Rating: 
Summary: it is a great source of reference
Review: "As President of an Austin, Texas "early-stage" company, I find myself utilizing "A Good Hard Kick in the Ass" on a very regular basis. As we continue to emerge and contemplate issues that Rob Adams has mastered and articulated so clearly in business and his book, it continues to be an interesting read and reference manual for our company." - David Atchley, President, Garage Outfitters, Inc. www.garage-outfitters.com
Rating:
Summary: A Good Hard Kick in the Ass
Review: A Good Hard Kick in the Ass by Rob Adams is a great book for would be entrepreneurs to read to learn how to approach the launch of a business. Market Validation is one of Adam's mantras. In layman's terms who is your customer, what do they want, how much will they pay and how do you reach them? If you can't answer these questions then you don't have a business plan you have an idea and ideas are a dime a dozen. Adams gives several real life situations that drive home the points he is teaching us in his message. One can learn a great deal from the successes and failures of those who have gone before and this book gives one a history lesson of business successes and failures and explains the key to each out come. It is a fun read and highly informative.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Hard Knock on the Head
Review: After starting a couple of businesses, and running into every kind of possible start-up problem. I'm always looking for good practical advice from others who've worked with start-ups to help me avoid making dumb mistakes and wasting precious time. I picked up Rob Adam's book because after reading a few pages at the bookstore, and it became obvious this was not one of those typical "succeed by connecting the right dots" method books for arm chair techno-startup wannabes. There was a lot of straightforward wisdom in his pages which I hope to draw on when I get stuck in a crisis situation (which is usually every day). Several things stand out in this book:
1) Validate your market. Very true, common sense advice. He gives a clear guideline for how his company structures this process. Might not work for everyone scrambling to survive, but the point is still there. Do the homework first.
2) Defines what is good money vs bad money.
3) Ideas are easy. It's the execution that counts.
4) People invest in people, not plans. Some things that didn't really help:
1) Most of us are not connected enough to sip beers with big VC investors on a patio. (If a VC is reading, email me, and I'll fly over from Taiwan immediately to do some sipping with you!)
2) The kind of money that's being talked about is not readily available to most people these days.
3) The straight forward partnering concept that is so prevalent in the US, doesn't often work in other parts of the world. Conclusion:
Well worth taking the time to read, think about, evaluate, and put into action. Can really help you if you are wandering off course in "business plan land¡¨.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Kick Start
Review: Having been involved in the formation of multiple companies, I found this book to be full of exactly the kinds of things nobody wants to say at a meeting, and these are exactly the ideas that require a lot of attention. If you can get an excited team down to business, then the chances of that excitement turning into cash flow are much greater, and the pieces on market validation (which can be terribly difficult work) are so valuable that they should be required reading.
Ben Allen
CEO, New American Farm
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Summary: Straight talk - ideas that work
Review: I am writing this review a year after reading the book and putting the ideas to work. I feel compelled to let you know that the book was not only entertaining and a quick read, but full of ideas that really work! I am CEO of a start-up operating with seed money. We used specific ideas from the book on how to evolve our product idea quickly and also focus on execution. We entered the market with minimal funding and built a market for our product in a 6 month period. Now we are moving quickly to the next stage. Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur, engineer with an idea or product manager in a larger company, " A Good Hard Kick in the Ass" will focus your thinking and efforts. Good luck and get back to work!
Rating:
Summary: Informative, Concise and Entertaining
Review: I had the pleasure of not only reading Rob's book but having him as an instructor in my MBA program. The concepts discussed in this book are mission critical for any venture. To think of the money and time that could have been saved if entrepreneurs and investors alike had read this book prior to launch is shockingly poingnant (hindsight is always 20/20).
Unlike many books in this genre, Rob's personality comes through and keeps you entertained while you are being edified.
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Summary: A must read for anyone contemplating starting a new company
Review: I work at a technology incubator and this book echoes several key points that we try and instill in our entrepreneurs. The author's light-hearted title is a testament to those "would-be" entrepreneurs out there that think all they need to have is a great idea. This book goes into depth about researching your market, finding a good management team and how to go about raising money without giving up equity. The key take-away from this book is having a good management team that already knows how to execute. Ideas are a dime a dozen, so pick one and move on.
Rating:
Summary: A Startup Necessity
Review: I'm told that the best time to start a company is during an economic slowdown. Rents are cheap, people are available, by the time you get going the rebounding economy will help grow sales. Fair enough. If timing is important, Rob Adams' book is a necessity. It gives the practical advice to get your company started with the right foundation and attitude.
As you can guess from the title, Adams' takes a very practical and challenge-conventional-wisdom approach to building a company. He provokes company managers to think critically and objectively about their situations and the decisions they need to make, more as a primer than a textbook.
Organized around nine essential "kicks", Adams covers many of the most common misconceptions about starting businesses and offers his direct advice on ways to achieve success. The book is full of examples from his recent venture capital investing experience and it rings true throughout. Though the book is heavily technology oriented, his thinking can easilyt be applied to all products and services.
It is time to return to basics for creating companies which can survive and grow and this book offers strong and sanguine advice. I recommend it to anyone thinking of starting a business or trying to make one better. As the president of a small company with ambition, I keep his book in my office as a touchstone. You should too.
Rating:
Summary: A Startup Necessity
Review: I'm told that the best time to start a company is during an economic slowdown. Rents are cheap, people are available, by the time you get going the rebounding economy will help grow sales. Fair enough. If timing is important, Rob Adams' book is a necessity. It gives the practical advice to get your company started with the right foundation and attitude.
As you can guess from the title, Adams' takes a very practical and challenge-conventional-wisdom approach to building a company. He provokes company managers to think critically and objectively about their situations and the decisions they need to make, more as a primer than a textbook.
Organized around nine essential "kicks", Adams covers many of the most common misconceptions about starting businesses and offers his direct advice on ways to achieve success. The book is full of examples from his recent venture capital investing experience and it rings true throughout. Though the book is heavily technology oriented, his thinking can easilyt be applied to all products and services.
It is time to return to basics for creating companies which can survive and grow and this book offers strong and sanguine advice. I recommend it to anyone thinking of starting a business or trying to make one better. As the president of a small company with ambition, I keep his book in my office as a touchstone. You should too.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific and practical
Review: Practical as all get out! Little jargon plus clear thinking makes this one unusual for a "how to" tome. Adams cuts through the clutter and delivers straight forward advice that makes sense. Sort of like "how your Grocer Grandpa would advise you to run you own family grocery store." Highly recommended.
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