Ceo: Building a $400 Million Company from the Ground Up

Rating:
Summary: Tremendous insights, highly relevant to any business owner
Review: I loved this book because it shows what it takes to start up and manage a business in a new niche -- forging relationships with early adopters and establishing alliances with industry giants. Sandra Kurtzig's personal story demonstrates how entrepreneurs succeed not by the quality of their product alone. Everyday decisions about employees, customers, alliances, board members, investments -- and the negotiations and timing of them -- contribute as much if not more to an organization's fate. The importance of listening to customers, seeking education and advice from others outside your business, and trusting your intuition are all lessons to be learned. Some earlier Amazon reviewers dissed this book because ASK declined in later years. These reviewers are missing the point. When Kurtzig stepped away from running day-to-day operations in 1985, after her father died and she desired a better work/life balance (as many people do after a close family member passes away), she faced a critical juncture in her business and perhaps mishandled planning her succession and exit strategy. Burnout is something about which all entrepreneurs need to be aware. I was inspired by her decision to return to ASK in 1989 and would be very interested in reading an addendum to the story.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, detailed advice
Review: I may be a little biased (I'm Sandy Kurtzig's son) but I have heard from hundreds of readers that this book has given them the inspiration to start and grow their own companies. I'm also following in my mother's footsteps as CEO of my own company: E-Benefits. I only hope I'm as successful!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, detailed advice
Review: This book is full of great advice for anyone starting a software company. It is also an interesting story. The negative reviews on this site to the effect that Sandra Kurtzig is some sort of vain egomaniac are just plain wrong. The book is NOT just for women. Its for anyone starting a high tech business.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, motivating, inspiring!
Review: This is book is about how to succeed within the system of the American-style capitalism, not any marxist socialism! It is a great, inspiring, motivating book for both men and women alike. The book about success in a political-economic system of free enterprise. Reviewers like the one from England, who are so unhappy about the competitive nature of capitalism, will find more enjoyable Das Kapital by Karl Marx or The State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin (both available on amazon.com) as their kind of books!