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Summary: American Bootstrap - A Business Parable of Truth and Humor
Review: A real-life account of two young smart entrepreneurs with sterling educational credentials (MBAs from the Wharton School of Business) who start a business in an industry that they know nothing about. It's a tale told with insight, pace, and self-deprecating humor that will teach you a lot of lessons about being a small-business entrepreneur. After an era in which everybody focused on VC-funded companies seeking to dominate multi-billion dollar markets, it's refreshing to read a story that reminds you about the boostrap process of the great majority of American businesses. As a former small-business founder myself, many of their lessons and observations hit home with me, and I think this book represents a great education in the perils and pitfalls of taking a business idea from concept to fruition. Whether you are considering starting a business yourself or just enjoy reading a well-written story that will make you laugh, I'd rate The Mousedriver Chronicles as a must-read!
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Summary: A great book.
Review: An amazing story about two guys who started a business out of their project from school. John Lusk and Kyle Harrison go through the full life cycle of developing a product from concept and taking it to the market. A very interesting and well-written book that goes over their experiences, expectations versus reality and hardships they faced as entrepreneurs. It is a must read book.
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Summary: Realistic and informative
Review: An entrepreneur myself, I found this book to be extremely useful and fun to read. I even ran a branding situation of mine by the author as they ask us to and received a response within a week. The information provided was helpful in determining a course of action.I also got a few other useful ideas and felt connected with their experience. I'm glad there are such down-to-earth self-made success stories such as John and Kyle. It's a great American story.
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Summary: GO GO GO BUY IT-NOW!
Review: Having stumbled accross this book amidst the deluge that is my local book store, i soon realised that i had stumbled accross something very inspirational indeed. As a Business school graduate myself, i was entering this game with a somewhat over-confident approach to business startup! Boy oh boy has this read tought me a thing or three! I don't want to rabble on and on about how good the book is, but i would just like to add one thing. The experiences of John and Kyle (the entrepreneurs) have brought me back down to earth and have re-ignited my creative spark as i am now thinking of ways to avoid getting myself in the dificult situations they often found themselves in . Also of ways i could get in similar positive situations they found themselves in. Oh, just go and buy it, steal it, borrow it from your friend or find a way to get your hands on it-entrepreneurs you will not regret it!
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Summary: Great Education, and a Great Read, too!
Review: I saw "The MouseDriver Chronicles" in several bookstores, and passed because it sounded like it would be yet another story of dot-com failure. But finally I decided it looked like a "fun read" and bought it, and I'm glad I did. I'm adding "The MouseDriver Chronicles" as my number-two title (after "Dot.Bomb," by by J. David Kuo) on my "must read" book list for entrepreneurs. "Dot.Bomb" was more fun to read, in part because it was about a dot-com company that crashed and burned, and it's always more fun to write about failure than success. Though "The MouseDriver Chronicles" isn't quite as fun to read, it is more useful for potential entrepreneurs. The book recounts many logistical and planning issues, in an exceptionally well-written style, using straighforward language and sharing more details (business and personal) than I'd expected (though the details seem to fade in the later chapters, presumably to protect the trade secrets of the continuing company). Most important, "The MouseDriver Chronicles" is not about a crash-and-burn dot-com failure. It's about a modestly successful startup whose mission was to build a product and sell it at a profit, a concept that seemed almost obscene when Lusk and Harrison launched their business in mid-1999. In January 2002, that concept (build a product and sell it at a profit) sounds much better, making the book more timely. Even if there are fewer entrepreneurs this year, they all should profit from reading "The MouseDriver Chronicles." The authors especially deserve credit for admitting how "ignorant" they were (in many respects) when they received their MBA degrees from Wharton, even after earlier careers working for consulting firms. They frankly disclose some embarassing experiences, which should profit wise readers who may experience fewer mistakes as a result. My main gripe with the book is that it ends before the end. I expected the final chapter to recount the company's failure, or its sale to a larger company, or some other "exit strategy" that would provide "closure" for the book. Instead, the book's chronology ends in early 2001, but the company continues even today. Ending the book a year before it reached bookstores (in January 2002) seemed quite unfair (but that is the reality of the book-publishing industry). Fortunately, the MouseDriver.com web site contains an archive of the author's "Insider" newsletter updates, so I could read "the rest of the story" (which is still unfolding, since the company is still plodding along).
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Summary: An unexpected enjoyable truip
Review: I was in a book store and I was attracted to the title and the cover color. I picked up the book and read the jacket and I was hooked. I hardly ever buy non-technical books -especially non-fiction. But I was hooked after reading the jacket so I bought the book and assiduously read and enjoyed it. Also I am a Wharton alumnus. I also took classes with Len Lodish. Eric Ericsson
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Summary: Amazing Book
Review: MouseDriver is about two guys who graduate from Wharton with MBAs in 1999 (the heart of the internet boom) and start a business manufacturing and selling a computer mouse that looks like the head of a driver golf club, turning down high paying jobs at dotcoms, investment banks, consulting firms etc.
As a small business consultant (Transcendence Consulting, LLC tcllc.net) I can tell you right now that if you are looking to start a busines, buy this book TODAY. It is an amazing look at the entire process of starting a business, from the ability to jump head first, manage yourself during
the highs and lows, deal with self doubt and solve an endless supply of problems. It is an easy read that will take you no time at all to complete.
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Summary: The Unabashed Truth
Review: Ok, so here's the deal. I currently manage about $20MM in retail business for a manufacturer, and have been contemplating whether to pursue an MBA (read Wharton) or start a company. This book provided a pretty no-pretense look at starting a product-based company. In many cases the author's MBA's weren't that valuable (their words, not mine). Ultimately, this book served to help demystify the process of starting a company. While not a "how-to" book, I can say that it has been one of the most beneficial books in providing 1) a realistic view of the start-up process, and 2) a realistic view on the benefit of an MBA in starting a company. My own personal conclusion is that industry experience seems to count for far more than an MBA (assuming, of course, and undergrad in Business Mgmt or business knowledge from experience). Thanks, guys, for daring to share your victories, setbacks, and experiences with us in a transparent and unpretentious manner. I can't tell you how beneficial this book has been in my own decision to take the plunge. The twenty bucks invested in this book may be the best start-up investment you can make. By the way, they really do reply if you email them. I received replies from both John & Kyle within a few days of asking for their input. God bless.
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Summary: An excellent snapshot of a real business during the bubble
Review: There is so much in this book that I can relate to, having started my own company around the same time in Silicon Valley (although in software). John and Kyle made the same mistakes that many entrepreneurs thankfully make - they followed their passion instead of their senses, and didn't buckle under the pressure and the unknown. One other valuable lesson from this book -- document your process. This is a great way to share your successes and your mistakes with others. I wish we had more stories like this when I was working on my MBA - something more than the dry, non-applicable case studies stuck in front of us. And John and Kyle also provided one other important gem: how to save a few bucks a month at the neighborhood gym. Thanks guys.
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Summary: One of the most Inspiring books I have read
Review: This book contains such valuable information for a wide range of readers - be it management students, by it aspiring entrepeneurs like me, be it casual readers, be it people who are starting a new venture or people who are just setting up a domestic / professional base in another part of their country.
The most striking thing about this book is its lucid language and the mass appeal. I am sure that others reading the book will also seek soul searching inspiration that means nothing is impossible in this world. If you have the will to achieve and the heart beats for that sense of achievement, this narrative confirms that you can get anything done.
There is one section of the book where John and Kyle, the authors and also the co-founders of the co hit hard ground not being able to proceed on their endeavour to create a revolutionary product in an industry that is one of the fastest growing industry known to mankind - the computers business. Be it their contact in Hongkong or their Professor from Wharton luck and support did flow for them, but the primary will to achieve has been theirs, and they definitely will be my heroes for sometime to come. This book is a necessity in every bookshelf and a must read to anyone coming under the aforesaid catagories. In case anyone needs more information please contact me on rsinindia@hotmail.com, but dont expect me to give away the story in any more detail than I have mentioned here. That will take away the wind.
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