THE ART OF START 2.0

Guy Kawasaki has done a core dump of his knowledge in this book with his successful business experiences, wisdom of an investor everything is share..

There are two-phase in business

1) Microscopic phase

2) Telescopic phase

5 things which make a business startup successful are

1- Make meaning

2- Make mantra

3- Get going

4- Business model

5- Weave mat

**************

The 13 Lessons From The Art of Start 2.0

Getting into the specifics, the book is structured into 13 separate chapters, so here are 13 business lessons to learn from The Art of Start 2.0:

1. The Art of Starting Up

To start things right, don’t start with megalomania-cal goals. Instead, ask simple questions such as:

• Isn’t this interesting?
• Is there a better way?
• Where is the market leader weak?

Then find the sweet spot at the intersection of your expertise, passion and opportunity.

In most entrepreneurship books you learn to think about the resources you need to start your business, about the resilience you need in the face of endless challenges and so on. However, you can’t possibly anticipate everything.

A key question to ask is “How do I make meaning?”, because “If you make meaning, you’ll probably also make money”.

Then based on this, create a three-to-five word “mantra” to inspire you and your team. For example, for Nike this would be “Authentic athletic performance”.

Then pick a business model and weave a MATT, which stands for Milestones, Assumptions, Tests and Tasks.

2. The Art of Launching

At a very early stage in your business, make a prototype and put it in the hands of your prospects. Don’t over-analyse theoretical aspects. Go for what Eric Ries calls an MVP (minimum viable product).

Worry first about adoption, not scaling.

Then it’s time to craft your positioning. Create ONE message, that captures the essence of your company.

Create a story around your product. It’s not about providing information, but about inspiring faith in you and your product.

3. The Art of Leading

Exude optimism, but watch reality right in the face. You need to establish a culture of execution, building an organization engineered to deliver results. Hire people better than you and empower them to maximize the use of their strengths.

Stay flexible, positive and celebrate success!

4. The Art of Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping a startup today is more possible than in any other time in history. You can capitalize on the cloud, under-staff in the beginning and focus strategically on the big areas that move the needle in your business.

5. The Art of Fund-raising

Focus on building a sound business and assess wisely the various funding opportunities. Then once you get funded, spend money like you would never be able to get funding again. Don’t go wild over-spending on nice furniture, free food and hiring expensive MBAs from big companies.

6. The Art of Pitching

Your audience has already been exposed to many pitches. In order to succeed, be short and to the point. Know your audience, prepare exhaustively and if possible, include a product demo.

7. The Art of Building a Team

Hire great people that are true believers, like you.

While intuition has its place, make sure that you follow a data-based hiring process: check references early, prepare interview questions in advance and stick to your script, collect adequate data and take notes for future reference.

8. The Art of Evangelizing

As a side note, Guy was Chief Evangelist at Apple and he’s the current Chief Evangelist of Canva, so he knows a thing or two about this topic.

“Evangelism” comes from Greek and has the meaning of “proclaiming the good news”. This is much easier to do when you actually have a great product that you believe in. So take care of the fundamentals first!

9. The Art of Socialising

Social Media is a very valuable tools for entrepreneurs, as it enables you to reach a big audience at no cost.

However, this doesn’t mean it’s easy.

The biggest challenge you face is “feeding the content monster”. Guy shares a number of practical tips on how to leverage the 2 main ways to do this, i.e. content creation and content curation.

Remember to be visual!

And it’s OK to leverage smart automation to maximize your ROI.

10. The Art of Rainmaking

Observe who and how is using your product and your customers will “show” you how to best sell to them.

You may discover that guerilla selling methods provide far better ROI than traditional ones.

Also, it’s very often the case that CEOs don’t make the purchasing decisions, but mid-level managers who are “key influencers” in the organization. Find them!

11. The Art of Partnering

When considering partnerships, make sure it’s a win-win arrangement. Take care when you’re considering an alliance with a much bigger organization. And lastly, having an “out” clause in the deal enables all parties to chill and work harder.

12. The Art of Enduring

You need to find ways to keep the fire burning in the heart of your team members, over the long run. Get people to really believe in your product and become evangelists.

This is not something you can do with money.

Capitalize on the laws of reciprocation, consistency, social proof, diversify your team and create a cool business building ecosystem around your product.

13. The Art of Being Mensch

Achieving “menschood” is about being recognized, especially by the people who matter, as ethical, graceful and admirable.

Help people who cannot help you, help many people, without the expectation of return and do what’s right.

(Click Here for Original Link)

Tope quotes of the Book:

• Remember, few things are right or wrong in entrepreneurship – there’s only what works and what doesn’t work – Guy Kawasaki

• Entrepreneurship is about doing, not learning to do – Guy Kawasaki

• Don’t wait for perfection. Good enough is good enough. There is time for refinement later. It’s not how great you start – it’s how great you end up – Guy Kawasaki

• If entrepreneurship was without a risk more people would try it – Guy Kawasaki

• The worst speech you can give is the one that people interpret as a sales pitch – Guy Kawasaki

• When people believe in your product, they will help you succeed through credible, continuous, and cost-effective proselytization – Guy Kawasaki

• Leaders cannot have a bad day. No matter how scary and depressed are, you cannot show fear, uncertainty, or doubt. You must exude optimism every day – Guy Kawasaki

• If you wait until you have the perfect product or person, it may be too late – Guy Kawasaki

• Life is too short to work with people who you don’t like – Guy Kawasaki

• Help people who cannot help you. Help without the expectation of return. Help many people – Guy Kawasaki