Product Description

Every day, Rob Adams helps entrepreneurs find true markets for their products, design solid business models, and hire great teams—because that’s what it takes to build a successful company. While this sounds self-evident, far too many entrepreneurs have forgotten these fundamentals. They’ve been influenced by what Adams calls “business porn,” myths lingering like a bad hangover from the easy success days of the late ’90s. These entrepreneurs believe a unique idea is the key to igniting a great business. They think their industry experience already makes them experts on customer needs. They have simplistic, self-defeating illusions about sales, marketing, financing, and more.

They say things like “I have a million-dollar business idea for a new product.” Wake up, says Adams: Good ideas are not scarce—they’re a dime a dozen. Businesses are successful not because of a unique idea but because of extraordinary execution. They offer a better, faster, or cheaper product or service, or they change the way the world solves a problem.

In short, these entrepreneurs need just what Adams doses out in the pages of this book: a good hard kick in the ass. Adams debunks the myths and smashes the illusions—and he knows what he’s talking about, because he stands at the hub of many new startups. His firm, AV Labs, provides entrepreneurs with early financing as well as the management expertise they need to get off the ground.

A Good Hard Kick in the Ass offers detailed, hard-hitting guidance for smart, sophisticated entrepreneurs and established businesspeople alike—along with vivid, in-depth examples of companies that are walking the walk right now. Adams’s straightforward, no-nonsense approach is just what’s needed in the post-bubble economy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #224063 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-29
• Released on: 2002-01-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Amazon.com Review
Rob Adams--an ex-Marine and former technology executive who now runs an "accelerator venture fund" that works like an entrepreneurial boot camp--offers A Good Hard Kick in the Ass to wake up and shake up today's would-be business owner. The era when virtually any wannabe could turn an intriguing idea and slick presentation into a hefty bankroll is long past, of course. Adams believes the current environment calls instead for a return to elementary but oft-ignored rules expressed here through blunt admonitions (good ideas are a dime a dozen, you don't know your customers as well as you think you do, you don't need big bucks right out of the gate) meant to counter the "startup myths and misconceptions" many hopefuls still harbor. Each chapter breaks down one delusion-busting assertion into specific suggestions (assemble a team with solid "execution intelligence," validate the market, forge a strategy for getting out there quickly) and is fleshed out with the real-life experiences of both big-name techno-ventures and some of the embryonic participants in Adams's AV Labs. Any time you step up to the plate to start a company, you take a chance on striking out, he says, but following these steps should at least get you into the game. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
In brisk, straightforward prose, venture capitalist Adams systematically destroys most of the misconceptions potential entrepreneurs have about starting a company, and tells them how to cover the basics, from knowing the customer to hiring good employees. Adams explains why a good idea is not necessary for success (good ideas are plentiful commodities; he contends; execution is really what matters); business plans are overrated (since most of the investors who give a company funding spend most of their time evaluating its employees); and most people don't know as much about their customers as they think they do (which is why customer research is vital). Adams's no-nonsense, fast-paced, slightly sarcastic style (think drill sergeant meets MTV veejay) makes this an engaging read, especially for Gen-X and Gen-Y capitalists (e.g., "I have nothing against team-building outings they're necessary. But come on: Cozumel? Get real!"). The focus on tech companies (Adams finances startups and began his own career as a technology executive at Lotus) feels dated, but the underlying advice is sound for all kinds of enterprises. He tends to stress the negative, spending more time on what not to do than offering proactive advice. Still, his book offers an excellent checklist of new-business pitfalls, making it worthwhile for anyone thinking of starting a company. B&w illus. Agent, Daniel Greenberg. (Feb. 5)Forecast: The book's "in your face" title and jacket will attract attention, and its straight-up advice will please readers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Adams, managing director of AV Labs and a former marine who runs a boot camp for entrepreneurs, has written a book that offers entrepreneurs valuable advice and perspectives on establishing and running a company. Adams debunks some myths and illusions of entrepreneurship, e.g., that good ideas are scarce and that the idea has to be unique. According to the author, "What's rare is the team that can execute." He describes critical milestones that must be faced by entrepreneurs, including validating the market, designing a profitable business model, hiring a great team, lining up strong investors, and making sure that building the product is technologically feasible. Sidebars feature case studies of Dell, Amazon.com, Cisco Systems, and Microsoft, illustrating their use of successful strategies for marketing and reaching out to customers. Adams's book offers practical advice and new ways of thinking to entrepreneurs or to those contemplating starting a business. With perhaps the catchiest title of recent business books, it is well worth reading by both practitioners and students. Recommended to academic and public library business collections. Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
Like other reviewers have noted, this book is aimed at a very particular audience: successful executives with significant experience, starting a technology company.

I figured I was close enough to that audience that I'd love the book. Turns out, I was wrong. This book is overwhelmingly focused on enterprise companies. I am the CEO of a consumer-focused company, and felt like the book was misleadingly positioned. Maybe "Basic Training for Entrepreneurs selling into the Enterprise" wouldn't have been as catchy... but it would be much more accurate.

I also found Rob's book troubling for softer reasons. For me, probably the most important decision I ever made was my choice of co-founders. Absolutely, you want a smart team just like Rob recommends... but you also want a team of people you can *trust* with your life. I was surprised by Rob's total focus on hard skills/experience in hiring.

But upon reflection, his focus on hard skills makes sense here, since the book is overwhelmingly about making money. If you want to build a team of people who want to change the world... or make a difference... this book is not for you. I'm not talking about non-profits or government; I'm talking about creating products that have an impact on the world (Apple, Sony, Google, Harley, Ben & Jerry's, Intuit, etc.).

This book has zero talk about creating a shared sense of purpose/mission. That's ok, because companies targeting the enterprise rarely have that sort of vibe. That's too bad, because I think that every company can use a "soul". And to be frank, creating a sense of purpose/mission can dramatically increase customer and employee retention. Maybe all this soft stuff can translate into hard dollars after all...

Decent Book
This book is decent. Another good one to try is www.antiventurecapital.com .

Great on validating the market in early stage start-ups
This excellent book describes the early start up stage of a new business in great detail. The author has experience with pre-funded start-ups and their efforts to validate their markets. There are few books that describe this early stage activity for entrepreneurs, where it's difficult to judge a market. Thus, this book is highly recommended.

Pluses
- Puts proper weights on crucial start up tasks with an emphasis on the execution team. The author says execution and the execution team is more important than the idea. He makes a good point but I don't think having a good execution team is adequate reason to create a startup. You still need an organizing idea that offers overwhelming advantage.
- Recommends that you apply new technology to existing market to ease an existing pain. He particularly likes applying new technologies to business processes (of course Dell is one of the examples here).
- Asks you to repeatedly hypothesize and then prove/disprove the pain of your prospects. The area of customer need has to have a felt pain. The search for pain increases the likelihood of success, and makes marketing easier.
- Recommends rigorous upfront market research into prospects and influencers. Talk to at least 100 potential customers. After doing this the author says the business plan is easier to write.
- I liked his comments on talking to affinity groups, trade pubs, user groups, trade shows, and industry influencers.
- Get to the market quickly with a product that solves their immediate pain.

Minuses
- Relies on quantitative market research for initial phase instead of one-on-one. His defense is that our goal is to be doing market research, not selling our solution. However, I believe the best market research comes from one on one discussions. See Barry Feig's books on market research for more on this, "Marketing Straight To the Heart" etc..

Questionable Items
- Your idea does not have to be unique. "There is no new idea." To the author, ideas are commodities, it's teams that can execute that are scarce. While I agree, I can't see starting up a company unless you have a competitive advantage that goes beyond our subjective opinion of a start-up crew.
- First to market is no big thing, it's an unsustainable advantage. Execute to dominate, not define a space. I generally disagree, but he makes a good point. I also believe in first mover advantage made popular by Geoffrey Moore ("Crossing the Chasm") and also in Ries's recommendation to create a new niche to dominate (See "The Origin of Brands" by Al and Laura Ries). But I also believe, like the author suggests, great execution is often a deciding factor. I think he gives these other ideas short shrift because he sees so many companies failing on execution.
- Partner, partner, partner. I think the startup should try for a complete product rather than give up large pieces of the solution. But I can see how some situations demand this.

There's a lot more to this book than the few points I listed above. He gives more details on the execution team which were particularly good.

Overall, I think this is an excellent book. It should be required reading for all MBA students of entrepreneurial studies as well as anyone in the early stages of a startup who is trying to validate the company's market.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX