Category Archives: Book Reviews

The 4-hour workweek – Review

I was just about ready for a significant life change, when the 4-hour workweek came across my desk. I can’t recall how that happened but the timing was perfect. Timothy Ferriss have become a bit of a celeb after this book, and a few others that followed.

==> Click here to buy: The 4-Hour Workweek NOW <==

While not everybody will like his American style, hard selling approach, I really enjoyed and learned a great deal from this book. Here is of the idea in the book that really resonated with me:

The old industrial era model of working for 40-50 years to retire and then do the things you like is broken. Or maybe it has always been broken, and we are only realising it now. The first challenge the model face is that most people end up having to continue working to maintain their lifestyle. More and more people are also realising that many things, mostly activities, you want to do is not possible when you reach that age.

The New Rich is a new breed of people practising Life-style design and seeking adventure, for them the old ideas of retirement is the worst-case scenario. By understanding that income is all relative to the time you have to spend to earn it. The New Rich also realize the timing is never right to make the life-style changes needed to life a fulfilled life.

Ferriss also remarks that the opposite of happiness is NOT sadness but rather boredom. So to lead a happy life you should seek excitement. Look for the things that make you excited about getting out of bed every day and no day will be a work day!

==> Click here to buy: The 4-Hour Workweek NOW <==

The biggest take away for me was the idea that real freedom come if you can successfully separate your income from you location. Ferriss estimated by doing that you automatically increase what the money is worth to you by 3-10 times. And thereby you enable yourself to seek the things that really make you happy.

I really loved this book, and it has had a huge impact on my own ideas of what I would like to do with the rest of my life. You should read it!

Here is a video of Q&A session with Timothy Ferriss on some of the other things in the 4-hour workweek:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

This was a life changing read for me. It was a simple, engaging and truly thought provoking read. Then again I say simple, and that is what I remember now looking back at the book, although some parts of the story was gripping and unpredictable.

He starts the story where he found himself in life after he ‘made’ it. Having written a bestseller ‘Blue like Jazz’, financially better off and constantly at speaking engagements and other activities that would seem to be the ultimate place every writer would aspire to be. Miller however struggles to get out of bed in the morning.

=>Click to buy: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story <=

The twist in the story starts when Miller is approached by two guys who would like to turn his book into a movie. Through there interactions he realizes that would have to rewrite his New York best-selling book to turn it into a movie.

He learns about the characters, plots and storylines that need to be in place to make a movie work. He learns that nobody want to watch a boring movie! But here is the amazing conclusion that he found himself at: If that applies to making a movie, then it also applies to real life.

He starts turning his life around start doing things he has always wanted to and after a wild ride gets to meet his dad for the first time. It was a really a gripping read.

As I mentioned it was really life changing to me. Are you living the story that will keep your children and grandchildren on the edge of their seats? What are the things you would need to change to make that possible?

Those are the questions I asked myself after reading this book, and this was really the start to me making so drastic changes in my own life. If you ever wondered about these types of questions make sure to read “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” as soon as possible.

My big takeaway: Make sure your life is a story worth telling.

=>Click to buy: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story <=

Here is a clip where Miller talks about this book:

The Launch Pad by Randall Stross

My reading philosophy (if such a thing can exist) is to try and get a single idea from a book that could help me. Whenever I able to do that from a book, I feel justified in having spent the time to read it. “The Launch Pad” is not a book where I have struggled to find ideas that can help me. I have been riveted to listening to the audible version for the last week while exercising.

==> Click here to buy: The Launch Pad: Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s Most Exclusive School for Startups<==

The thought that has kept circling in my thoughts since one of the early chapter is: “Software is eating the world”, this was referenced in the book after an article by Marc Andreessen appeared in the Wall Street Journal in August 2011. The book gives a wonderful account of the start-ups that goes through Y Combinator’s summer class of 2011. And many of the start-ups seem to be proof of the idea that software is eating the world.

Randall Stross had the privilege of being invited to the inside of what otherwise seems to be a programme run mostly behind closed doors to the outside world. In Paul Graham, Y Combinator has its own inspiration founder and leader. Stross provides great insight into how Graham interviews, interacts, helps as well as get frustrated in dealing with the start-up founders.

I have really looked forward to every time I could get on the exercise bike to listen to more of this amazing story. I have found it hugely insightful and motivating. What amazed me is that the ideas don’t start out as being the next Facebook, twitter or the like. But target specific niches and then with help from Graham seems to grow and evolve into bigger ideas.

This was a great read (or listen in my case), and is really well worth the time needed to follow it from cover to cover. Make sure you get it and read it if you have any interest in the start-up ecosystem.

And remember: “Software is eating the world” in a great and exciting way – not a doomsday movie type of way.

==> Click here to buy: The Launch Pad: Inside Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s Most Exclusive School for Startups<==

Venture Deals – Review

This was a great read. The book was written by two partners at a Venture Capital firm in Bolder Colorado. They spared no effort to educate the reader on many aspects of dealing with venture capitalists. It is really like an insider’s guide! Who would not want that?

They adequately describe all the parties involved in financing of startups, including the people we all love to hate – Lawyers! They also take the reader on a step-by-step guide on the process of raising money. Most time however is devoted to the term sheet.

==> Click to buy: Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist<==

They break the discussion on the term sheet into three parts. Firstly the authors cover the parts that are related to the economics of the proposed deal, like Price, Liquidation Preferences and Vesting. I particularly enjoyed the explanation around Liquidation Preferences and how Venture Capitalist likes to structure deals. Also interesting how they warn against trying to get to high valuation when selling shares early on to Friends, Family and Fools (FFF), this can backfire big-time. Lots of learning in this chapter!

Chapter 5 then deals with the control related elements of the term sheet. They share how to go about setting up the board of directors and potential pitfalls. All other terms are handled in the same chapter and give more than sufficient understanding for somebody about to negotiate a term sheet.

Chapter 8 takes you to the inside of a VC firm and even explains some of the unexplainable behaviour VC seems to get up to at times. You will learn how VC makes money, structure funds and manage their cash flow.

For how ever the part on negotiations was probably the best! Make sure you don’t miss it – Find out what type of negotiator you are and how to handle anything the VC can through at you!

If you are starting a business that aims to raise money from Venture Capital firms, you HAVE to read Venture Deals. The subtitle is not ‘Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist’ for nothing!

Get it now!

==> Click to buy: Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist<==

The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup is a really great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It might well be one of the best books I have ever read, top 5 for sure. It was an easy read, but Eric Ries gets the concept across really well. He tells the story of how he wanted to apply the principle of ‘lean manufacturing’ to the ‘startup world’.

==>Click here to buy ‘The Lean Startup<==

He also develops a few ground breaking concepts of which Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is my personal favourite. The idea behind MVP is to build the absolute bare minimum product you can in order to start acquiring users, enabling you to start learning the lesson to be able to improve the product. These learning’s challenge the assumptions that was made and help shape the future of the product decisions.

From my first impressions this is highly applicable to software startups but I expect application to be found in other startups as well. Lean Thinking will definitely shape my own thoughts and actions in future ventures significantly.

Do yourself a favour, even if you just had a single fleeting though of getting involved in a software, internet or any startup, study (not just read) the Lean Startup. The same goes for anybody involved in software development or management of software or internet companies! This book could be the answer to some of your prayers.

As more and more case studies of successful startup following this methodology emerge, it will continue to grow into an even bigger movement. This is also part of a much bigger trend for software to impact even more areas of our lives. These mega trends together with accelerators, incubators and seed funds like TechStars and Y Combinator, are helping ‘hackers’ to build the software that will power our world tomorrow.

===> Click here to buy ‘The Lean Startup'<==