This book tells how four ordinary guys from Queens, New York, rose from street corners to corner offices and became the greatest trendsetters of our generation with the FUBU brand. Daymond John lays it all out on the line, his secrets to success, his triumphs, and his failures, to show what it takes to harness and display the power that resides in us all.--[book cover]
If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.
Who needs investors? More than two generations ago, the venture capital community – VCs, business angels, incubators and others – convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and raising venture capital constituted the twin centerpieces of entrepreneurial endeavor. They did so for good reasons: the sometimes astonishing returns they've delivered to their investors and the astonishingly large companies that their ecosystem has created. But the vast majority of fast-growing companies never take any venture capital. So where does the money come from to start and grow their companies? From a much more agreeable and hospitable source, their customers. That's exactly what Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Banana Republic's Mel and Patricia Ziegler did to get their companies up and running and turn them into iconic brands. In The Customer Funded Business, best-selling author John Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative 21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors like Dell, Gates, and the Zieglers: Matchmaker models (Airbnb) Pay-in-advance models (Threadless) Subscription models (TutorVista) Scarcity models (Vente Privee) Service-to-product models (GoViral) Through the captivating stories of these and other inspiring companies from around the world, Mullins brings to life the five models and identifies the questions that angel or other investors will – and should! – ask of entrepreneurs or corporate innovators seeking to apply them. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and investors who have actually put these models to use, Mullins goes on to address the key implementation issues that characterize each of the models: when to apply them, how best to apply them, and the pitfalls to watch out for. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur lacking the start-up capital you need, an early-stage entrepreneur trying to get your cash-starved venture into take-off mode, an intrapreneur seeking funding within an established company, or an angel investor or mentor who supports high-potential ventures, this book offers the most sure-footed path to starting, financing, or growing your venture. John Mullins is the author of The New Business Road Test and, with Randy Komisar, the widely acclaimed Getting to Plan B.
Get it right—from the start! “Entrepreneurship is like a roller coaster ride, exhilarating yet terrifying . . . Allow Ingrid to guide you” (Adam Franklin, bestselling author of Web Marketing That Works). Often, people leap into starting a business to pursue their passion without fully realizing what they’ve gotten themselves into. They may love what they do—but the financial and administrative side of the business ends up being more than they bargained for. So You Want to Start a Business takes you through the seven essential elements required to create a thriving business. With examples, exercises, and invaluable guidance, Ingrid Thompson provides a practical guide to unleashing one’s inner entrepreneur. With over twenty years’ experience helping people create successful businesses, Ingrid knows exactly how to help people decide what kind of business to start—and start out on the right foot.
How to start a clothing company: Learn branding, business, outsourcing, fashion line apparel, social media marketing, and Instagram marketing strategies includes everything you need to know to get your clothing business up and running. By the time you finish, you will be able to start a successful clothing company. There is a lot of information out there about starting a clothing business, but this book takes the best knowledge and puts it into an easy-to-read, concise format. Throughout the book, the best practices are given for you to succeed in your clothing entrepreneurial journey. Learn valuable information that can save you time and money as you start your clothing line. Suitable for the novice or advanced entrepreneur. Includes: The best way to structure your business, as well as the easiest way to structure your business, What you need to get a reliable brand that is not as hard as you think, Different business models to use to get your clothing dreams off the ground, How to find the best manufacturer, locally or overseas, to partner with when starting your business, Marketing tips you can use if you have the money or don't have money Everything you need to know about order fulfillment,
A seasonal guide to fashion, food, entertaining, and more—from spring cleaning to summer beach beauty, fall flavor recipes to a winter gift guide. Based on Emily Schuman’s popular lifestyle blog of the same name, Cupcakes and Cashmere is the must-have guide for those looking to establish their own sense of style, organize and decorate their home, or throw an easy and stylish party. Organized by season, the book expands on Schuman’s blog by including DIY projects, organization tips, party-planning ideas, beauty how-tos, and seasonal recipes. Cupcakes and Cashmere features original material that has not been previously published on the site. With her signature photographic layouts, Emily creates a lifestyle that is chic and achievable for every reader, making this the ultimate style guide for living a fashionable life.
"Wonderful . . . a moving autobiography, the story of a unique business, and a detailed blueprint for hope." —Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel In this 10th anniversary edition, Yvon Chouinard—legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.—shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth. From his youth as the son of a French Canadian handyman to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
An investigation into the damage wrought by the colossal clothing industry--and the grassroots, high-tech, international movement fighting to reform it from a bestselling journalist who has traveled the globe to discover the visionary designers and companies who are propelling the industry toward that more positive future.ture.
"This guide will teach you everyhing you need to know to get your own business off the ground while avoiding the costly mistakes that can kill new dropshipping ventures. We will discuss everything from the dropshipping fundamentals to how to operate a dropshipping business and deal with the problems that arise."--Back cover.