St. Martin’s Press.
Carreyrou, J. (2018). Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. Alfred Knopf
Zell, S. (2017). Am I being too subtle? Straight talk from a business rebel. Penguin Publishing Group.