Category Archives: Reviews

I usually read allot, but I am expecting to read even more during the time we will be in Fernie. So I will post reviews of the books and other toys here:

Do More Faster

I am not usually a fan of books that are a compilation written by different authors. I tend to find then disjointed and without a well paced rhythm. But I really enjoyed the previous two books by Brad Feld so I wanted to give Do More Faster a try. Despite these challenges the book was very enjoyable, with great gems of information and advices throughout. The authors sorted the contribution according to themes to try and get more cohesion and succeeded to an extent.

Do More Faster is co-authored by David Cohen the co-founder and CEO of TechStars. The contributors from the book also are all connected to TechStars in some way. One thing I really enjoyed was the comments David and Brad would give after most of the piece by contributing authors.

==>Click here to buy: Do More Faster <==

But as I mentioned there were some great bit and piece of advice here are some of my favourites:

Do quick releases, and get Feedback

This is a constant mantra of many of the software startup book I have read lately and is well explained in Do More Faster

Entrepreneurship is a team sport

This is the best articulation of this idea I have heard so far. It seams the odds are more in you favour in a multi founder startup. One of the arguments is that you need more than one person to keep the passion and enthusiasm going through some of the challenging times every startup face.

Vesting Founder shares

This was a really cool idea. And one I would have benefitted from 10 years ago. Instead give the founders of a company their entire allocation of share right of front. You make them vest over time. For example, if you had two founders who agree to split the shares 50/50. Instead if the vesting was done over 4 years, they will get a fifth of their shares at the start and then at the end of each of the next four years. This means if one of the founders leave after year one, at the end of the five years the share split will be 50/20.

83(b) filing

This is a very important piece of paper the founders of the business needs to complete upfront when they start a company with a vesting agreement. It saves the founders a huge tax liability later. Matt Galligan who writes this piece, didn’t file his 83(b) once and paid for it dearly.

==>Click here to buy: Do More Faster <==

There quite a few great snippets of information like this in Do More Faster. It is worth a read if you will ever find yourself in a tech startup space. I enjoyed Do More Faster.

Rework – Book Review

It only took about 10 pages for me to realise I was going to love REWORK! It really describes the kind of business I dream about building. The guys from 37signals have built something truly special. A great tech business with a kick ass team based all over the world. They are working on solving significant problems, and creating a sustainable business.

==> Click here to buy: Rework<==

Like with most success stories one is quick to assume that they have the secrets to success. But like all the Jim Collins books (Good to Great, Build to Last Ect) you have to be careful what conclusions you come too. Only looking at the successes or “survivors” leads to something called survivor bias. It really means that although somebody has been successful with an approach, it does not equal that everybody with the same approach were successful.

But hey these guys make a really sound argument and they bring it across in a fresh and unique manner. They break every chapter into small chuck that takes aim at a specific point they are trying to make. Each point is preceded by a graphic depicting the punch line.

They see Rework as one of the by-products of building there business, and encourage other people building similar business to also look for by-products they can develop and sell to further enhance the sustainability of their businesses. Their thoughts seems to be very much in line with the Lean Startup approach, of launch early and get feedback. Execution is everything, make a decision and get into action.

They argue that business plans, budget and planning is general is a waste of time since we humans are fundamentally bad at making predictions. I agree and wish I learned that lesson much earlier in life. They also have a very refreshing look at raising money in a startup. First they caution – don’t start a startup – start a business! Getting external funding should be the last resort. Instead of looking to build something to flip, focus on building a sustainable business. You will make better decision and if the offer to sell comes, you can handle it.

Another whole chapter that would have been really valuable to me 5 years ago was on hiring. Hiring new people should be the last resort, don’t ever just through people at a problem. They explain a great concept of hiring managers of one! These are people who can manage their own productivity and get things done with the minimum input from their boss. They offer some insight into how to find people like this.

Another constant theme in Rework is around some of the advantages of being small. Like the ability to move quickly, to be free from the bureaucracy that consumes so much energy in large companies. You can own your mistakes, and apologise like a real person without having legal breathing down your neck. You are also able to, through consistent behaviour over a long time, create the culture where great people can do their best work.

==> Click here to buy: Rework<==

Man, I loved this book. I really look forward to create a company based on many of these principles. I don’t think it is possible to read this book and not want to start something to help change the world. You can do it 2!

Start reading Rework today, it is a short, entertaining an easy read.

You can follow the authors of Rework at @jasonfried (Jason Fried) and @dhh (David Heinemeier Hansson) and the company at @37signals

Startup Communities – Review

Since I really enjoyed Venture Deals, I was curious to read more books by Brad Feld. So I started ‘Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City’ hoping for more insight on the startup ecosystem. I was not disappointed; the book also further inspired me to part of this world in the future.

The book uses the history of Boulder, Colorado in the United States as the premise to describe a startup community. Feld refers to it as “The Boulder Thesis”. My perception from afar has long been that the tech startup world starts and ends almost exclusively with Silicon Valley. Well, that assumption has been properly crushed! In fact, this book paints such a great picture of Boulder that I feel the need to go see what it is like for myself.

==> Click to buy: Startup Communities <==

Feld makes a very strong case that a startup community needs to function as a bottom up inspired community that is led by entrepreneurs. If any other players in the ecosystem, like governments, lawyers, universities or venture capital firms (whom Feld refers to as followers) take a leadership role, the growth of the startup community will be throttled.

When Marisa Mayer recently took over as CEO of Yahoo, I was intrigued that Google did not have some form of non-compete or restraint agreement as part of her employment contract that would prevent her from going to a competitor. This book provided me an answer to this question: Non-Compete agreements are unenforceable in California. This seems to be one factor that helps to drive the health of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Silicon Valley.

The book also addresses one of the commonly perceived problems in many startup communities: the lack of Venture Capital. Since there will always be some imbalance in the supply and demand for startup capital, it is very important not to see venture capital and startup communities as the same thing. In today’s connected world capital increasingly will find worthy ideas to invest in no matter where they are located.

==> Click to buy: Startup Communities <==

I really enjoyed ‘Startup Communities’ and I really think it can add huge value to anybody looking to help create a vibrant Startup Community in their own city. I hope the leaders in Silicon Cape reads ‘Startup Communities’.

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: