Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Art of the Start summary
Guy Kawasaki
The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
20 mins
What is The Art of the Start about?
The Art of the Start offers a brief overview of some of the key aspects of starting and running a business. It covers topics such as pitching for funding, recruiting the right people, and building a successful brand.
Table of Contents
The Art of the Start
summarized in 11 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 11
Entrepreneurs should strive to make meaning, not money.
Many people dream of starting their own company, and often their motivation stems from the desire to get rich quick.
But this is the wrong way to go about it: entrepreneurship should be about making meaning, not making money. And you make meaning when you create a service or product that somehow contributes to the world becoming a better place.
And not only does making meaning help the world, it’s also a critical element in your company’s success. It’s far more difficult to be an A-list entrepreneur if you don’t make meaning. Both you and your employees will be far more motivated if money isn’t your primary goal.
So how can you create this meaning?
Formulate a short, powerful mantra that reflects it. A mantra is a simple, frequently repeated statement that reminds the employees why the company exists. For example, Nike’s mantra is “Authentic athletic performance” and Disney’s is “Fun family entertainment.”
You may think that a company’s mission statement already performs the same function, but a mantra is different in that it is shorter, more direct and more memorable.
For example, Coca-Cola’s mission statement is “The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches.” That’s a mouthful. But if we formulate a hypothetical mantra for the same company, we could come up with something like “Refresh the world,” which is much catchier and easier to keep in mind.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Art of the Start?
Key ideas in The Art of the Start
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Best quote from The Art of the Start
Positioning should be about what you do for your customers – not about what you want to become.
—Guy Kawasaki
Who should read The Art of the Start?
- Entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs
- Anyone who works for a start-up or small company
Categories with The Art of the Start
Books like The Art of the Start
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
26 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers