Rating: 
Summary: For more than just Silicon Valley
Review: This book worked for me on several levels, and I would encourage anyone to read this, even if you aren't planning to start your own company.First, the book is what I classify as a business adventure - my favorite kind. The overarching framework is a fictional thread about a guy trying to start an Internet business, Funerals.com, with his primary goal of getting rich in 2-3 years. Randy Komisar, the author, uses this storyline to illustrate what he as a virtual CEO/angel investor looks for from people wanting cash for a new business. But to illustrate how he came to his views (what is important and why), Komisar gives us glimpses into his life, including important roles at successes such as WebTV and failures like GO (see the book "Startup" for more details on this story). Interestingly, he takes great pride in his adventures at GO, a company that lost tens of millions of dollars and died. This probably illustrates his primary theme, life is about the journey. Don't measure success by dollars in the bank. The book also works as a great "lessons learned" for life. Komisar, in the fictional part of the story about Lenny and his funerals.com, asks Lenny, "Would you be willing to do this for the rest of your life?" Once again, from Komisar's point of view, life (not just business) is about the journey. But Komisar's question is also very important for making his decision whether a person should receive his funding, recommendation, or help (you will have to read why). Lastly, the book is very short, and most people will be able to read it in a day or two at most. It works well on a business trip or just as a break between larger books. A short book with an engaging fictional story, interesting glimpses into the real world of angels, VCs and startups, and some good sage advice about business and life. Not a bad deal.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Young Entrepreneurs & New Angels
Review: This is an excellent book for two groups of people: Young Entrepreneur seeking seed or early round financing for an idea or business; and young financiers entering the field of Angel Investing. It is not a book for "get rich quick" entrepreneurs looking to create yet another burger.... not that you could in this corrected and more realistic market environment. It speaks to the heart and soul of the entrepreneur looking to build a solid company based on a passion for what they do, and to the Angel who wants to help others realize their passion. Young entrepreneurs will find Randy Komisar's business philosophy and words of wisdom useful in structuring and focus the thinking around the business plan. And it will help organize the presentation to capital sources. It offers the insight of an experienced manager and operator who has been through the ups and downs of various new ventures and may just help you avoid some of the dumb mistakes. Young Angels will find it offers a lot of helpful guidance for thinking about the plans your looking at. Even if you have management and operating experience you'll find this a useful articulation of many key points.
Rating:
Summary: An inspirational fable
Review: This is one of the most impressive books on entrepeneurship and business that I have read. As we grow older, we focus more and more on the immediate. We often lose touch with our larger goals - goals that may have lead us to our chosen profession and path in the first place. For most of us, we may not even sense the inner void and lack of direction that this creates. Randy's book is a timely reminder of the importance of higher level goals. It tells us we can work for what we care AND be successful. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Not just silicon
Review: While this book may appear to be a period piece from the glory days of Silicon Valley, I think that the author's main points are important in any business environment. His distinction between "passion" and "drive" was helpful: too many of us mistake the latter for the former, assuming that our level of commitment and work ethic equates to "passion," and pouring our energies into sustaining a business or a job that doesn't sustain US.
Having been there and done that, I wholeheartedly agree with his criticism of the "deferred life plan." If you start out to earn a living based on your passion, you may fail at a particular business, but you'll learn a lot that will help you with the next one, and you'll still have the passion to sustain you. But if your ambition is to make a lot of money from a business that doesn't engage you so that you can quit and follow your passion, then if it fails you'll be no closer to following your passion; if it succeeds but doesn't make you a billionaire overnight (like most businesses), you'll be stuck running a business that diverts you from following your passion.
The book is well-told and amusing, and I felt it was well worth reading. (My answer to the monk's riddle was: drop the chicken before it lays the egg. I guess I'm not Zen enough.)
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