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Startup Opportunities: Know When to Quit Your Day Job (Techstars) Hardcover – Illustrated, May 30, 2017

by Sean Wise (Author), Brad Feld (Author), Chris Sacca (Foreword)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
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Start strong with essential early-stage guidance from the VC perspective

Startup Opportunities is the go-to guide for anyone with a great business idea. Whether it's your first business or your fifth, realistic assessment from the outset can save you a lot of time and money; why pour your heart and soul into a venture that is doomed to fail? Instead, position yourself to win from the very beginning. In this book, accomplished venture capitalists share their insight on startups and entrepreneurs: who will fail, who will succeed and why, and what you should do to give your business the very best shot at becoming a global success story. You'll learn how to evaluate your business with a critical eye, and how early customer development can be key in turning a good idea into a great opportunity. If you're serious about building a business that lasts, this book provides invaluable guidance that you really cannot miss.

More than five million people will launch a business this year, and many of them will be great ideas--yet few will be around in five years, and even fewer in ten years. A great idea is not enough to build a successful business. You need to fortify your idea with the proper foundation, and a scaffolding of good planning and early action. This book shows you how.

  • Assess your business's viability using the 10x Rule
  • Learn when you can quit your day job--or not
  • Take the key steps to making your business succeed
  • Discover the opportunities worth selling everything for

This expert author team has witnessed more than 30,000 pitches over two decades, and have participated in over 500 startup launches. Startup Opportunities gives you the benefit of their experience to help you start strong and stay strong.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Wiley
  4. Publication date
    May 30, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781119378181
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1119378181
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

More than five million entrepreneurs will launch businesses this year, and millions more will have great ideas for a business. In five years, many of those businesses will be gone and mostly all of those ideas will still be just talk. Creating the next big thing and becoming a disruptive organization comes down to execution--do you have the foundation, scaffolding, and flawless action plan to build a business?

Startup Opportunities is a valuable guide to evaluating business ideas at their earliest stages to avoid wasting time and losing money on projects with no chance of succeeding. This must-read for all aspiring entrepreneurs culls the collective wisdom of two venture capitalists who have witnessed tens of thousands of pitches and taken part in hundreds of startup launches. Inside this book, these luminaries share their personal strategies and approaches for predicting the startups that will rise and those which are destined to flop. Then, to bring you as close as possible to the most innovative and accomplished minds practicing today, each chapter features real-life lessons learned in firsthand accounts that are as inspiring as they are informative. Fully updated and aligned with today's marketplace, this Second Edition enables you to:

  • Know you're ready to quit your day job when your new venture passes the 10x Rule
  • Use early customer development techniques that will flesh out a good idea into a lucrative opportunity
  • Understand the essential characteristics of a venture that's worth going all in on

No matter how good the idea, make sure you're ready to start with Startup Opportunities.

From the Back Cover

The Unbeatable System for Picking Winners Before the Gates Open

Startup Opportunities, Second Edition, is the first place every entrepreneur and investor should turn to when they come face to face with the next big business idea. In this peerless resource, a brilliant collection of investors and business owners share their hard-won advice for developing the critical eye to accurately assess the viability and potential of a business idea before huge amounts of time and money are squandered on a venture destined to fail. The rapid advancement of technology is driving innovation and change at an unprecedented rate, and having a dependable, expert-level methodology for quickly identifying high-potential startups can:

  • Get you into the next big thing ahead of the competition
  • Show you why ideas are worthless and how the secret to startup success is making it happen
  • Alert you to the hidden pitfalls, including psychological traps and indisputable deal breakers

Startup Opportunities, Second Edition, gives you everything you need to weed out the promising business thinkers from the ones with the mettle to make profits.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1119378184
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley; 2nd ed. edition (May 30, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781119378181
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1119378181
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Brad Feld

    Brad Feld

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    Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars.

    Brad is a writer and speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He's written a number of books as part of the Startup Revolution series and writes the blogs Feld Thoughts and Venture Deals.

    Brad holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed 25 marathons as part of his mission to finish a marathon in each of the 50 states.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Sean Wise

    Sean Wise

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    Dr. Sean Wise is an expert on startups & venture capital. He uses this expertise in his various roles as: university professor, bestselling author, international business speaker, and partner at Ryerson Futures, a seed stage venture capital fund and technology accelerator. Dr. Wise has published five books and more than two dozen peer-reviewed research papers and case studies of high-growth start ups. Dr. Wise spent five seasons as a consultant for CBC on the mega hit venture reality show Dragons' Den before moving in front of the camera as the host of the Naked Entrepreneur, which airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Dr. Wise has been called the Dr. Phil of Entrepreneurship and in 2014, Dr. Wise was named Entrepreneurial Mentor of the Year by Startup Canada.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
94 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Matt Tanyi
5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my approach!
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
Startup Opportunities deconstructed my misconceptions and ignorance about every aspect of the startup process in a very enlightening way. Sean Wise and Brad Felt use their years of experience as venture capitalists to provide a wealth of knowledge on the subject. It truly feels charitable in the sense that the value provided here could literally make someone a millionaire! I will undoubtedly refer back to these concepts as I execute my business ideas.

The concepts covered include everything from the incubation of an idea to refining a business plan to valuation and seeking funding. Each topic is covered with the depth and knowledge of investors who have quite obviously worked with hundreds of successful companies, and encountered thousands more half-baked ideas and startups to extract lessons from as well. Each chapter also features a “Founder’s Perspective” from companies such as 3D Robotics, Next Big Sound, and Talbott Teas. The resource notes at the end of each chapter refer to hundreds of other valuable information sources and resources.

That actual investor perspective is a valuable one, one that I had never really encountered until I came across this book. As a real estate agent and co-founder of a technology arts company, I found something in every chapter to relate to either career. As for the technology company, I quickly learned that we ignored many crucial steps in its creation – hence, why we lacked investment sources. I realized we couldn’t even call ourselves a startup due to our insistence on a micro-locational approach! Since then we’ve practically rewritten our entire business plan and radically altered our approach to focus on a more specific product with a broader market.

Wise and Felt opened us up to challenging our ideas rather than allowing our hubris and ego to guide our decisions. Chapter 11, Raising Money, is worth the purchase price by itself! I went from having a very basic understanding of business investing to feeling well-versed in pitching and working with various types of investors, including angel investors. A reader could probably take a few vague ideas and turn one of them into a successful business just by utilizing the resources of this book. I hope to be one of them! Thanks to Brad Felt & Sean Wise!
2 people found this helpful
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ZaphodBeeblebrox
5.0 out of 5 stars A mentor in ink...
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Any fan of the HBO series Silicon Valley knows missteps are inevitable in dreaming and executing on a startup idea. Though accelerators and incubators exist worldwide to help a startup navigate around many such landmines, mistakes happen due to lack of information and experience. Not unlike the show, an experienced guide (mentor) through this journey is invaluable and that is where Startup Opportunities steps in.

There are many books to help a startup through the initial valley of idea to MVP. Though this valley isn't quite as destructive as the valley of death possible in later stages, it is quite cruicial and must be navigated quickly. The startup team is usually short on cash, time, mentors and advisors here and need direct and usable advice. The book, rightfully, is broken into morsels of wisdom that can be referenced quickly and implemented with faith. This faith comes from the experience well recognized in the authors' prior work.

Complimentary books like 'Art of the Start', 'the Lean Startup', and the 'Startup Owners Manual' are the deeper dive texts that explore individual topics in far greater depth and breadth. 'Startup Opportunities', however, summarizes and hands out specific, topically relevant knowledge directly. If there were an index to startup manuals, this is it!

Finally, a book that demystified venture capital for numerous startups around the world is Venture Deals. Startup Oppportunities utilizes this cross-experience and provides a look into the specific topic of crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is likely to increase in the early (seed/pre-seed/FFF) rounds and the book utilizes the unique opportunity to provide this background for the nascent startup.

I can imagine a pre-startup weekend class based purely on this book!
2 people found this helpful
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Brian DeWitt
4.0 out of 5 stars Another solid read from some of the best in the startup scene
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Another solid read from some of the best in the startup scene. It is a good, quick read on what to look for in your ideas and gives examples of why an idea is not enough. It appears to me to be geared more towards those just jumping into the startup world, those that are viewers of Shark Tank/Dragon's Den and have thought "Hey! I could do that!" and those that - admittedly or not - need the extra guidance of vetting/executing before seeking money.
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Michael Hodges
5.0 out of 5 stars The Essential FELD Guide to Startups
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
Brad Feld and Dr. Sean Wise have put together a great resource here. Startup Opportunities contains all the essential information you need to get your footing into the startup community. Everyone has an entrepreneurial idea. This is human nature. Humans have survived and evolved by creating unique solutions to unmet needs. Startup Opportunities Will Help You Create Those Unique Solutions.The authors have put in great work getting just the right criteria to make sure you are successful in your startup venture. they have done this by laying out a framework for which to evaluate an opportunity, by its ROI.
But.
What about the Probability of Failure?

Yes failure is a reality but having the right tools to evaluate an opportunity will land you out on tops for many of your tries. The Cost of not doing so is great. Brad Feld emphasizes Idea are cheap and executing on a bad idea can be costly. In Startup Opportunities, you will learn the Keys to Business Success.
How to Execute. Execution is key to developing a great idea. Execution is essential to Entrepreneurship.
How to evaluate Opportunities and mitigate risk by avoiding bias and Planning for Uncertainty.
How to Build and reward a successful startup team.

Many people are looking for great opportunities. What is needed is criteria to evaluate these ideas. Understanding you own biases and what draws you to an opportunity is critical to choosing wisely. Brad Feld in Startup Opportunities has created The Field Guide to finding or building a Successful Startup.
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Top reviews from other countries

Grant S
5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I had a copy before starting my first business!
Reviewed in Canada on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book is a great primer if you relatively new to the startup scene. I wish I had a copy before starting my first business! Maybe you've watched those shows were people pitch their ideas to Dragons or Sharks and have thought "why not me?". Startup Opportunities is a great read to help you round out your idea. It provides an easy to follow roadmap while demystifying the startup mystique. As with most of Brad's writing, it is practical, approachable, and based in his experiences as both entreprenuer and longtime investor. A great starting place for someone with an idea who is startup-curious!
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Amazon_customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very easy to read and full of valuable info
Reviewed in Germany on June 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
I have read a lot of these kinds of books, and although most of the material is not new to me, it's delivered in a fresh and approachable way. In addition to the wisdom of the authors themselves, there are also a lot of stories and pieces of advice from other well-known entrepreneurs. I recommend this book whether you are just thinking about quitting your day job, or already well on the path to entrepreneurship.
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Harry Red
5.0 out of 5 stars More valuable than you think
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
The authors cut right to the heart of some of the toughest challenges startup founders face. Thus, if you do a deep dive here, you save yourself a ton of headaches, tears and ultimately money.

In a time where online entrepreneur wisdom mostly equals noise, fresh advice from highly credible people is a welcome change. Stuff you can pick up and use. Best part: both Brad and Sean actually care about you, the entrepreneur. And it shows.

My suggestion: read the whole thing, pick out the topics that resonate most with you, and then go read more books on those. You'll rise above the noise faster than most.
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Bezerus Bezby
5.0 out of 5 stars Fab for dunces like me!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2017
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This is a great idea! An easy to read and easy to follow book that offers practical tips and solutions for myone wanting to start up their own business. Clearly it's not going to do the work for you, but for a complete beginner, offers ideas and solutions that people like me, who've never done anything business related, can understand. Highly recommended
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Startups
Reviewed in Canada on August 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
Had different expectations but still a good read nevertheless ..
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