The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything Hardcover – March 3, 2015

Can Art Of The Start 2.0 really create careers, build new brands, transform lives? Heck, that’s its sole purpose. Not only can it help budding businesses and initiatives, it does more: it blasts away dilemmas, cushy alibis and convenient excuses. It’s an all-encompassing action plan - for action-oriented readers. (Spoiler alert: the other kind of reader will be, well, disillusioned.)As a long-time fan of Guy Kawasaki, familiar with his ideas and works, I’m glad to say that this book is nevertheless unexpectedly good. His whole trail-blazing career and his vantage point inform it and after all, he is in a league of his own. Yet Guy solves “the fundamental problem of experienced people” (that he too knows too much) by applying his unique gift of keeping it simple.For me, the book also carries a bonus - it’s like an unwritten writing course. The text is brilliantly efficient, which is impressive, as some of the ideas have previously been set to different formats - presentation slides, FAQ’s, interviews, webinars, etc. It is so smooth and fluid, so totally succinct, that the only place The Art of the Start 2.0 could go next (2.5?) is to become an app for portable devices.The text is also refreshingly candid. Guy repeatedly calls it what it is (vs. the artifice of PR, PC and widespread phoniness). Take for example a question about the hiring process: “Should we be honest about our startup’s weaknesses as well as strengths?”. Guy answers it like this: “Let me get this straight: you’re wondering whether you should lie to candidates, knowing that if they take the job, they’ll eventually discover that you startup sucks?”. No patience for pretense here, just the disarming truth - being no good to begin with, trying to hide it AND pretending it’s all somehow acceptable - is not acceptable. Virtually every page in the book is such a reminder to always be genuine. Much more than the title promises, that’s in fact sound life management.The text is quite funny on every page - just Guy being his usual amusing self. Still, he has done some heavy homework, while we all try to casually copy it from him. So whoever is serious about the success of his or her project in this life, will snap out of any daydreaming, grab a pencil and make notes about their own enterprise - after every paragraph. The text of the book may flow effortlessly, but the subject matter is anything but - and the author is the dead-serious, no-nonsense, been-there-done-that voice of reason, which none of us can afford to ignore.AOTS2.0 has convinced me that success is a ruthless numbers’ game, and that we stand only one chance in it - to play selflessly, conscientiously and passionately. It also lays out exactly how to do it. If you are willing to start something truly worthwhile, read it and re-read it; and you’ll never be naive again.Guy Kawasaki has excelled as a marketer, entrepreneur, manager, consultant, investor, blogger, writer, speaker, publisher and evangelist of several great brands. But more than anything - and this book seals it - he is an enthusiastic enabler, a kind catalyst and a steel safety net for anyone starting - or already doing - anything earnest anywhere.

I have read almost every book Guy Kawasaki has written and enjoy his "cut to the chase" style. This new book follows this trend: you will get practical, actionable, specific and above all, up-to-date advice without having to wade through verbiage to find nuggets that you can actually use. Below is a fragment of the many take-aways from the book:1. Pick a name for your start up that has a "verb potential." Kawasaki provides a way to test this. Imagine, you use this advice and the name of your new start up enters the mainstream vernacular and becomes a verb. Wouldn't you be happy you thought of this before using a name that can't possibly have verb potential?2. The top ten mistakes entrepreneurs make and more important, how to fix them.3. So many speakers focus on the "What" and forget about the "So what"? The "So what?" is the significance of what you're saying because you can't assume that it's always self-evident. You need to connect the dots for people. Guy gives the two most powerful words in a pitch to handle the "So what?" question in your audience's mind.4. If you're thinking about crowdfunding, you will find help in this book including additional resources you can access.5. Kawasaki provides many examples for the advice he gives. For example, you will find three examples of what leading financial investors look for in financial projections. Also VERY useful is Kawasaki's edit of a 90-second pitch. It shows you a sample pitch he received, and how he edited it, including outlining the lessons to derive from his rewrite.6. He encourages you to abandon outmoded thinking - for example, why you should focus on your pitch when you first start and not waste time writing a business plan.7. Each section has "Recommended Reading" which is always useful.8. Real world advice on bootstrapping a start-up from someone who's been there and done that.9. On presenting your pitch. Kawasaki says: "You're going to win or lose in the first minute or so" -- This section includes valuable advice on how to hit the ground running and not waste that crucial first impression. Even though this is a book about pitching your new product or service, it's also a great resource for improving your speaking skills for any situation. "Make love to the microphone" how to get a standing ovation is a must-read section in that regard.10. How to build your team: everything from interview tips, to how to check references, to knowing the top lies told at interviews. This will hopefully save you a lot of expensive hiring mistakes.11. How to position your product in a more personal way because that's more powerful and makes it easier for potential customers to imagine how a product fills their need. Again, great examples, of "impersonal" and "personal" positioning12. Each section also has some useful exercises to get you thinking. It's like having a coach at your side.13. When is the best time to send an email? Research-based answers. Having the empathy not to attach files larger than 5 Mbs unless you have permission and why you can lose if you ignore such a simple, yet important rule that people break all the time.14. Another thing I love about Kawasaki's books is the proliferation of outside links to useful resources such as SocialBro, for example - a service for Twitter, to get reports on who follows you, to find new people to follow, and to determine how your content is doing.15. Important persuasion principles that can help you - put in context and with examples.If there is one sentence that for me sums up Kawasaki's ethos which permeates this book, and all his previous books, it's this: "The genesis of great companies is answering simple questions that change the world, not the desire to become rich." And one of his practical exercises is: "Complete this sentence: If your startup never existed , the world would be worse off because __________."Buy this book for yourself or give it as a gift. I just finished delivering a workshop to young innovators working on pitching their apps. I wished I had the book at the time. I would have given each person a copy.

Great book. The style is clear and easy to understand. The recommendations are perfect for those willing to build an enterprise in the developed world. However, I doubt some of the insights might not be relevant for entrepreneurs operating in the developing world since those countries may have some particular aspects to take into account. Moreover, most of the examples Guy used are taken from the technology world (maybe due to his background) and left behind other fields of business. Anyway, it inspires me to get into the entrepreneurship field and create meaning to change the world. A masterclass book!

Yes good book

This book is good but focuses a lot in fundraising.

El libro es muy bueno , y el pedido llegó en tiempo y forma y en buenas condiciones.

Excelente livro, com muitos insights.

Buscava un llibre que em permits conèixer el món de l'emprenedor des d'un bon inici, sense haver de passar pels errors classics (que tothom fem). Tot i que encara l'estic llegint, ,'he trobat amb un llibre que il·lusiona, que et fa veure realitats que són evidents però que sovint et passen desapercebudes.Totalment recomanat a qui tingui clar emprendre i també a tothom que busqui millorar el seu negoci.