My Start-Up Life

THE AUTHOR

MY START-UP LIFE

Foreword By Marc Benioff. Introduction. 1.0 My Dot-Com Life Begins. Brainstorm: Who Knows What Could Happen If You Raise Your Hand? Brain Trust: Take Responsibility, by Heidi Roizen. 2.0 Nature or Nurture? A San Francisco Upbringing. Brainstorm: All the Fuss About "Passion"-and How to Tap into Yours 3.0 The First Axiom of Business: Find a Need and Fill It. Brainstorm: The Fringe-Thoughts List: Where Most Great Ideas Develop. Brainstorm: Feedback, Feedback, Feedback. 4.0 Comcate Is Born: The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Business. Brainstorm: The Business Plan Myth 28 Brainstorm: Why Some People Get More Stuff Done (and Start Real Businesses). 5.0 First Meeting with a VC (It's All About the Network). Brainstorm: The Power of Mentors. Brainstorm: When to Ask a Dumb Question. Brain Trust: Taking Mentor Relationships to the Next Level, by Brad Feld. 6.0 Signing Up Early Customers: Selling the Sizzle and the Steak. Brainstorm: Asking Questions: There's a Right and a Wrong Way. Brainstorm: I Have a Strategic Plan. It's Called Doing Things. 7.0 Confronting Failure ... and Bouncing Back. Brainstorm: Building Resilience-A Transferable Quotient. Brainstorm: How to Create and Leverage an Advisory Board. 8.0 Hiring an Interim CEO: My First Big Mistake. Brainstorm: Three Sure Ways to Maximize Luck. 9.0 The Hunt for a COO: Recruiting a Top Team. Brainstorm: The Art of Courtship. Brainstorm: How to Overcome Fear of Failure. 10.0 Life as a Road Warrior: Making Memorable Sales Pitches. Brainstorm: Presentations-Worthy of Obsession. Brainstorm: Pricing in an Early-Stage Company. Brain Trust: Life Is a Sales Call, by Jeff Parker. 11.0 I'm a Sophomore: Balancing Work, School, and Life. Brainstorm: Redefining the Entrepreneurial Lifestyle: Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise. Brainstorm: Being a Corporate Athlete. Brain Trust: A Life That Works, by Chris Yeh. 12.0 A Silicon Valley Life: Building Me, Inc. Brainstorm: Networking 101. Brainstorm: Networking 202. Brainstorm: Every Cold Call Can Be Warm-Rich First-Time Interactions. Brainstorm: Creating and Projecting Brand "Me." 13.0 The Product Development Process: Cheap, Good, or Fast? Brainstorm: Dare to Be Mediocre: Good Is the Enemy of Perfect. 14.0 It's a Frugal, Frugal World: Bootstrapping Through the Inevitable Cash Squeeze. Brainstorm: Asking for Money Versus Asking for Advice. 15.0 The Long, Hard Slog: Achieving Scale. Brainstorm: A Relationship-Based First Business. Brainstorm: Getting More Good Revenue and Less Bad Revenue. Brain Trust: Keep Slogging Away, by Carol Rutlen. 16.0 Fulfilling the Mission, One Customer at a Time. Brainstorm: Make Meaning: What Gets You and Your Employees Up Each Day? 17.0 The Road Ahead: Leaders of the Flat World. Brain Trust: How to Think About the Future, by Sean Ness 18.0 What Will You Be Shouting When You Reach the Grave? Brainstorm: Entrepreneurs Are Optimists. Brain Trust: Let Your Heart Guide You, by Timothy J. Taylor. Appendix A: What's Next. Appendix B: A One-a-Day, One-Month Plan to Becoming a Better Entrepreneur. Appendix C: Ben's Reading List. Acknowledgments. Endnotes. The Author.